Obligation of Gift Giving

Release Date: December 23, 2022

Is it really the thought that counts? How often do you expect something in return? Does a gift require reciprocation?

DISCLAIMER: Some hard and difficult topics. If you are easily offended, this may not be for you. There are sometimes some hard topics and hard truths, and if you are not ready for it, i suggest maybe to revisit at a later time when you do feel more prepared.

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Welcome to Eclipsed Views where we see what it would take to change our views. This is for self-help through Kaizen, a Japanese term for improvement in small increments.

DISCLAIMER: Some hard and difficult topics. If you are easily offended, this may not be for you. There are sometimes some hard topics and hard truths, and if you are not ready for it, i suggest maybe to revisit at a later time when you do feel more prepared.

Introduce

Guests: Enrique Ponce and Candice Sierra

We are citizens, colleagues, professionals, consumers, friends, family-members, teachers, learners, human beings.

Street Epistemology - Socratic Questioning

• How did you come to that stance?

• Are those reasons legitimate enough to continue to hold that stance?

Conjecture - Forming an opinion based on incomplete information.

How do you know when you have enough evidence to form an opinion?

Topic - Obligation of Gift Giving

Scenario - Scale from 1-100.

State your position. At the end we come back and see if the needle moved at all.

1. You are going to a family gathering. As the years go by, the “kids” are growing up and getting boyfriends and girlfriends. On a scale of 1-100 how likely are you to get a gift for the new boyfriend/girlfriend. 0- not at all and 100 very likely

   • Candice - 80/70

   • Kique - 40/20

   • Vero - 10/40

   • Sal - 10/15

2. You are working with an intern at work, and they just gave you a gift. You weren’t planning on getting them anything. How likely are you to give them a gift back?

   • Candice - 101/99

   • Kique - 5/5

   • Vero - 100/90

   • Sal - 10/20

3. You have a decent sized family with a lot of kids, cousins, etc. You got a little something for everyone, but you didn’t get a single gift from anybody. Gift giving is not supposed to be about reciprocity. On a scale of 1-100 how much does this affect you. 0 not at all 100 very much so.

   • Candice - 0/40

   • Kique - 0/5

   • Vero - 60/60

   • Sal - 25/25

Questions to think about?

1. Define:

Obligation: to bind legally or morally

Gift: something voluntarily transferred by one person to another without compensation

1. What are your thoughts on this topic?

2. What should be the criteria for someone to make your list? Money vs no money.

3. You are the boyfriend/Girlfriend that does not get anything because the family barely knows you.

4. Don’t buy me anything…

5. The thought that counts? Bad gift vs the thought?

6. Relief from not getting a gift.

7. Getting rid of a gift.

8. Measuring the gift in hours you work.

9. Couples? Kids Gifts? One of the kids you don’t like…

10. People who expect a gift…

11. Rekindling friendships during Christmas because of a gift

12. How did you come to that stance?

13. Conjecture. How do you know when you have enough evidence to form an opinion?

14. How aware are you of your biases when forming opinions?

15. What is blocking your view? What is keeping you from changing your mind?

What about you? What are your thoughts? Let us know.

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