Grounding Political Philosophers on Duties, Rights, and Obligations: An Appraisal of Dilemmatic Perspectives

Abstract

This paper explores the conception of duties, rights, and forms of obligations as applied by political thinkers, theorists, lexicologists, jurists, and historiographers. The varied interpretations and dilemmas of obligations, duties, and rights, reflect the polysemy of the term thereby transmitting the necessity of rethinking and resituating the concepts in their etymological, original, moral, legal, lexical, and political contexts in order to grasp and digest their authentic significations. It is admitted that, obligations as thoroughly scrutinized in this paper, is difficult to situate clearly either in contemporary political discourses or in ancient political systems. In addressing the role and nature of political obligations, particular attention is worth according to political philosophers, historians, and linguists’ conceptions and interpretations of what obligations entail actually. The vital political implications are also examined in view of propounding a clearer understanding of the grounds of the terms, focusing more on a general, moral, legal, and political framework.