Two Kinds of Supererogation

Nick Küspert

Abstract:

Supererogatory acts are commonly understood as acts that are morally good but not morally required. This understanding of supererogation classifies acts that seem very different—heroic acts on the one end and polite acts on the other—in the same category of moral evaluation. The common explanation for this phenomenon is that such acts differ only in degree, both with respect to their moral value as well as to the non moral value lost. I argue that this explanation is mistaken. Heroic acts and polite acts are not just different in degree, but in kind. The former are properly understood as supererogatory acts beyond duty while the latter are supererogatory acts outwith duty. Supererogation simpliciter is a myth we should do away with.