Promise / Commitment (admissible Reg_C-update)
A promise, in the τ-framework, is the canonical admissible update on the Commitment Register: a τ-categorical performative morphism that adds a directed obligation-edge to Reg_C and is well-typed iff it satisfies the four admissibility conditions (authority, sincerity, capacity, conventional procedure). Promise is the linguistic entry-point of Reg_C — pragmatics' rendezvous with metaphysics.
τ-Definition
A promise, in the τ-framework, is the canonical admissible update on the Commitment Register: a τ-categorical performative morphism that adds a directed obligation-edge to Reg_C and is well-typed iff it satisfies the four admissibility conditions (authority, sincerity, capacity, conventional procedure). Promise is the linguistic entry-point of Reg_C — pragmatics' rendezvous with metaphysics.
Categorical invariant. Π = the morphism U_promise : Reg_C → Reg_C that, given context c satisfying Admissibility(c), inserts an obligation-edge from speaker to specified action; ill-formed contexts make U_promise undefined (Austin-infelicity) rather than false.
Primary registry anchor:
VII.D72
τ-Derivation Chain
-
I.K0— Universe Postulate -
VII.D04— Commitment Register Reg_C with codomain Stance -
VII.D54— Pragmatic Update Operator — the speech-act level functor -
VII.D72— Commitment Register Admissibility — the four conditions making promise well-typed -
VII.D67— Fairness Protocol — promise's content must additionally pass CI
Phenomenological Correlate
A promise is instantiated whenever a performative speech act inserts an obligation-edge into the commitment register, well-typed by authority, sincerity, capacity, and convention. Examples: ordinary 'I promise', wedding vows, contract signature, hippocratic oath, judicial oath, codified treaty obligations.
Examples:
- Ordinary 'I promise to return the book' — minimal Π, Austin's archetype
- Wedding vows — Π under solemn-convention sub-protocol
- Contract signature — Π with written-form admissibility witness
- Hippocratic oath / professional codes — Π entering a corporate Reg_C
- Judicial oath — Π installing accountability before testimony
- Treaty ratification — Π at state-level on the international Reg_C
- Software-license acceptance — Π with click-through admissibility (legally contested edge cases)
Register codomain: Stance (Reg_C — promise is the canonical insertion morphism that adds an obligation-edge; lives in Reg_C and is gated by VII.D72 admissibility)
Manuscript reference: manuscript-sources/book-07/part05/ch60.tex
Lean Coverage
Status: Planned