Lesson 9 Flashcards
Lying
Generally speaking most people see lying as in intuitively wrong.
Lying involves hiding the truth and the deception of others.
Arguably it is an action that will not help form a good society
There are a few reasons why lying can become a problem.
Lying for our own benefit.
Lying when it seems to be of benefit for another person.
Lying destabilising society.
Lying for your own benefit
-This example seems to be a bit more clear cut.
-If a wife is engaged in sexual activities outside her marriage and her husband finds a fairly incriminating text message which he confronts her about…
“Who is this? Are you cheating on me?
The only reason to lie is for self benefit and this is wrong.
Lying when it seems to benefit another person
-Corrie Ten Boom example.
-She hid Jews in the 2nd World War and lied to Nazi officials to keep them hidden.
-There seems to be something moral about this lie.
-Indeed CTB received the ‘Righteous Among Nations’ award; a Jewish award for non-Jews who helped Jewish people in WWII.
Destabilising society
- nazi propaganda
-how they depicted Jews
Fromm
-correlations here with Fromm
-he narrowly escaped the Nazis himself and Nazi propaganda and the holocaust are an example of where an ‘authoritarian conscience’ can lead.
-The Nazis lies created a scapegoat for the ‘German people’.
-It wasn’t their fault; it wasn’t their government’s fault; it was the Jews fault!
Fromm - manipulated mass
-For Fromm we are becoming a ‘manipulated mass’ of people and lying is one way of manipulating the masses.
-Fundamentally authority can tell the people whatever they like and it will be followed and obeyed.
-We have become an obedient society.
-‘humanistic conscience’ would most likely dictate that lying is wrong.
-Fromm says humans have lost social contact with each other in capitalist societies and have become ‘emotionally impoverished’.
-In order to re- establish genuine, fruitful relationships requires honest individuals and an honest society.
Aquinas - lying
-It is against reason.
-Synderesis rule tells us we should ‘seek good and avoid evil’.
-Reason tells us lying is a sin.
-Conscience would inform the individual that telling lies/breaking promises is not rational.
-Breaks ‘keep in order in society’ primary precept.
Aquinas - evasive truths
-Aquinas dealt with the problem of exceptional circumstances
-Secondary precepts of NML may apply differently in specific cases.
-Lying is wrong but we can state an evasive truth if reason and our conscience demands it.
-If an axe murderer asks where your friend is who they intend to kill you can respond ‘I saw them yesterday in the city centre’ (even though you know they are hiding in the bedroom and you are well aware the axe murderer is asking for their current whereabouts)
Freud - lying
-Individuals would not lie because of parental commands or other authority figures where lying was prohibited.
-The influence of these commands could be so great the individual will not lie or rarely lie.
-In modern society telling lies is common and so the ‘super-ego’ remains quiet; presumably their parents saw no problem with lying or white lies.
-There is little sense here of the conscience treating lying/breaking promises as a moral issue.
Durkheim - lying
-Telling lies and breaking promises is socially destructive
-Durkheim argues that one who does this will fear sanctions from society, therefore the conscience will warn people prior to this action, stopping them from committing it.
Fromm - lying
-Fromm’s “Authoritarian” conscience would not support lying and breaking promises,
-but the “Humanistic” conscience may in some cases agree with lying and breaking promises if part of a corrupt society (such as Nazi Germany).
Adultery
Adultery is when a married person engages in sexual intercourse with someone who is not their spouse.
Aquinas - adultery
-For Aquinas, reason (conscience) dictated that adultery was wrong.
-The conscience, as the faculty of reason, will speak beforehand and remind a person that adultery goes against the primary precepts (orderly society and reproduction) and Divine Law.
-The conscience can make mistakes (fallible), which is why people might choose to commit adultery – it is not fallible, but humans should try whenever possible to be reasonable.
-Conscience is used beforehand to make a moral decision, but there are times when humans might be wrong, which is why adultery exists.
The use of conscience as reason - Aquinas examples
-A man who decides to go for another man’s wife is wrong. This man is not using reason correctly. He should know the moral law, but he is ignorant of it.
-There will be the case of a man who chooses not to commit adultery. He uses reason correctly and understands that adultery would be breaking the law ordained by God.
-There will be another case though. There could be the man who knows the law and chooses to, say, marry a widow and have sex with her. This man later discovers that the women’s husband is still alive. His conscience cleared him to have sex with her, it saw nothing wrong in it, but was mistaken.
-Aquinas says that while the conscience was mistaken there was no intention to do wrong and no fault in following the conscience in that situation.
