Access and Unknowable Obligations

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DOI:

https://doi.org/10.4013/fsu.2022.233.04

Abstract

The article is devoted to the question of whether unknowable obligations are possible. According to the popular view (known as Access), an act is obligatory only if its agent can know that this act is obligatory. Sorensen (1995) argues against Access, and Sider and Wieland both defend Access by suggesting (S) – For any obligation O, individual X must refrain from making O unknowable. We consider various difficulties concerning the possibility of (S) – an infinite regress, self-referential nature of (S), unprovability of (S). It is argued that (S), from a certain perspective, is itself the unknowable obligation.

Keywords: Obligations, access, regress, self-reference.

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Author Biography

Oleh Bondar, Nanjing Normal University, China

Nanjing Normal University, School of Public Administration, Department of Philosophy

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Published

2022-11-16

How to Cite

BONDAR, O. Access and Unknowable Obligations. Filosofia Unisinos / Unisinos Journal of Philosophy, São Leopoldo, v. 23, n. 3, p. 1–16, 2022. DOI: 10.4013/fsu.2022.233.04. Disponível em: https://revistas.unisinos.br/index.php/filosofia/article/view/24364. Acesso em: 29 apr. 2025.

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Articles