Opening page…
Should you always keep your word?
You made a promise to someone who has since forgotten it, and breaking it would help more people. Nobody would ever know.
Your answer
A little context
You promised to help a friend move on Saturday. On Friday a better invitation arrives, and the friend, you are fairly sure, could manage without you. Nobody would call you a liar. You would still have broken your word.
Nearby questions
- Does nature matter for its own sake?Picture a forest that vanishes without a single person or animal ever noticing or suffering.
- Is it wrong to eat animals?The animal on your plate could feel pain and fear. If you had to kill it yourself, you would find out what you really think.
- Can a deal be unfair if both sides agree to it?A desperate person accepts poverty wages, or sells a kidney, because every other option is worse. They chose it, and it may still be exploitation.
- The coin flipTwo drivers leave the same party equally drunk. A child runs into the road in front of one, who kills the child; the other gets home without hurting anyone. Do they deserve different blame?
- Do the ends justify the means?Sometimes the only way to stop something terrible is to do something terrible yourself. Even then, your hands are not quite clean.
