Stating a reason creates a presumptive commitment to follow it later
Evidence
It is an important consequence of the generality of reasons that a person (or a court) who gives a reason for a decision is typically committed to that reason on future occasions. If I tell a friend that I give money to Oxfam because it helps provide food to starving children in Africa, it is not at all surprising when my friend then asks me whether I will give money to his own pet charity, which also provides food to starving children in Africa. I may at that point be able to draw a distinction-the two organizations might be different in some other respect, or I might just be out of money-but having given the reason in the first “case,” I am at least presumptively committed to following it in subsequent ones. — Frederick Schauer, Thinking Like a Lawyer, 325
Categorization
- XREF: connects to: Self-binding in advance defeats temptation that cannot be resisted at the moment — , A Year of World Stories, 14165; Giving a reason for a decision commits one to a broader rule — Frederick Schauer, Thinking Like a Lawyer, 324; Choosing permanent ink signals a commitment to stand by one’s words — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 60 (+5 more)
Related
- Giving a reason for a decision commits one to a broader rule (similarity 0.79)
Broader Connections
- Choosing permanent ink signals a commitment to stand by one’s words
#exemplifies(0.60) — Hilary Mantel, A Memoir of My Former Self- A Life in…, 60 - Every decision permanently shapes the context of later decisions
#expands(0.40) — Brian Christian, The Alignment Problem, 567 - Ultimate motives work backward to justify immediate actions.
#complicates(0.35) — Janet Burroway; Elizabeth Stuckey-French; Ned Stuckey-French, Writing Fiction, Tenth Edition, 252