Obligation

Obligation is the binding duty to act or refrain from acting in a specified way. It can arise from law, contract, morality, or social expectation, and it is intended to constrain behavior. The word derives from Latin obligatio, meaning a binding promise or tie.

Legal obligation is created by statutes, regulations, or contracts and is enforceable by courts or other authorities. Examples include paying taxes, honoring a written contract, or complying with safety rules. Financial obligations, such as debt repayment, are common forms of legal obligations.

Moral obligation arises from personal conscience, cultural norms, or ethical principles. Moral obligations may be strong yet are not automatically legally enforceable, though they can influence behavior and social judgment.

Social obligation refers to duties associated with roles in a community—family, work, or civic life—and can be reinforced by reputational or social sanctions. Religious obligations are duties prescribed by a religious framework and may be legally required in some jurisdictions or communities, though not universally enforceable.

Obligations can be positive (requiring action) or negative (requiring abstention). In ethics, some philosophers distinguish perfect duties, which are always binding, from imperfect duties, which are more flexible.

In philosophy and law, the concept of obligation is closely linked to duty, liability, and responsibility. The enforcement of obligations varies: legal obligations are enforceable through courts; moral and social obligations are enforced through norms and reputational effects.

Historically, the notion of obligation has roots in Roman law and has evolved in civil and common law to describe binding duties arising from contracts and other legal relationships.