Loyalty

Loyalty, in general use, is a devotion and faithfulness to a nation, cause, philosophy, country, group, or person. Philosophers disagree on what can be an object of loyalty, as some argue that loyalty is strictly interpersonal and only another human being can be the object of loyalty. The definition of loyalty in law and political science is the fidelity of an individual to a nation, either one's nation of birth, or one's declared home nation by oath (naturalization). Classical tragedy is often based on a conflict arising from dual loyalty. Euthyphro, one of Plato's early dialogues, is based on the ethical dilemma arising fromEuthyphro intending to lay manslaughter charges against his own father, who had caused the death of a slave through negligence. In the Gospel of Matthew 6:24, Jesus states, 'No one can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. Ye cannot serve God and mammon'. This relates to the authority of a master over his servants (as per Ephesians 6:5), who, according to Biblical law, owe undivided loyalty to their master (as per Leviticus 25:44–46).On the other hand, the 'Render unto Caesar' of the synoptic gospels acknowledges the possibility of distinct loyalties (secular and religious) without conflict, but if loyalty to man conflicts with loyalty to God, the latter takes precedence. The Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition defines loyalty as 'allegiance to the sovereign or established government of one's country' and also 'personal devotion and reverence to the sovereign and royal family'. It traces the word 'loyalty' to the 15th century, noting that then it primarily referred to fidelity in service, in love, or to an oath that one has made. The meaning that the Britannica gives as primary, it attributes to a shift during the 16th century, noting that the origin of the word is in the Old French 'loialte', that is in turn rooted in the Latin 'lex', meaning 'law'. One who is loyal, in the feudal sense of fealty, is one who is lawful (as opposed to an outlaw), who has full legal rights as a consequence of faithful allegiance to a feudal lord. Hence the 1911 Britannica derived its (early 20th century) primary meaning of loyalty to a monarch. (Zhong) Often cited as one of the many virtues of Confucianism, meaning to do the best you can do for others. 'Loyalty' is the most important and frequently emphasized virtue in Bushido. In combination with six other virtues, which are Righteousness (義 gi?), Courage (勇 yū?), Benevolence, (仁 jin?), Respect (礼 rei?), Sincerity (誠 makoto?), and Honour (名誉 meiyo?), it formed the Bushido code: 'It is somehow implanted in their chromosomal makeup to be loyal'. Josiah Royce presented a different definition of the concept in his 1908 book The Philosophy of Loyalty. According to Royce, loyalty is a virtue, indeed a primary virtue, 'the heart of all the virtues, the central duty amongst all the duties'. Royce presents loyalty, which he defines at length, as the basic moral principle from which all other principles can be derived. The short definition that he gives of the idea is that loyalty is 'the willing and practical and thoroughgoing devotion of a person to a cause'. Loyalty is thoroughgoing in that it is not merely a casual interest but a wholehearted commitment to a cause. Royce's view of loyalty was challenged by Ladd in the article on 'Loyalty' in the first edition of the Macmillan Encyclopedia of Philosophy (1967).