Abstract

After noting that joint commitments can be made gradually and by more subtle means than those constitutive of agreements and promises, and that they may obtain in large populations spread over great distances, this chapter argues that many central social phenomena other than agreements and promises are constituted by joint commitments with associated demand-rights and directed obligations. These phenomena range from the instantaneous occurrence of “mutual recognition” between two people in close proximity to large, enduring social groups. They include shared intentions or plans, doing things together, and collective attitudes such as collective value judgments. It is argued also that a particular kind of joint commitment offers an intelligible ground for command authority. Thus, should joint commitment be the only source of demand-rights, such rights will still be ubiquitous in human lives.

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