I disagree with Immanuel Kant on “lying is never under any circumstances permissible.” Lying in normal circumstances is unethical people who lie, are after benefiting themselves or avoiding taking responsibility for their actions. Lies should be discouraged at all situations, and it would even be wise to champion for honesty and transparency virtues among children from an early age to develop knowledge that it is wrong to lie (Editorial Board, 2015). Lying to cover up some mistakes should even be punishable by the law, for instance in schools, or other organizations, as it leads to breaking the guidelines on how things should be done.
There are situations where lying can be considered right. A woman suffering from high blood pressure and it is feared that any bad news would result in death. The nurses decide to tell that woman that after giving birth, the child was taken to nursery baby unit, till she recovers completely. If the woman was told that her child died during childbirth that would have made her blood pressure worse and would have died immediately. However, delaying the news till the blood pressure was regulated and the woman was prepared psychologically for the news was the right thing to do. Her life was important, and she deserved to live despite losing her child.
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Ethics guides a person by telling the truth or a lie. In a situation where an individual is about to lie, it is essential to weigh the advantages and disadvantages and determine whether it is morally right or wrong. Living in a world with no lies whatsoever would be unbearable. Lying at times helps hide things that would destroy the lives of people.
Reference
Editorial Board (2015). A Basic Introduction to Philosophy. Words of Wisdom, LLC — Schaumburg, IL. https://ebooksbvd.my-education-connection.com/read/9781943926015/9781943926015_1_xhtml
Responses
Hello Valerie,
I enjoyed reading your post, and I agree with you that people have a moral duty they should fulfill according to Categorical Imperative as established by Kant. People are warned against cleating and lying because it is unethical. However, in most cases, when an individual lie, it is mainly to serve their interests. Mostly it is thought that since other individuals will not know about the lie, then it is not immoral. It is wrong considering that serving personal interests may end up hurting another person (Mill, 2016). There are, however, specific situations where lying would be encouraged if it would end up saving or helping another person. Such situations are limited. Being honest and telling the truth should be virtues passed to young ones from an early age so that they can grow up knowing that it is wrong to lie.
Reference
Mill, J. S. (2016). Utilitarianism. In Seven masterpieces of philosophy (pp. 337-383). Routledge.
Hello Iliana,
I agree with you that morality is determined by the benefits of the consequences. Lying, for instance, can be wrong if it causes harm to other people, but if used for the goof of an individual, it is considered ethically right. Honesty is a virtue that most people do not possess and prefer to lie and hide their actions as long as they end up benefiting from it (Mill, 2016). When a person is planning to tell a lie, it is essential to balance the merits and demits. Lies should not be used for personal interests as that would create a world where some people will end up suffering in most cases instead of benefiting.
Reference
Mill, J. S. (2016). Utilitarianism. In Seven masterpieces of philosophy (pp. 337-383). Routledge.
