Duty: The Concept and Bradley's "My Station and Its Duties"
RAS Mains, Paper II, Unit I, point 2: moral concepts, "Concept of duty"
- Updated for the Jan 2026 syllabus
- Read time: about 9 minutes
Exam weight (our count from the real 2018-2024 papers)
1 question, Part A (2 marks): 2024 Q2, "My station and its duties". Kant-based duty questions (2021 Q8, 2023 Q2) sit on page 6.3. This is our own count, not RPSC information.
30-second summary
Remember
- Duty is what is expected of us on moral, legal or social grounds, whether we like it or not; rights and duties complement each other.
- In Indian tradition the near words are dharma and swadharma (Gita 3.35, 18.47); for Kant, an act has moral worth when done from duty.
- In the Constitution, the Fundamental Duties of Article 51A: added by the 42nd Amendment (1976), originally 10, an 11th by the 86th Amendment (2002); non-enforceable.
- Bradley (1876): a person's duties arise from their station in society, and fulfilling them is self-realisation.
- Criticism: it can back the status quo and excuse obedience; Bradley himself holds that in a rotten society, playing one's role is not enough.
Part A box (each line 15 words or fewer)
Remember
- Question (real PYQ, 2024): Explain 'My station and its duties'.
- Answer: Bradley (1876): a person realises the self by doing the duties of their social station. (15 words)
- Ready line 2: Rights and duties complement each other: one person's right is another's duty. (12 words)
- Ready line 3: Limit: it can excuse the status quo and blind obedience to orders. (12 words)
1. Meaning
Duty is what is expected of us on moral, legal or social grounds, whether or not it appeals to us. Rights and duties complement each other: one person's right becomes another's duty.
2. Kinds
Moral, legal, professional and social; universal (binding on all, such as telling the truth) and role-based (tied to office or profession); positive (things to do) and negative (things not to do).
3. Indian tradition
The near word for duty is dharma, and at the personal level swadharma. The sense of the Gita (3.35 and 18.47) is that one's own dharma done imperfectly is better than another's done well. The idea of Rin seen earlier (page 2.3) is also a base of duty.
4. Kant (in brief)
For Kant the moral worth of an act lies not in its result but in its being done from duty; in the Groundwork (1785) he holds that only a "good will" is good without qualification. (Detail on page 6.3.)
5. Constitutional base
The Fundamental Duties of Article 51A were added by the 42nd Amendment (1976) on the recommendation of the Swaran Singh Committee. There were originally 10; the 86th Amendment (2002) added an 11th (parents or guardians to provide opportunities for education to children aged 6 to 14). They cannot be enforced directly through courts (non-enforceable), but guide citizens' conduct.
6. Bradley: "My Station and Its Duties"
Source: the fifth essay in the British philosopher F.H. Bradley's Ethical Studies (1876).
Core idea: moral life does not belong to an abstract individual cut off from society. Every person holds a place in society (son, teacher, officer, citizen), and duties flow from that place. Doing them is being moral, and in this lies the person's self-realisation.
Society as a living body: society is like a living organism and individuals are its organs; an organ's life is not apart from the body.
The answer to "Why be moral?": only by doing the duties of one's station does a person find their true self.
Bradley's own limit: this essay is not his last word; his own book later shows the shortcoming of the view. If society is defective, ideals of reform do not fit into existing roles, and in a rotten society merely playing a role does not give self-realisation.
7. Criticism
It can back the status quo: roles imposed by caste or gender may come to be called "duty".
"I only did my duty" can become an excuse for blind obedience to orders.
When duties of different roles collide (family against office) the theory gives no test to settle them. (See page 7.1: moral dilemma.)
8. Administrative angle
An officer's station is the post, and the duties are loyalty to the Constitution, obeying the law, impartiality and service to the public. But on Bradley's own caution, doing official duty is not enough when the system itself is unjust: then conscience and constitutional values are the final test.
Worked examples (documented, with year)
Fundamental Duties, 1976 and 2002.
The 42nd Constitutional Amendment (1976), on the Swaran Singh Committee's recommendation, added Article 51A (originally 10 duties); the 86th Amendment (2002) added the 11th. They are non-enforceable, yet remind citizens of duty alongside right.
Source: the text of the Constitution, Article 51A.
Bradley, Ethical Studies, 1876.
Essay V, "My Station and Its Duties".
Source: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (it is the fifth essay, and the sixth, "Ideal Morality", shows its limit).
How to use in an answer
Bradley (source and year) and the core idea in one line, then the administrative angle (post and duties), then one line on the limit; in Part B, the year of Article 51A and its non-enforceability.
