Lieing...?

Question

If a lie accomplishes a moral or ethnical good, is that lie justified?

Answer 1

as long as its for the better.... if the situation is cleared, then you can spill the beans about what you or someone else did.

Answer 2

Yes.

Suppose you were living in Nazi Germany. You are a decent person and a Jew came to your home for shelter from the SS. One day, a Nazi trooper came by and asked if you seen any Jews.

If you lied and said "No", you just saved an innocent person's life.

Thus, lying is indeed justified if and only if the end result was good. The problem is that in most cases you would not know what the end result might be. People cannot predict the future nor do they always know all the relevant facts. By lying, you may actually be gambling that the end result would be good. More often than not, the gamble does not pay off.

And remember, sometimes it isn't the act itself that determines justification; it is the intention.

In the Nazi example above, the intention is to save a person's life. It is not simply for pure personal gain.

Answer 3

Aha! A much better question than that posed above about killing innocent lives to save others.

Lying is not ultimately something that is irreversible. And although it can have far reaching consequences, it is not as bleak as killing someone.

I think it would have to be taken on a case by case basis. In many cases I think it probably would be a good thing. (I ought to point out I try to never lie)

Zombies R Us makes an excellent example. It is the intention that is the important thing here not the lie.

In the same way, you should intend to never break your word. But sometimes you have to recognise that if your word was given without knowing the full extent of what you promised then you might have to go back on it.

Answer 4

Personally, I don't think anything justifies a lie.
If a problem can be fixed by the truth, use that. If it can't, then it needs to be corrected and not lied about.
Lies get bigger, and are usually found out later, making the new situation far worse than the original situation created by the lie.

Answer 5

The problem is that the lie would undermine the self worth and self respect of the one who lied leaving a never-to-heal scar. So the lie is NOT justified on that basis.

Answer 6

It's easy to say that you should never lie but how many lies have been to ease a mind or to stop a fight? Is it better to tell your boss his kids are fine or intolerable monsters? There are reasons to tell somebody something that isn't true. I hate to say it but in the case of honesty, the end does justify the means in some instances.

Answer 7

Eek! Er, well, tough one.

I would say it is defendable or understandable. Justified is a bit trickier.

Classic case: An intruder breaks in. Your friend is cowering in the closet. He is carrying a shotgun, and demands to know if the person is there. You lie and say they are not. He leaves.

Don't know. I would have to say yes, it can be justified in extreme cases. Use sparingly.

-Dio

Answer 8

This would depend on who's doing the lying and if the moral and ethical good is ACTUALLY moral and ethical. It seems different sides have different views on what is moral and what is ethical. Tricky question. You get a star!

Answer 9

Lying is intrinsically evil because it is a perversion of man's faculty of communication whose purpose it is to relate the truth|

Nothing justifies an intrinsic evil (something that stabs at the heart or essence of the good).





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Answer 10

a lie is a lie, says so in the bible. Always tell the truth and people will respect you. And you'll respect yourself. And never have to back peddle again.

Answer 11

Yes, in some situations. It does no one any good to tell someone their *** looks wide in a certain pair of pants, even if they ask you. So you say, sure sweetie, you look fine. It's not the total truth, but she's not hurt, and an ethical "good" occurs.