A fundamentalist men's group, the Promise Keepers used to have a bumper sticker that read, "Real men love Jesus." My reply, unfortunately too long for a bumper sticker, was, "Real men don't need Jesus to make them keep their promises." Why keep your promises, even when it is inconvenient for you? Different philosophers would give different answers:
Kant: Because when you keep your promise to someone, you are treating that person as an end in himself or herself, and not merely as a means to be used.
Mill: Because the practice of promise-keeping tends to maximize happiness, that is, to promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.
Aristotle: Because promise-keeping is a virtue that promotes human flourishing.
I am with Aristotle. The reason to keep your promises is that interpersonal trust is a great good and highly conducive to our individual and collective well-being. Why should I care about the well-being of others? Because if I do not, I tacitly give them permission not to care about my well-being. Put another way, if someone declares that my well-being is unimportant to him, what could possibly obligate me to care about his?
Thanks for this. Sharing to the Gulf Coast Freethinkers and Humanists of West Florida.
A fundamentalist men's group, the Promise Keepers used to have a bumper sticker that read, "Real men love Jesus." My reply, unfortunately too long for a bumper sticker, was, "Real men don't need Jesus to make them keep their promises." Why keep your promises, even when it is inconvenient for you? Different philosophers would give different answers:
Kant: Because when you keep your promise to someone, you are treating that person as an end in himself or herself, and not merely as a means to be used.
Mill: Because the practice of promise-keeping tends to maximize happiness, that is, to promote the greatest happiness for the greatest number of people.
Aristotle: Because promise-keeping is a virtue that promotes human flourishing.
I am with Aristotle. The reason to keep your promises is that interpersonal trust is a great good and highly conducive to our individual and collective well-being. Why should I care about the well-being of others? Because if I do not, I tacitly give them permission not to care about my well-being. Put another way, if someone declares that my well-being is unimportant to him, what could possibly obligate me to care about his?