Suchergebnisse

This work argues that being bound by a social convention can be valuable for its own sake. People need meaning in their lives, and conventions infuse our acts and attitudes with significance, rendering them right or wrong. Such rules bind us not just in virtue of their usefulness but also because their absence would impoverish our social world.

Do we control what we believe? Are we responsible for what we believe? In a series of ten essays David Owens explores various different forms of control we might have over belief, and the different forms of responsibility these forms of control generate.

Introduction -- pt. I. Interests. Blame and guilt -- Wronging -- Obligation -- Obligation and involvement -- pt. II. Powers. The problem with promising -- The promissory interest -- The possibility of consent -- pt. III. Practices. What is a promise? -- The promissory bond -- Which promises bind? -- Conclusion