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‘Saints and Heroes’

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  30 January 2009

Elizabeth M. Pybus
Elizabeth M. Pybus
Affiliation:
University of Glasgow
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Extract

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In his article ‘Saints and Heroes’, Urmson argues that traditional moral theories allow at most for a threefold classification of actions in terms of their worth, and that they are therefore unsatisfactory. Since the conclusion of his argument has led to the widespread use of the term ‘acts of supererogation’, and since I do not believe that such acts exist, I propose to argue that the actions with which he is concerned not only can, but should, be contained within the traditional classification.

Type
Articles
Information
Philosophy , Volume 57 , Issue 220 , January 1982 , pp. 193 - 199
Copyright
Copyright © The Royal Institute of Philosophy 1980

References

1 J. O. Urmson, ‘Saints and Heroes‘, in Essays in Moral Philosophy, A. I. Melden (ed.) (University of Washington Press, 1958).

2 For instance, I would object to his cursory dismissal of Kant as unable to do justice to the facts. The moral law is imposed upon the agent by his own reason, and any action which the agent holds himself categorically bound to perform is consequently one which is demanded by the moral law and presented through the activity of pure practical reason to the agent, and thus as obligatory not only for him but for all rational agents.

3 He is concerned, for some reason, with St. Francis and his belief that he should preach to the birds. Surely what is important about St. Francis is his dedicated commitment to the following of Christ and his willingness to do anything required by that commitment.