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I. Introduction
The idea of precommitment (or "self-binding") is very old. Besides the paradigmatic Homeric story of Ulysses and the Sirens, an early discussion occurs in Seneca's On Anger:
[T]he great Julius Caesar . . . exploited his victory in the civil war. Having come upon folders of letters to Gnaeus Pompey from men who appeared to be either on the opposite side or neutral, he burned them. Although his anger was normally moderate, he preferred to avoid the very possibility of it, believing ignorance of a person's misdeeds to be the most gracious form of pardon.1
. . . .
We are faced with a powerful evil, and one most agreeable to us; so long as we are of sound mind and in control of our faculties, we should call upon them for help.... People who cannot carry their wine, and are afraid of being rash or boisterous when drunk, tell their servants to take them away from the party. Those who have experienced their own lack of self-control in sickness give orders that they are not to be obeyed when their health is bad.2
I have not made a systematic search for later occurrences, but my impression is that until the twentieth century the idea of precommitment rarely received systematic discussion. The only theoretical passage I have come across is from Spinoza, who wrote that:
Even kings follow the example of Ulysses; they usually instruct their judges to have no respect for persons in administering justice, not even for the king himself, if by some odd mischance he commands something which they know to contravene established law. For kings are not gods, but men, who are often enchanted by the Sirens' song.3
By contrast, de Tocqueville makes fun of the whole idea when he writes:
A single fact is enough to show that the stage is not very popular in America.
The Americans, whose laws allow the utmost freedom, and even license, of language in other respects, nevertheless subject the drama to a sort of censorship. Plays can only be performed by permission of the municipal authorities. This illustrates how like communities are to individuals: without a thought they give way to their chief passions, and then take great care not to be...