Thinkers and quotes box
| Name | Idea | Usable line |
|---|---|---|
| F.H. Bradley | Duties from one's station | Essay title: "My Station and Its Duties" (Ethical Studies, 1876, Essay V) |
| Immanuel Kant | Acting from duty | Groundwork (1785): only a good will is good without qualification (the sense, not a verbatim quotation) |
| Bhagavad Gita 3.35, 18.47 | Swadharma | Sense: one's own dharma done imperfectly is better than another's done well (Gita 3.35 and 18.47; the sense, not a verbatim quotation) |
| Constitution, Article 51A | Fundamental Duties | Added in 1976; the 11th in 2002; non-enforceable (a fact) |
Diagram: concentric circles
I
Inside
My roles
Middle ring: : family, office, citizen
Society
Outside
duty
On the arrows
What if the system is unjust?
A question mark at the edge
How the concept was asked before: no direct question on "duty" in 2018, 2021 or 2023; the Kant-based duty questions (2021 Q8, 2023 Q2) are on page 6.3.
Common mistakes
Remember
- Writing Bradley with praise only; even a Part A answer needs a hint of the limit, and Part C needs the criticism.
- Presenting this essay as Bradley's final and complete view; his own book later shows its limit. The source is Ethical Studies (1876), Essay V.
- Equating "duty" with "obeying orders"; blind obedience is not duty.
Self-check (5 questions)
Remember
- State Bradley's idea of "station and duties" in one sentence.
- When was Article 51A added, and when did the 11th duty come?
- What is the sense of swadharma in the Gita (with verse numbers)?
- Write two criticisms of "My Station and Its Duties".
- On an illegal oral order from a senior, what value supports option (c)?
Mini case study
Illustrative exampleHypothetical case (काल्पनिक केस)
Sub-Registrar Anjali is told orally by a senior officer to complete the land registration of an influential person "today" without finishing the stamp-duty check. Anjali thinks: "Obeying my senior is my duty." Yet the registration rules are clear.
- Stakeholders
- Anjali, the senior officer, the influential person, the land's true owner or other claimants, the state's revenue.
- Issue and clashing values
- "duty to the senior" (role-based) against "duty to the law and the public". Bradley's station-duty and its limit show up here: blind obedience is not duty.
- Three options
- (a) Obey and register. Pro: the senior is pleased. Con: breach of rules; loss of revenue; liability later falls on Anjali too. (b) Refuse flatly and sour the matter. Pro: the rule is kept. Con: needless clash, and the chance for dialogue is lost. (c) Politely say that registration is not possible under the rules without completing the check, ask for the order in writing, and offer to finish the check at once. Pro: keeps both rule and relationship; exposes the illegal nature of the order. Con: immediate discomfort.
- Best option and supporting value
- option (c). Supporting values: rule of law, integrity and judgement; official duty sits under the Constitution and the law.
Lesson
Action: Short term: ask for the written order, get the checkpoints completed, note it in the record. Long term: a rule that oral orders are recorded in writing, and complaint and whistleblower protection systems.
Practice Questions
Practice questionabout 50 words
State the moral importance of the Fundamental Duties.
Model answer
The Fundamental Duties of Article 51A (added in 1976), though non-enforceable, remind citizens of obligation alongside rights. Duties such as respect for the Constitution, unity, protection of the environment and scientific temper build a shared moral culture. For a public servant they also serve as a test of conduct.
Practice questionabout 100 words
Critically evaluate the idea of "My Station and Its Duties". How useful is it for a public servant?
Model answer
According to Bradley (1876), a person becomes moral and realises the self only by doing the duties of their station in society; society is like a living body. For a public servant it gives clarity about duties to the post, the Constitution and the public, such as impartiality and service. But it can back the status quo, call unjust roles "duty", and excuse obedience; blind obedience is not duty. Bradley himself holds that in a rotten society playing a role is not enough. So even while doing official duty, conscience and constitutional values must remain the final test.
Real PYQs
2024Paper II, Part A2 marks
Explain 'My station and its duties'. Pointers: Bradley, Ethical Studies 1876 → a person's moral obligation arises from their place in society → fulfilling it brings self-realisation (a one-line hint of the limit is a plus).
How to Write This Answer
Introduction
Bradley, 1876, core idea
Body
- usefulness: post, Constitution, public
- Criticism: status quo, obedience, Bradley's own limit
Conclusion
conscience and constitutional values as the final test
Value addition
- Article 51A, the Gita's swadharma
One-page Revision
- Duty = what is expected
- rights and duties complement
- dharma/swadharma (Gita 3.35, 18.47)
- Kant: acting from duty, good will (1785)
- Article 51A: 42nd Amendment 1976, 10 to 11 (86th, 2002), non-enforceable
- Bradley 1876: station → duty → self-realisation
- Limit: status quo, obedience, rotten society
- Real PYQ: 2024 Q2
- Hypothetical case: the senior's oral order and the registration.