According to Kant's moral philosophy, categorical imperative involves rational actions that people should do despite any natural desires or inclination that are contrary (Kant, 2017). According to Kant, all the immoral actions including lying are irrational because it violates categorical imperative that requires people to act rationally and observe as if it were a universal law. Lying, according to Kant, is always wrong because it corrupts the essential quality of human beings, that is, dignity. Every person is born with an intrinsic worth of human dignity, and each individual should protect and promote it (Fasoro, 2019). Human dignity is derived from the fact that people are uniquely rational agents who can decide independently, set goals, and guide their conduct and action based on reasons. Lying compromises personal moral worth and robs other people's freedom to make their rational choices harming their dignity and autonomy.
Telling lies is also wrong because it treats other people who are lied to as means of achieving the purpose of the lie instead of a valuable end in themselves. Treating people as means rather than an end compromises the categorical imperative because it undermines the intrinsic worth of human dignity. Kant also believes that lying is wrong because it cannot be incorporated into the sense of rational universal principle as per categorical imperative. Lying is also not good because it hurts the person being lied to and society in general. The individual receiving lies feel badly treated, deceived, and manipulated, damaging their ability to make free and informed decisions. When people use lies, it also affects the ability of society to accord respect to truth, compromising rational actions among the people. Lying is, therefore, wrong, and people should uphold truth and act rationally to promote human worth and dignity.
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Kant was right that lying is wrong because it affects ethics and moral actions among people. However, in some circumstances, deception seems right, but in reality, it has negative impacts on the dignity of both the liar and the person being lied to. Society can also collapse due to the use of lies because the trust amongst the people will diminish, weaken social cohesion, and truthfulness falls. Lying during a severe threat can seem right, but in reality, it is not. For example, when an individual lies to a terrorist death squad about the whereabouts of the people they are looking for to kill, it can be good because it will help save the lives of the individuals. However, it will be wrong because, in the end, the individual will have broken the rule that lying is wrong.
In a dangerous situation, the primary reason for lying is to get sympathy; if not, something terrible might happen. Lies that people make during serious threats are lightly perceived by people because they prevent more significant harm from occurring, but in the end, the individual will have lied no matter the situation. In the above example, lying is considered the right thing to do because it will help protect the lives of innocent people who would have suffered injustice, prevent irreversible damage, and the good consequences of the lie are much greater than the negative. Saving the lives of innocent people is one of the essential considerations, and it seems to be the right thing to lie and protect them; however, the decision breaks the rule of always telling the truth and promote human dignity as per categorical imperative. Kant is, therefore, right by saying that lying is wrong because it compromises ethics and moral actions among the people. However, lying sometimes seems to be the right thing to do, for instance, when it involves life-threatening circumstances, but in the end, the individual will have broken the rule against telling lies.
References
Fasoro, S. A. (2019). Kant on Human Dignity: Autonomy, Humanity, and Human Rights. Kantian Journal, 38(1) .
Kant, I. (2017). The Good Will and the Categorical Imperative. The European Philosophers from Descartes to Nietzsche , 470-476.
