Obligation

O · D-tuple component Class
http://proethica.org/ontology/core#Obligation
Class Hierarchy
Definition

A directive information entity (IAO) that specifies a required action or duty of professional conduct, prescribing behavior with a world-to-word direction of fit. An obligation is individuated by the duty it states and the Principle it derives from along the Role-Principle-Obligation chain, not by who bears it on a given occasion or whether it was met, nor by the code provision that states it; it directs a role-bearer's conduct when concretized in a case. This is the O component of the formal specification D=(R,P,O,S,Rs,A,E,Ca,Cs).

A directive information entity expressing required actions or behaviors in professional contexts. Obligations prescribe conduct and, when concretized by an agent, guide compliant behavior. This is the O component of the formal specification D=(R,P,O,S,Rs,A,E,Ca,Cs).

Scope note

The obligation type is defined by the duty it specifies and the Principle it derives from (the R->P->O chain), not by who bears it in a given case or whether it was met, nor by which code provision states it; provision anchoring is carried by the curated nspeReference annotations and the commit-time citesProvision edges, and the obligated party, compliance status, and per-occasion circumstances attach to the case individual and edges, not to the class.

Editor note

Extraction framing: an obligation is a specific duty a role is bound to, not the ethical value it serves (that is the Principle) nor the deed that discharges it (that is the Action). It carries no bearer, and no compliance judgment or per-occasion circumstance (those attach to the case individual via obligatedParty, complianceStatus, and temporalScope). It is materialized along the Role-Principle-Obligation chain, deriving from the Principle it operationalizes (Donohue 2017: obligations as directive information entities issued with normative authority). obligationType classifies the NSPE category of the obligation, not the deontic relation itself. A must-not or shall-not statement is a Constraint, not an Obligation. Required-ness is the differentia: guidance the source treats as recommended best practice is not an Obligation and routes to the Principle pass. A duty to comply with named requirements is a positive duty and is an Obligation even when the requirements themselves are Constraints.

