The question is under what conditions you can break a pledge, as it’s ambiguous.
I think ‘this pledge no longer accomplishes the underlying goal which motivated my past self to take it’ is a generally acceptable reason, and rightly so. Your past self would have wanted to write in such an exit clause if they had anticipated it (or had the flexibility), so there’s no breakdown in cooperation.
I think I have a model where this makes sense: if you made a promise to another person, that’s essentially an asset they have, and you could trade something they wanted more in exchange for being released from the promise. You view the GWWC pledge as making a promise to your past self and/or the world at large, so if something comes along that is a better trade for the world, you feel free to take it.
Well yes—something that benefits all relevant parties (present self, past self, and the world as a whole your past self cared about) plainly dominates, so a pledge that forces you to do something they all disprefer should be abandoned.
The question is under what conditions you can break a pledge, as it’s ambiguous.
I think ‘this pledge no longer accomplishes the underlying goal which motivated my past self to take it’ is a generally acceptable reason, and rightly so. Your past self would have wanted to write in such an exit clause if they had anticipated it (or had the flexibility), so there’s no breakdown in cooperation.
I think I have a model where this makes sense: if you made a promise to another person, that’s essentially an asset they have, and you could trade something they wanted more in exchange for being released from the promise. You view the GWWC pledge as making a promise to your past self and/or the world at large, so if something comes along that is a better trade for the world, you feel free to take it.
Does that sound right?
Well yes—something that benefits all relevant parties (present self, past self, and the world as a whole your past self cared about) plainly dominates, so a pledge that forces you to do something they all disprefer should be abandoned.