Can We Return to the Concept of Duty in a Culture of Rights? Implications for Morality and Identity

Abstract

The conception of duty that is outlined by the Moghaddam, Slocum, Finkel, Mor and HarrÈ (2000) is primarily based on the language of rights. Arights-based code is put into service by many Americans to understand conceptions of duty. There is much to be gained by locating the ‘social psychology’ of duty- and rights-based discourses with present-day India. Currently in India, alongside the multiple duty-based traditions of Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism, there also exists a discourse about western notions of liberal humanism and secular ideologies of human rights. The discussion suggests that both duty- and rights-based discourses need reexamination because they have implications for how we make meanings about issues of morality and selfhood across cultures.