applied ethics telling lies Flashcards
ACT utilitarians viewpoint of telling lies
-telling lie depends on situation
-if telling lie leads to grater happiness act u say u should.
example: asks “do I look good?” lie and say “yes” bcus telling truth would make other person unhappy.
RULE utilitarian viewpoint of telling lies
NEVER LIE would lead to greater happiness than a rule that allows everyone to lie.
example: if everyone followed act u n always lied than nobody would trust anything anyone said. Rule argues this society would be less happy overall.
kants deotogical ethics and telling lies
point of lie - believe something false.
-if everyone told lies then ppl wouldn’t believe each other.
- kant would argue the maxim “its ok to lie” fails 1st test of categorical imperative bcus it leads to a contradiction in conception.
-if its always acceptable to lie the concept of telling a lie wouldn’t make sense. so according to categorical imperative we have a perfect duty to always tell the truth.
also violates humanity formula of CI.
- to tell a lie is to treat them as a means to an end rather than an end in themselves.
what’s bristles virtue ethics in relation to telling lies?
lying abt oneself: on one side boasting is a vice of excess + on the other false modesty is a vice of deficiency.
telling the truth - i.e. the sincere man is the middle (golden mean) and so is the virtuous action.
A describes degrees to which telling lies is bad: lying to protect ur reputation is not as bad as lying for money.
given this u could say there may situations that lying is acceptable such as the example of saving a life.
what’s bristles quote in his discussion of the social qualities of truth and falsehood
“falsehood is in itself bad and reprehensivable, while the truth is a fine and praiseworthy thing; accordingly, the sincere man, who holds the mean position, is praiseworthy, while both the deceivers r to be censured”
meta ethics and telling lies
(moral realism)
naturalism: “telling lies is wrong’ Is true if telling lies has the natural property of wrongness.
non-naturalism: “telling lies is wrong” is true if telling lies has the non-natural property of wrongness.
meta ethics and telling lies
(moral anti-realism)
error theory: “telling lies is wrong” is false bcus the property of wrongness doesn’t exist.
non-cognitivism:
emotivism: “telling lies is wrong” just means “boo! telling lies” + so is not capable of being true or false.
prescriptivism: “telling lies is wrong” means “don’t tell lies!” + so is not capable of being true or false.
