Abstract

The main interest of the doctrine of duties in the 18th century aims at the systematic differentiation of two classes of duties known as perfect and imperfect duties, as negative and positive duties, as duties of abstinence and duties of performance, as duties of debtiness and duties of conscience and benevolence. This paper follows the history of this differentiation and classification of the duties from Grotius, Pufendorf, Leibnitz, Thomasius, Mendelssohn and the early Kantians to Kant, especially to the Kant of the "Doctrine of Virtue" , which takes up the distintive marks and distinguishing features of Kant's predecessors and integrates them into a consistent system of duties. Its fundamental distinction between two spheres of norms and classes of duties having their foundation in the difference of a negative determinate principle of actions and an affirmative indeterminate principle of ends is significant for the present ethical discussions as well