Lying

• situation examples against

  syphilitic fiance marrying an innocent girl, where the doctor is sworn to secrecy by doctor patient confidentiality. It's agapeic to tell the truth.
• situation ethics examples for

  sending the female agents back to Germany to certain death to maintain the secret that the allies cracked the enigma codes
• situation ethics examples for

  nurse lying to her schizophrenic patients to calm them
• situation ethics examples for

  the mean ww1 nurse who acts rude to her patients so they can recover quicker because they want to get away from her
• Natural Moral Law- Primary Precepts

  violates live peacefully in an ordered society and worship god
• Natural Moral Law- secondary precept

  lying is wrong because a society cannot be ordered if people habitually lie to each other, which goes against live peacefully in an ordered society
• Natural Moral Law- Secondary Precept

  lying is wrong because it goes against the worship god precept, in scripture like The Ninth Commandment is found in exodus: “You shall not bear false witness against your neighbour.”
• Natural Moral Law- Catholic Church


  says it's a direct offense to the truth, which other people have the right to. it offends against the relation of man and his word to the Lord.
• Natural Moral Law- Aquinas


  • says lying is wrong since its an unnatural failure to represent what is in your mind
  • "every lie is a sin" in Summa Theologica
  • you can steal to save a life but you cannot lie or "not allowed to make use of anything inordinate in order to ward of injury or defects" instead you must use misleading truths
• Natural Moral Law- Aquinas

  • "hide the truth prudently, by keeping it back"
  • arguably necessary lives like not telling Kant's mad axeman where somebody is can be worked around with misleading truths like telling them you saw them somewhere else an hour ago, although it may not be as simple for other examples like hiding Jewish people in your attic
• Natural Moral Law- objections


  what about accidental lies that come from false memories. can natural moral law account for more complicated situations like that without giving the wrong answer?
• Natural Moral Law- objections


  what about arguably necessary lies, or situation where not lying will result in another precept being broken like Kant's mad axeman?
• Natural Moral Law- objections

  misleading truths might not be as effective in practise as Aquinas makes them out to be, Jews in the attic example to demonstrate this
• Natural Moral Law- objections

  there is a strange inconsistency between lying and stealing when lying is said to be worse despite stealing being an active, arguably greater evil.

  the response here is Aquinas' idea that his exception of stealing to save a life is not "properly speaking theft or robbery"
• Natural Moral Law- objections


  a world with absolutely no lying may be a worse / meaner world, we tend to tell little white lies to protect people's feelings, society could fall apart without those types of lies.
• Natural Moral Law- doctrine of double effect


  cant really be used to justify lying, even a necessary lie, since it woul dstill be a bad means for a good end which isn't allowed.
• Natural Moral Law- proportionalism


  could be employed to permit necessary lies where the value of saving an innocent life outweighs the disvalue of the negatively effecting society and going against god (the unnecessary precept)
• situation ethics example


  the Kantian mad axeman example is definitely approved by situation ethics, personal putting a person over not lying, positive, pragmatic way to save a life and relative. the only snag is love has no favourites but that doesn't mean you can't do something for someone you like, just don't do stuff because of that and neglect strangers
• Virtue Ethics- which virtues apply?

  concerns virtues of honesty and truthfulness which forbid lying as well as the courage to tell the truth and justice in admitting fault.
• Virtue Ethics- habit forming behaviour

  
  

  • telling the truth is good habit forming behaviour, lying is bad habit forming behaviour. Harps on the idea that a society of habitual liars is doomed.
  • good habits benefit society, admitting to fault like damaging property, standing in court truthfully etc all depend on truthfulness. the virtues are supposed to come together to form a synergy producing a greater outcome for society
• Virtue Ethics- Aristotle

  "what is false is based on the blameworthy, whereas what is true is noble and praiseworthy", aristotle seems to personally denounce lying
• Virtue Ethics- truthfulness


  truthfulness concerns self expression in social situations: boastfulness is the vice of excess and self-deprecation the deficiency. the golden mean is a "plain dealer" who neither exaggerates or diminishes themselves
• Virtue Ethics applied to examples


  • female agents: virtue of honesty says tell the truth, especially since its life or death but the lie could be virtuous because of all the potential suffering and death it would prevent on a societal level
• Virtue Ethics applied to examples

  in the Kant mad axeman example one might point to how virtue ethics concerns friendship, loyalty and honour towards you friend. if you have a atruthful character who is in the habi tof telling the truth, then one lie is justified and because the virtuaous mean in a asituation. expressing practical wisdom and loyalty even if theyre a stranger youd express compassion