So Close and Yet So Far: Reinach and Gilbert on Promises
Loading...
Files
Published Version
Date
2025-07-20
Authors
Salice, A.
Massin, O.
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Cambridge University Press
Published Version
Abstract
The chapter compares the two remarkably similar and yet importantly different theories of promises, developed by Adolf Reinach and Margaret Gilbert, respectively. Margaret Gilbert claims that promises can be explained in terms of joint commitments borne by the promisor and the promisee to the decision that the promisor will φ. On this view, the promisor’s obligation and the promisee’s claim are grounded in the commitment they have jointly entered. By contrast, Adolf Reinach submits that promises do not have substantial explanation and that they generate promissory obligation and claim in virtue of their nature. By using insights from Reinach’s theory, this paper argues that Gilbert’s account of promises is to be rejected and suggests abandoning the idea that progress in our understanding of promises requires submitting them to substantial explanations. © Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2025.
Description
Publisher Copyright: © Cambridge University Press & Assessment 2025.
Keywords
Adolf Reinach , Joint commitment , Margaret Gilbert , promise , promissory claim , promissory obligation , General Social Sciences
Citation
Salice, A & Massin, O 2025, So Close and Yet So Far: Reinach and Gilbert on Promises. in Reinach and the Foundations of Private Law. Cambridge University Press, pp. 277-304. https://doi.org/10.1017/9781009446013.015
Link to publisher’s version
Collections
Copyright
cc_by_nc