Book III of the Method of Ethics by Henry Sidgwick explores if lying is morally reprehensible in a society based on a common-sense approach. First Sidgwick established what a promise is and what constitutes breaking a promise. Sidgwick writes, “The promiser is bound to perform what both he and the promisee understood to be undertaken” (Bk. III, Ch. vi, §5). A promise is made between the promiser and a promisee and cannot be broken unless the promisee allowers the promiser out of the promise. For instance, I promise to walk my friend’s dog tomorrow, but something comes up and I can longer walk the dog. If I don’t show up, then I’m breaking a promise. However, if my friend were to call and say that I no longer have to walk the dog, then I’m under no obligation to do so anymore.
Sidgwick also explores what it means to keep a promise to someone who has passed. From the text, Sidgwick does not give a firm answer on if it is okay to not keep a promise to someone who has passed. Personally, I do not think it is required to keep a promise to someone who has died, as long as that promise does not impact anyone else. For instance, if I promised my best friend that I would be their child’s godmother if they passed, then I am under an obligation to be that child’s godmother because the child is still alive and it directly impacts them. On the other hand, if I made a promise to my friend that I wear the color blue every day, then once they pass that promise is not valid anymore.
Section 7 discusses if promises made under false pretenses are still valid. This conversation made me think of the concept of desertion within the military. For instance, is someone able to leave their post if they receive information that they did not have previously? For instance, I had a teacher than enlisted in the army around June 2001 and had no intention of going overseas or fighting in a war. Then, 9/11 happened, and the US engaged in the longest war it has ever fought and is still fighting today. Since the circumstances changed, is that soldier within their right to desert the military and break that promise?
One of the most interesting topics that Sidgwick discusses is the concept of a promise to a given group of people or community. Sidgwick writes, “What duty rests on the promiser of satisfying expectations which he did not intend to create?” (Bk. III, Ch. vi, §9). I found this quote interesting because it tackles some of the issues that the United States, and other counties, are dealing with right now. “We hold these truths to be self-evident that all men are created equal” is the beginning of the Declaration of Independence. Unfortunately, the founders of our nation did not truly mean those words, or at least did not practice them. From the blatant bigotry of America’s past, we now are trying to understand what the founders of America promised. While they might not have intended to end slavery or give women the right to vote, their words have ensured that America must fulfill the promise of its founding.
