1. Promising in Law and Morals 1
2. Promising and Natural Law 9
3. Promising and Utilitarianism 29
A Utilitarian Account of Promising 30
The Strength of the Utilitarian Case 45
The Case Against the Utilitarian Account of Promising 48
Promises and Rule Utilitarianism 79
4. Promising and Non-Utilitarian Philosophies 87
Intuitionism 87
Subjectivism 93
Performatives and Promises 99
Promising as a Practice 106
5. The Social Context of Promising 123
6. The Practice of Promising 138
The Strength of the Promise-Keeping Principle 138
Justifications for Promise-Breaking 142
Why are Promises Made and Kept, or Broken? 143
The Intentions of the Promisor 146
Who Makes Promises, to Whom, and Who is Bound by Them? 151
The Content of a Promise 154
How Promises are Made 169
7. Promises and Other Sources of Obligation 177
Promises as Consent 177
Promises as Admissions 184
Mutual Executory Promises 202
Unilateral Gratuitous Promises 212
Index 216