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Full Idea
If a covenant is made with neither party performing presently, but trust one another, in the condition of mere nature (which is war between men) upon reasonable suspicion, it is void.
Gist of Idea
In the violent state of nature, the merest suspicion is enough to justify breaking a contract
Source
Thomas Hobbes (Leviathan [1651], 1.14)
Book Ref
Hobbes,Thomas: 'Leviathan', ed/tr. Macpherson,C.B. [Penguin 1981], p.196
| 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] |