Definition source
  • Dennis et al. (2016). Formal verification of ethical choices in autonomous systems. Robotics and Autonomous Systems 77: 1-14 (doi:10.1016/j.robot.2015.11.012).
  • Donohue (2017). Toward a BFO-Based Deontic Ontology. Proceedings of the 2nd Workshop on Representing Social and Legal Entities in the Biomedical Domain (SoLe-BD 2017) at ICBO 2017, CEUR Workshop Proceedings 2137.
Mappings & provenance
source
10.1016/j.robot.2015.11.012
source
ceur-ws.org/Vol-2137/ws_SoLe_paper_1.pdf
Properties
Relationships
Asserted object-property edges to other entities. Logical class axioms such as owl:disjointWith are shown separately below.
componentOf D Tuple Framework
Disjoint with
Action, Agent, Capability, Constraint, Event, Principle, Resource, Role, State
From owl:disjointWith and owl:AllDisjointClasses membership; the listed classes are pairwise disjoint with this one.
Property Structure
1 · Object and Data Properties rdfs:domain on this class or ancestor
PropertyRangeDescription
competesWith Obligation Relates an obligation to another obligation with which it stands in normative tension within a case. Symmetric: if O1 competes with O2 then O2 competes with O1. Does not itself specify which obligation prevails; use prevailsOver for the directed resolution.
defeasibleUnder State Relates an obligation to a State whose obtaining renders the obligation defeasible, that is, subject to override by a competing obligation with stronger normative support. The State specifies the context in which the obligation yields.
derivedFromPrinciple Principle Relates an obligation to the principle or principles it operationalizes. The obligation gives concrete directive force to the more abstract value the principle expresses (Dennis et al. 2016).
establishedBy CodeProvision Indicates which code provision establishes this ethical concept.
obligatedParty Agent Relates an Obligation to the Agent that bears it (the by-whom slot of the Richardson 1990 specification scheme, adopted by Dennis et al. 2016). The duty-bearer of the obligation in the case scenario.
prevailsOver Obligation Relates an obligation to another obligation that it defeats under the conditions of the case. The prevailing obligation retains its force; the defeated obligation is subordinated to it. Use together with defeasibleUnder to record the State that licenses the resolution.
requiresCapability Capability Relates an obligation to a capability its discharge presupposes. An obligation can be discharged only by an agent that possesses the required capability, the ought-implies-can principle of deontic logic (Kant's dictum, whose computational analogue Stenseke 2024 develops as moral tractability); in this framework an agent that lacks the required capability leaves the obligation subject to override, recorded via defeasibleUnder.
2 · Definitional Attributes SHACL definitional shape
AttributeProperty (sh:path)Description
obligation typeobligationTypeThe controlled NSPE obligation category, which drives the subClassOf core:Obligation typing: disclosure, safety, competence, confidentiality, reporting, collegial, attribution, legal, ethical.
3 · Bearer Attributes SHACL property shape individual data
AttributeProperty (sh:path)Description
obligation statementobligationStatementThe concrete duty the obligation states (the operative 'shall' clause).
derived from principlederivedFromPrincipleThe principle the obligation derives from, via the O->P derivedFromPrinciple edge (the P side of R->P->O). Range: Principle.
obligated partyobligatedPartyThe agent who bears the obligation, via the obligatedParty edge. Range: Agent.
temporal scopetemporalScopeWhen the obligation is in force (the period or condition of applicability).
compliance statuscomplianceStatusWhether the obligation was met in the case: met, unmet, partial, or unclear.
4 · Referenced By rdfs:range on this class or ancestor
FromPropertyDescription
Action fulfillsObligation Relates an action to obligations it fulfills. The action realizes the directive content of the obligation.
Action raisesObligation Relates an action to an obligation it puts at stake without itself resolving it. The fulfillment or breach occurs at a downstream action in the same chain. This third predicate distinguishes an upstream choice that engages an obligation from the downstream action that satisfies or breaches it; without it the same obligation appears as both fulfilled and violated across adjacent steps.
Action violatesObligation Relates an action to an obligation it breaches. The action fails to realize the directive content of the obligation, the negative counterpart of fulfillsObligation.
Code Provision establishes Relates a code provision to the ethical concepts (principles, obligations, constraints) it establishes or defines.
Obligation competesWith Relates an obligation to another obligation with which it stands in normative tension within a case. Symmetric: if O1 competes with O2 then O2 competes with O1. Does not itself specify which obligation prevails; use prevailsOver for the directed resolution.
Obligation prevailsOver Relates an obligation to another obligation that it defeats under the conditions of the case. The prevailing obligation retains its force; the defeated obligation is subordinated to it. Use together with defeasibleUnder to record the State that licenses the resolution.
Role hasObligation Relates a role to an obligation borne in that standing. The Role-wide domain enables the edge for any role without committing existence; obligation-generation is axiomatized on proeth:ProfessionalRole (subClassOf hasObligation some Obligation) in the intermediate layer, and a participant role may bear case-asserted obligations without profession-generated ones.
State activatesObligation Relates a State to an Obligation that the obtaining of the State makes applicable. This is the forward, activating complement of defeasibleUnder (which records the State under which an obligation yields): a state such as hazard exposure or an undertaken commitment can bring an obligation into force for the role-bearers it concerns.
Used in cases 119

Case ontologies that instantiate this class or one of its base-ontology descendants. Computed from each individual's type, so the list stays current as cases are extracted. The originating case is shown under Extraction details.

