moral imperative

Definitions

1. 1

   A practice, policy, or state of affairs which is required and justified by the fact that…

   A practice, policy, or state of affairs which is required and justified by the fact that it is morally right.

   • This 60-second commercial, titled The Deficit Trials: 2017 A.D., . . . "expresses a view that budget cuts are a moral imperative."
   • To research a possible link between US bombardment and rates of birth defects and pediatric cancer in Iraq is a moral imperative.
   • Marc Andreessen, the venture capitalist, wrote on Twitter about the accident, with his usual bravado, “Self-driving cars and trucks are a moral imperative.”
2. 2

   An ethical principle or rule which requires and justifies a practice, policy, or state of…

   An ethical principle or rule which requires and justifies a practice, policy, or state of affairs.

   • . . . the Confucian custom of filial piety. This moral imperative requires sons to obey their parents and take care of them during old age.
   • There are no laws about queueing, but there is a powerful moral imperative not to cheat.
   • It is not murderous venom that courses in black veins but loving tolerance for the stranger, which is the central moral imperative of the Gospel.

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