Opening page…
Is it ever justifiable to lie?
Kant held that you may not lie even to a murderer asking where your friend is hiding. Most people lie every day to be kind: about the haircut, the gift, the dinner.
Your answer
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A little context
A friend shows you the tattoo they got last week and asks if you like it. The honest answer is no, and saying so would change nothing except their afternoon. Most people would say they love it, and wouldn't count that as a lie worth confessing. The rule against lying has no room for that.
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.
