Loading ...Can a person have a conflict of duties?
A person can have a prima facie conflict of duties but not an actual conflict of duties. A prima facie conflict of duties is a conflict at first glance or an apparent conflict. However,since a person cannot perform both apparent duties,he does not have an actual conflict of duties.
Arthur’s apparent conflict of duties in Emma’s story
What was the conflict of duties Arthur felt as he pondered over whether the decision made by his Board to close their church was the right thing to do? (For details on the Board’s decision,click HERE.) First,he agreed with the Board that the church had to be closed because young and middle age people were not joining their church in sufficient numbers to sustain it. Second,he felt a duty to continue the to serve the young and old who depended on the care they received from the church . Third,he felt a duty to offer the traditional ‘hymns,sermons and social events [to] the regular parishioners’. This certainly felt like an apparent conflict of duties.
But,he had to remind himself that since a person cannot perform both apparent duties,he does not have an actual conflict of duties. In other words,the Board could NOT keep the church open and close it at the same time. Therefore he did not have an ACTUAL CONFLICT OF DUTIES.
