ABSTRACT
Most people appreciate that a moral obligation is an obligation that is binding regardless of such things as reward, popularity, or threats. If I have a moral obligation to tell the truth, then I ought to tell the truth – not because I will be punished if I don’t, or respected or rewarded if I do, but simply because that is my duty. I ought to tell the truth for its own sake. There may be various rewards, whether material or spiritual, associated with it, and there may on occasion be factors that put pressure on me to do it, but, nonetheless, to say that telling the truth is a moral obligation implies that it is something that should be done regardless of extrinsic reward or compulsion.
