Ethics

What is meant by the phrase "owing it to yourself"? How can you "owe" anything to yourself? What "loan" are you repaying when repaying a debt to yourself? Do we, as a matter of fact, ever "owe" anything to ourselves?

Comments

I agree that this is a funny expression. It's not as if I can borrow money from myself and then get in debt to myself. Maybe we just use this expression to say something like: 'This is something you can do, it is perhaps not something you would do as a matter of course, but doing it would be good for you'. If that is roughly the meaning (I doubt that this paraphrase is exactly right), then at least it is not suprising that we came up with a short expression for it!

The expression also raises what is perhaps a deeper philosophical question, which is whether you can have an obligation to yourself. I'm inclined to say that you can have such an obligation, for example that you have an obligation to yourself not to take dangerous drugs, but the question is difficult and controversial.

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