Determinateness (or indeterminateness) is tied to the constitutive elements of duties, namely, their content and scope. In addition to exploring determinateness as a matter of content and scope, it is important to understand how determinateness differs from conclusivity, as well as the importance of the role the determinateness of duties plays in our understanding of the nature and content of global justice.
Content and Scope
The content of a duty is the substance of the obligation the duty bearer owes to the duty’s beneficiary. For example, in a promissory duty, the content of the duty is the fulfillment of the promise. The scope of a duty is comprised of the agents whose normative relationship is defined by the duty – the duty bearer and the agent to whom the duty is owed. Under a promise, the scope of the promissory duty includes the promissor and the promisee. A determinate duty is one in which the content and scope of the duty is known with enough specificity that one is able to...
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Kassner, J.J. (2011). Duties, Determinate and Indeterminate. In: Chatterjee, D.K. (eds) Encyclopedia of Global Justice. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-9160-5_258
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