Moral Complexity in the Making and Keeping of Promises Essay examples -

The fashioning of a expect involves the voluntary giving of ones word that, if and when a incident circumstance or speckle comes ab turn out, one will adopt to act in a style defined by the foothold of the promise one has given over. The act of making the promise, in other words, implies a willingness to entertain it. What is organism agreed is that, on the basis of something said in the past, ones prospective actions will, insofar as the future is foreseeable, follow a particular course and no other. On the related, scarce rather different motion of the motivation involved in substantiateing a promise, it whitethorn be that the promise-makers acting or deciding in a particular mien places him in a position same to or in write out sympathy with the person to whom the promise has been made. Equally, it is, feasible that events may turn out in such a direction as to suggest that to keep the promise would be harmful to the pastime of the person to whom it was made. S hould this dilemma arise, whether or not the promise is kept must depend upon the particular batch of the case. Choosing not to keep a promise in such a situation would be not a demonstration of the promisers inability to keep his word, but a clear peculiarity of his quite proper sentiency that, in deciding what course to take, the promiser has quite properly cerebrate that the interest of others must be move before his own. This situation is philosophically interesting in two promptly apparent shipway firstly, because of the questions which it raises concerning the ways in which a present or future obligation world power be argued to exist in intercourse to a promise given in the past secondly, because it is possible to intend a society in which the concept of belongings promises does not exist, s... ... that of being possible beneficiaries by my action. They do stand in this sexual affinity to me, and this relation is morally significant. But they may also stand to me in the relation of promisee to promiser, of creditor to debtor, of wife to husband, of child to parent, of agonist to friend, of fellow countryman to fellow countryman, and the worry and each of these relations is the radical of a prima facie duty, which is more or less incumbent on me according to the circumstances of the case. Bibliography Foot, Philippa (ed.) Theories of Ethics Oxford University Press, 1990 Honderich, Ted (ed.) The Oxford ally to Philosophy Oxford University Press, 1995 Mackie, J. L. Ethics Inventing respectable and Wrong Penguin, 1977 Norman, Richard The Moral Philosophers Oxford University Press, 1983 Ross, W. D. The Right and the nifty London, 1930. Moral Complexity in the Making and Keeping of Promises Essay examples -The making of a promise involves the voluntary giving of ones word that, if and when a particular circumstance or situation comes about, one will undertake to act in a manner defined by the terms of the promise one has given. The act of making the promise, in other words, implies a willingness to keep it. What is being agreed is that, on the basis of something said in the past, ones future actions will, insofar as the future is foreseeable, follow a particular course and no other. On the related, but rather different question of the motivation involved in keeping a promise, it may be that the promise-makers acting or deciding in a particular way places him in a position identical to or in complete sympathy with the person to whom the promise has been made. Equally, it is, possible that events may turn out in such a way as to suggest that to keep the promise would be harmful to the interest of the person to whom it was made. Should this dilemma arise, whether or not the promise is kept must depend upon the particular circumstances of the case. Choosing not to keep a promise in such a situation would be not a demonstration of the promisers inability to keep his word, but a clear indication of his qu ite proper awareness that, in deciding what course to take, the promiser has quite properly concluded that the interest of others must be placed before his own. This situation is philosophically interesting in two immediately apparent ways firstly, because of the questions which it raises concerning the ways in which a present or future obligation might be argued to exist in relation to a promise given in the past secondly, because it is possible to imagine a society in which the concept of keeping promises does not exist, s... ... that of being possible beneficiaries by my action. They do stand in this relation to me, and this relation is morally significant. But they may also stand to me in the relation of promisee to promiser, of creditor to debtor, of wife to husband, of child to parent, of friend to friend, of fellow countryman to fellow countryman, and the like and each of these relations is the foundation of a prima facie duty, which is more or less incumbent on me according to the circumstances of the case. Bibliography Foot, Philippa (ed.) Theories of Ethics Oxford University Press, 1990 Honderich, Ted (ed.) The Oxford Companion to Philosophy Oxford University Press, 1995 Mackie, J. L. Ethics Inventing Right and Wrong Penguin, 1977 Norman, Richard The Moral Philosophers Oxford University Press, 1983 Ross, W. D. The Right and the Good London, 1930.