Case 4 Case 5 Case 6 Case 7 Case 8 Case 9 Case 10 Case 11 Case 12 Case 13 Case 14 Case 15 Case 16 Case 17 Case 18 Case 19 Case 20 Case 22 Case 56 Case 57 Case 58 Case 59 Case 60 Case 71 Case 72 Case 73 Case 74 Case 75 Case 76 Case 77 Case 78 Case 79 Case 82 Case 83 Case 84 Case 85 Case 86 Case 87 Case 88 Case 89 Case 90 Case 91 Case 92 Case 93 Case 94 Case 96 Case 97 Case 98 Case 99 Case 100 Case 102 Case 103 Case 104 Case 105 Case 106 Case 107 Case 108 Case 109 Case 110 Case 111 Case 112 Case 113 Case 114 Case 116 Case 117 Case 118 Case 120 Case 121 Case 123 Case 124 Case 125 Case 126 Case 127 Case 128 Case 129 Case 130 Case 131 Case 132 Case 133 Case 134 Case 135 Case 136 Case 137 Case 139 Case 140 Case 141 Case 142 Case 143 Case 144 Case 145 Case 146 Case 147 Case 148 Case 149 Case 150 Case 151 Case 157 Case 158 Case 160 Case 161 Case 162 Case 163 Case 164 Case 165 Case 166 Case 167 Case 168 Case 169 Case 170 Case 171 Case 172 Case 173 Case 174 Case 175 Case 176 Case 177 Case 178 Case 179 Case 181
@prefix core: <http://proethica.org/ontology/core#> . @prefix dcterms: <http://purl.org/dc/terms/> . @prefix iao: <http://purl.obolibrary.org/obo/IAO_> . @prefix owl: <http://www.w3.org/2002/07/owl#> . @prefix pcsh: <http://proethica.org/shapes/core#> . @prefix proeth: <http://proethica.org/ontology/intermediate#> . @prefix rdfs: <http://www.w3.org/2000/01/rdf-schema#> . @prefix sh: <http://www.w3.org/ns/shacl#> . @prefix skos: <http://www.w3.org/2004/02/skos/core#> . @prefix xsd: <http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#> . pcsh:CaseAnnotationShape a sh:NodeShape ; rdfs:label "Shared per-case annotation schema (all nine components)"@en ; rdfs:comment "The cross-component annotation fields on committed case individuals: proeth:confidence (extraction confidence, decimal; all components except Action, whose Step-3 contract carries no confidence field), proeth:textReferences (verbatim supporting quotes, universal), proeth-prov sourceText (the source snippet, on the Step-1/2 provenance layers; Step-3 A/E individuals ground via textReferences only), and the involvement gloss (proeth:caseInvolvement on role individuals, proeth:caseContext on obligation, capability, and constraint individuals). Values are per-individual; the fields do not individuate any type."@en ; sh:property [ sh:description "Extraction confidence for this individual (0 to 1)." ; sh:name "confidence" ; sh:order 1 ; sh:path proeth:confidence ], [ sh:description "Verbatim case quotes supporting this individual." ; sh:name "text references" ; sh:order 2 ; sh:path proeth:textReferences ], [ sh:description "How this individual figures in the case narrative (role individuals; the same text is routed into rdfs:comment)." ; sh:name "case involvement" ; sh:order 3 ; sh:path proeth:caseInvolvement ], [ sh:description "Grounding context in this case (obligation, capability, and constraint individuals)." ; sh:name "case context" ; sh:order 4 ; sh:path proeth:caseContext ] ; sh:targetClass core:Action, core:Capability, core:Constraint, core:Event, core:Obligation, core:Principle, core:Resource, core:Role, core:State . pcsh:ObligationDefinitionShape a sh:NodeShape ; rdfs:label "Obligation definition schema (type-level, descriptive, field contract)"@en ; rdfs:comment "What individuates an obligation TYPE: its controlled NSPE category, which drives the subClassOf core:Obligation typing. The concrete duty statement and the temporal-scope/compliance-status literals are per-individual, as are the derivedFromPrinciple and obligatedParty edges; all are declared on ObligationPropertyShape, mirroring the Role/Principle Definition/Property split. Descriptive only (no validation result); obligation_type is a routing input, not stored as a literal."@en ; sh:property [ sh:description "The controlled NSPE obligation category, which drives the subClassOf core:Obligation typing: disclosure, safety, competence, confidentiality, reporting, collegial, attribution, legal, ethical." ; sh:name "obligation type" ; sh:order 1 ; sh:path proeth:obligationType ] ; sh:targetClass core:Obligation . pcsh:ObligationPropertyShape a sh:NodeShape ; rdfs:label "Obligation per-case schema (individual data, non-definitional)"@en ; rdfs:comment "What a given obligation INDIVIDUAL is described by in a specific case: the concrete duty it states, the principle it derives from and the party who bears it (both edges), and its temporal scope and compliance status. These do NOT individuate the obligation TYPE (that is ObligationDefinitionShape); their values are per-case, asserted on the individual. Descriptive only."