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Chapter Five: Promise as Practice
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CHAPTER FIVE Promise as Practice Not only rules, but also examples are needed for establishing a practice. Our rules leave loop-holes open, and the practice has to speak for itself. LUDWIG WITTGENSTEIN, On Certainty The truth in questions about action is judged from what we do and how we live, since these are what controllthe answers to such questions). Hence we ought to examine what has been said by applying it to what we do and how we live; and if it harmonizes with what we do, we should accept it, but if it conflicts we should count it Imere) words. ARISTOTLE, Nicomachean Ethics All people of broad, strong sense have an instinctive repugnance to the man of maxims; because such people early discern that the mysterious complexity of our life is not to be embraced by maxims, and that to lace ourselves up in formulas of that sort is to repress all the divine promptings and inspirations that spring from growing insight and sympathy. And the man of maxims is the popular representative of the minds that are guided in their moral judgment solely by general rules, thinking that these will lead them to justice by a ready-made patent method, without the trouble of exerting patience, discrimination, impartiality-without any care to assure themselves whether they have the insight that comes from a hardly-earned estimate of temptation, or from a life vivid and intense enough to have created a wide fellow-feeling with all that is human. GEORGE ELIOT, The Mill on the Floss Characteristics of a Practice H aving outlined a theory of practice, it is time to address the questions of whether promise is describable as a practice and whether the practice approach to promise is superior to the alternatives canvassed in earlier chapters. I begin by showing how promise fits into a practice 190 Copyrighted Material Promise as Practice framework and then argue that this approach avoids the many criticisms leveled at alternative approaches. In short, I claim that a practice approach of promise is not only possible but preferable to these other alternatives. Recognized Conventional Behavior A practice was described as, among other things, recognized, conventional behavior that takes place between two or more people. It is, I believe, uncontroversial to say that promising is a recognized, conventional human behavior engaged in by large numbers of people. Most people are aware of when they are promising to others and when others are promising to them. Promising is a practice we use to commit ourselves to a future act and the practice on which we rely to have our future actions coincide with another's. The most obvious cue that one is engaged in this practice is the speech act "I promise ." When said in the proper contexts, this speech act commits the speaker to a future act. But any number of other communication acts are equally successful. A promisor might use no words at all, implying by her silence or a nod of the head or a wave of the hand that she is promising. A promisee can accept a promise in similar ways. Steve's promise to Moya and her acceptance of it was probably done in this way. Indeed, a number of the promises described in Chapter One would qualify as informal promises. My students claim that such phrases as "no doubt," "definitely," and "no problem" function, in the appropriate circumstances, as informal promises . In each case, a proficient practitioner interprets words or nonverbal signs to indicate that a promise has been made. Though promising is recognized as a practice, its identifiable cues are subject to interpretation. For some, the practice is recognized by what someone does not say or by body lan191 Copyrighted Material [44.222.212.138] Project MUSE (2024-03-29 02:22 GMT) CHAPTER FIVE guagej for others, promising occurs only in those situations where the speech act "I promise" is used. There are long-term and short-term promises, solemn and lighthearted promises, unilateral gratuitous promises, mutual executory promises, promises between individuals, and promises between groups. Some promises are formalized in written contractsj others occur without words. New words or gestures can become identified with promising while old words and gestures lose their meaning. Like any practice, promise is a variable one.I Spontaneous Order A practice arises spontaneously when there occur together in a form of life constraining conditions that a practice is capable of overcoming and enabling conditions or dispositions that make the...