4.4 commitments

Commitments are one of the two types of obligations: they are obligations that nobody imposes upon us except ourselves. The force of this type of obligation does not originate in anything exterior to us but it originates within ourselves: our beliefs, desires and elections. Other people may influence or try to tell us which are our commitments, but we are free to decide which are our commitments. In summary, commitments are obligations that arise from our own free decisions.

In this section we are going to explore two different kind of reasons why a person may decide to accept a commitment:

1. Sometimes, we accept a commitment as part of a shared project with other persons. Each participant is interested in completing the project, so each participant commits itself to do a part of that project. And we maintain our commitment as long as the other participants maintain theirs. As soon as others do not meet their commitments, we are freed from ours. We may say that we initially accept a commitment because we are interested in completing a project. Later on, we maintain our commitment as long as the other participants maintain theirs.

2. Some other times, we accept a commitment because we think it is the right thing to do. For example, I may accept the commitment of not hunting animals because I think it is wrong to kill animals just for fun. And I may maintain my commitment without taking into account what other people do. I will listen to my moral conscience not to what other people think or do. In this second type of commitments, there is no agreement with other people nor a common interest in completing a specific project. The reason for accepting and maintaining these second type of commitments arise solely from our own moral conscience.

Project commitments and The Golden Rule

Project commitments are based on reciprocity: I will meet my commitment as long as the other parties involved in the project fulfill theirs.

Projects can be something very specific such as cleaning the house or doing school homework. Or they can be something very general such as being polite for having a nice holiday together or paying taxes for having a better country.

This idea of accepting and meeting commitments based on reciprocity is very old and widespread among different cultures: it is called The Golden Rule:

The Golden Rule states that we must treat others in the same way we want to be treated. For this rule to work correctly, we must assume that we all share the same goal, that we are all in the same shared project. In many religions, this shared project is the salvation of the soul. In most cultures, this shared project is based on a common understanding of happiness and what is a good and happy life.

However, in large multicultural and multi-religious societies such as ours, we can't just assume that we all share a common understanding of what a good and happy life is. So we must be careful when applying the Golden Rule to strangers. Other people may not want the same things we want. We better ask them first how they want to be treated instead of assuming that we must treat them in the same way we want to be treated.

• • Should I invite you to a circus with live animals because I like to be invited to circuses with animals? Maybe I should ask you first if you like to see animals performing in the circus.

  • May I refuse to help you with your homework because I do not want to be helped with my homework? Maybe I should ask you first if you want or need my help.