Promises - Melanie N.

Promises Like Pie-Crust by Christina Rossetti, in my opinion, was very thought-provoking. It made me question who we are as human beings. Do we have a tendency to lie and be deceiving? Is that why we promise, because we do not believe, because we have had our trust betrayed? Or is it more positive than that? Do we promise because we love, because we want to force ourselves to be there for those we care for?  I personally think that we shouldn't have to promise if we care that deeply about someone. We should trust them and refuse to question their word. But that's not how society works; which is why, I guess, I am more inclined to believe my first theory.

Immanuel Kant, who is one of my favorite philosophers ever, has a theory that is commonly known as the "Categorical Imperative". There are three formulations that Kant bases this idea on. The second, which is my favorite, says that moral beings will treat others as a ends in themselves, not as a means to an end. Basically, this just means that we value the worth of an individual - be friends with someone because you value the friendship, not because they can drive you to a concert. However, I want to focus mainly on the first formulation for this blog post. "Act only according to that maxim whereby you can at the same time will that it should become a universal law." (Immanuel Kant, Groundwork for the Metaphysics of Morals) This basically says that our actions should be controlled only by standards that would make good universal laws. So, if I were to cheat on a game with the four year old that I babysit so that she can win, Kant says that that is bad because if "cheating is good" were a universal law, the world would not be a better place. 


My issue with promises is that they stem from a violation of Kant's first formulation, and they encourage that violation. That's because promises are made because people lie, and promises are broken because people lie. Kant's categorical imperative says that lying is inherently bad because even if I were to lie to a murderer in order to save someone's life, lying as a universal law would still hurt more people - because if everyone lied, we would have no conception of what the truth is. My view on promises is that they are made because too many people lie - it has almost become a universal law. We no longer know what the truth is. Plus, promises are also broken by lies, and most of society has accepted that fact.We lie when we make promises that we can't keep. Is that fair to people? Is that fair to the world? Have we slipped into complacency so that we no longer care about whether or not lying is inherently bad?


People shouldn't have to make promises, because people shouldn't lie. No one would ask for a promise if we knew that no one lied, and no one would need to make a promise if they knew they wouldn't lie. It is a kind gesture to try to make sure that you will absolutely be there for someone, but it shouldn't be necessary.