5 ms·

If there are no strings attached.... there's no reason to send the gift.

• mehrdadn 8y ago
  How about as a token of appreciation for their past rather than future behavior?
  • munk-a 8y ago
    By rewarding someone for certain past actions you are definitely influencing what their decision would be in a future similar behavior.
    • mehrdadn 8y ago
      That wasn't the claim or my point. The question was whether there's a reason to send the gift, not whether there might be an undesired side effect.
      • munk-a 8y ago
        I think that's why this is a problem, because reasonable people can absolutely give a gift without needing to get anything back. In western culture in particular, the expectation of getting something back for a gift is considered crass and impolite. In direct contrast to that, it's also often considered crass not to acknowledge a gift with another gift, thanks, or kindness - so western culture is already pretty inconsistent on how we view gifts. Also, my apologies, I actually do agree with you that the vast majority of gifts are given without an expectation of payoff - but crafty people can (and absolutely do in the political setting) abuse this to game the system. My comment was more meant to highlight that gift giving is never a one way street, even if that is the high-minded intent. Aside, to see the inconsistency really well spelled out, look at any tax system that has separate rules for gifts and the qualifications that have been codified to try and prevent the abuse of that system.
• brians 8y ago
  Prayer changes the prayer, not the imagined recipient.