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Full Idea
When a man fulfils a promise because he thinks he ought to do so, it seems clear that he has no thought of its total consequences; he thinks in fact much more of the past than of the future.
Gist of Idea
Promise-keeping is bound by the past, and is not concerned with consequences
Source
W. David Ross (The Right and the Good [1930], §II)
Book Ref
Ross,W.David: 'The Right and the Good' [OUP 1930], p.17
A Reaction
Not entirely true. It is right and good and useful (etc.) to break a minor promise, in order to achieve major good consequences, like saving someone's life. Promises made when drunk should be reconsidered when sober.
| 7 | Surely you don't return a borrowed weapon to a mad friend? [Plato] |
| 7127 | If men are good you should keep promises, but they aren't, so you needn't [Machiavelli] |
| 2374 | In the violent state of nature, the merest suspicion is enough to justify breaking a contract [Hobbes] |
| 22442 | If lies were ever acceptable, with would undermine all duties based on contract [Kant] |
| 5906 | Promise-keeping is bound by the past, and is not concerned with consequences [Ross] |
| 18622 | Promises create a new duty to a particular person; they aren't just a strategy to achieve well-being [Ross] |
| 4252 | Promise keeping increases reliability, by making deliberation focus on something which would be overlooked [Williams,B] |
| 3838 | Promises hold because I give myself a reason, not because it is an institution [Searle] |