A Right to Violate One's Duty

Abstract

I argue that it is conceptually possible to have a right to do something one has a duty not to do, and a duty to do something one has a right not to do. Acknowledging this possibility is crucial – so I argue – not only for a better understanding of the nature of rights and duties, but also for an adequate discussion of several related issues in ethics and the philosophy of law (such as what rights there are and whether there can be legal rights to violate legal duties). Whether or not the possibility I argue for is actual – whether, that is, there really are rights to violate duties – is a matter for a substantive moral theory. Though my discussion is largely conceptual, I give reasons to believe that adequate moral theories will acknowledge such rights and duties.

Keywords: Rights, Duties