Business Ethics Chapter 5 Glossary

A divine command theory holds that people’s obligations are created by the commands of God.

A negative right imposes a duty on everyone else not to interfere with the right holder’s activities.

A positive right imposes a duty on others to assist the right bearer in some way.

A general right is a right whose correlative duty falls on everyone.

A specific right is one whose correlative duty only falls on a determinate person or group.

A legal right is a type of right that is legally enforceable.

A moral right is a type of right that is justified by a moral theory.

Autonomy is a person’s capability to make competent, rational choices.

The harm principle says that people (or the government) may interfere with people’s freedom, liberty, or exercise of their rights only in order to prevent harm to others.

A hypothetical imperative is a type of principle that will help someone get what he or she wants.

A categorical imperative is a type of principle that does not depend on anyone’s wants or desires.

Correlative duties are duties that agents owe to a right-holder because the right-holder has that right.

Prima facie duties are obligations that people have, but which may yield to stronger obligations.

Absolute duties are over-riding obligations that people have no matter what happens.