Abstract
Studies of the practice of promising have concentrated on the reasons for keeping promises. This focuses on promise-making and argues that the making of promises is typically supererogatory. It then addresses the question whether we can promise to perform supererogatory acts. Although once given, the promisor is under an obligation to perform the promised act, there is no paradox in describing the act as supererogatory. The proposed analysis is based on the distinction between the content of the promised act and the deontic status of its performance. In contrast to Jason Kawall and Claire Benn, I propose that there is no difficulty in the idea of promising to supererogate.
Original language | English |
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Title of host publication | Handbook of Supererogation |
Publisher | Springer Nature |
Pages | 221-236 |
Number of pages | 16 |
ISBN (Electronic) | 9789819936335 |
ISBN (Print) | 9789819936328 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - 1 Jan 2023 |
Bibliographical note
Publisher Copyright:© The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023.
Keywords
- Benn
- Individuation of actions
- Kawall
- Promises
- Supererogation