Why shouldn’t you lie to the future murderer of your children?

Is it right to lie to the murderer?

Because lying is not a universalizable maxim, Kant is seen as saying, lying to the murderer is a crime. And of course, it is continued, this must mean not only that one cannot lie to a run of the mill murderer at the door, but also not to the worst of murderers, such as the Nazis.

What does Kant say you should in the AXE murderer situation?

One cannot lie to one’s friend (saying that one will lie to the murderer), tell the truth to the murderer (about the friend’s location) and then claim that because one told the truth to the murderer, one is not legally responsible for the bad consequences of the lie to one’s friend.

Is it morally acceptable to lie?

Utilitarians base their reasoning on the claim that actions, including lying, are morally acceptable when the resulting consequences maximize benefit or minimize harm. A lie, therefore, is not always immoral; in fact, when lying is necessary to maximize benefit or minimize harm, it may be immoral not to lie.

Why is it wrong to lie?

Lying is bad because a generally truthful world is a good thing: lying diminishes trust between human beings: if people generally didn’t tell the truth, life would become very difficult, as nobody could be trusted and nothing you heard or read could be trusted – you would have to find everything out for yourself.

What does Kant say about lying to a murderer?

Against Constant’s interpretation of Kant’s position, Kant denies that lying to the murderer is to commit a crime against the murderer. Indeed, because the murderer does not have a right to your information, he actually wrongs you by threatening you into telling the truth.

What is the lying promise?

Kant’s second example about keeping promises (the lying promise) involves borrowing money and promising to pay it back even though one knows one can never do so (Kant in Solomon and Martin, 291 )

What does the Bible say about lies?

Passages in the Bible deal with God’s concern about lying as found in Proverbs 12:22 — “The Lord detests lying lips, but he delights in people who are trustworthy” — and in Proverbs 25:1: “Telling lies about others is as harmful as hitting them with an ax, wounding them with a sword, or shooting them with a sharp arrow …

What are the consequences of lying?

The consequences of lying are not as simple as they might seem. People often think that lies breed contempt and guilt, but they do much more. They foster relationships, build trust, destroy social networks, create social networks, make people more creative, and influence how often other people lie.

What are good reasons to lie?

  • Avoiding Punishment. “I thought I was only going 55 miles an hour officer” claims the driver speeding at 70 mph. …
  • Concealing Reward or Benefit. …
  • Protecting Someone from Harm. …
  • Self-Protection. …
  • Maintaining Privacy. …
  • The Thrill of it All! …
  • Avoiding Embarrassment. …
  • Being Polite.
  • What does virtue ethics say about lying?

    For Aristotle’s virtue ethics, lying is clearly not a virtue; honesty is. But things are more complex. Overdoing honesty to the point where it becomes harmful to the honest person as well as to others is not a good course of action either.

    What is Kant main philosophy?

    His moral philosophy is a philosophy of freedom. Without human freedom, thought Kant, moral appraisal and moral responsibility would be impossible. Kant believes that if a person could not act otherwise, then his or her act can have no moral worth.

    Does Kant believe God?

    In a work published the year he died, Kant analyzes the core of his theological doctrine into three articles of faith: (1) he believes in one God, who is the causal source of all good in the world; (2) he believes in the possibility of harmonizing God’s purposes with our greatest good; and (3) he believes in human …

    What did John Locke believe?

    In political theory, or political philosophy, John Locke refuted the theory of the divine right of kings and argued that all persons are endowed with natural rights to life, liberty, and property and that rulers who fail to protect those rights may be removed by the people, by force if necessary.

    What is Kant’s universal law?

    One of Kant’s categorical imperatives is the universalizability principle, in which one should “act only in accordance with that maxim through which you can at the same time will that it become a universal law.” In lay terms, this simply means that if you do an action, then everyone else should also be able to do it.

    What is legal not always moral?

    Sometimes if something is legal, it is not always moral, in fact, there are many things in which this is true. For example, if someone wants an abortion, they have a right to because it is legal. However, this doesn’t mean it is the right or moral thing to do.

    What does it mean to treat someone as an end?

    To treat someone as an end in him or herself requires in the first place that one not use him or her as mere means, that one respect each as a rational person with his or her own maxims. But beyond that, one may also seek to foster others’ plans and maxims by sharing some of their ends.