@en ; sh:property [ sh:description "The concrete duty the obligation states (the operative 'shall' clause)." ; sh:name "obligation statement" ; sh:order 1 ; sh:path proeth:obligationStatement ], [ sh:description "The principle the obligation derives from, via the O->P derivedFromPrinciple edge (the P side of R->P->O). Range: Principle." ; sh:name "derived from principle" ; sh:order 2 ; sh:path core:derivedFromPrinciple ], [ sh:description "The agent who bears the obligation, via the obligatedParty edge. Range: Agent." ; sh:name "obligated party" ; sh:order 3 ; sh:path core:obligatedParty ], [ sh:description "When the obligation is in force (the period or condition of applicability)." ; sh:name "temporal scope" ; sh:order 4 ; sh:path proeth:temporalScope ], [ sh:description "Whether the obligation was met in the case: met, unmet, partial, or unclear." ; sh:name "compliance status" ; sh:order 5 ; sh:path proeth:complianceStatus ] ; sh:targetClass core:Obligation . core:Obligation a owl:Class ; rdfs:label "Obligation"@en ; core:componentOf core:DTupleFramework ; core:dtupleComponent "O" ; iao:0000115 "A directive information entity (IAO) that specifies a required action or duty of professional conduct, prescribing behavior with a world-to-word direction of fit. An obligation is individuated by the duty it states and the Principle it derives from along the Role-Principle-Obligation chain, not by who bears it on a given occasion or whether it was met, nor by the code provision that states it; it directs a role-bearer's conduct when concretized in a case. This is the O component of the formal specification D=(R,P,O,S,Rs,A,E,Ca,Cs)."@en ; iao:0000116 "Extraction framing: an obligation is a specific duty a role is bound to, not the ethical value it serves (that is the Principle) nor the deed that discharges it (that is the Action). It carries no bearer, and no compliance judgment or per-occasion circumstance (those attach to the case individual via obligatedParty, complianceStatus, and temporalScope). It is materialized along the Role-Principle-Obligation chain, deriving from the Principle it operationalizes (Donohue 2017: obligations as directive information entities issued with normative authority). obligationType classifies the NSPE category of the obligation, not the deontic relation itself. A must-not or shall-not statement is a Constraint, not an Obligation. Required-ness is the differentia: guidance the source treats as recommended best practice is not an Obligation and routes to the Principle pass. A duty to comply with named requirements is a positive duty and is an Obligation even when the requirements themselves are Constraints."@en ; iao:0000119 "Dennis et al. (2016). Formal verification of ethical choices in autonomous systems. Robotics and Autonomous Systems 77: 1-14 (doi:10.1016/j.robot.2015.11.012).", "Donohue (2017). Toward a BFO-Based Deontic Ontology. Proceedings of the 2nd Workshop on Representing Social and Legal Entities in the Biomedical Domain (SoLe-BD 2017) at ICBO 2017, CEUR Workshop Proceedings 2137." ; dcterms:source <https://ceur-ws.org/Vol-2137/ws_SoLe_paper_1.pdf>, <https://doi.org/10.1016/j.robot.2015.11.012> ; rdfs:comment "A directive information entity expressing required actions or behaviors in professional contexts. Obligations prescribe conduct and, when concretized by an agent, guide compliant behavior. This is the O component of the formal specification D=(R,P,O,S,Rs,A,E,Ca,Cs)."@en ; rdfs:subClassOf iao:0000033 ; skos:changeNote "v2.3.0: Refined from IAO:information content entity to IAO:directive information entity per the Donohue (SoLe-BD 2017, at ICBO) analysis of deontic entities in BFO-aligned ontologies."@en, "v2.9.0: iao:0000115 and skos:scopeNote softened so the obligation type is individuated by the duty it states and the Principle it derives from along the R->P->O chain; provision anchoring is described as the curated nspeReference layer and the commit-time citesProvision edge layer, not as type individuation."@en ; skos:scopeNote "The obligation type is defined by the duty it specifies and the Principle it derives from (the R->P->O chain), not by who bears it in a given case or whether it was met, nor by which code provision states it; provision anchoring is carried by the curated nspeReference annotations and the commit-time citesProvision edges, and the obligated party, compliance status, and per-occasion circumstances attach to the case individual and edges, not to the class."@en .
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proethica-core
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Class
Last Updated
2026-07-07 17:15
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