truth Hurts

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Truth Hurts

In this paper, I shall argue against Kant’s opinion that one should never lie. First I shall present Kant’s argument. Then I will present a weakness in his argument based on the idea that one should not ignore the consequences of one’s actions.There are some recurring terms that may need clarification: When I use the term Categorical Imperative (CI), I mean either the first or third formulation. The First being that “One must act only in a way such that they could will that action’s maxim to become a universal law, and they could still have what they desired” (662). The third formulation being that “One must treat other humans as ends in and of themselves, and never a means to an end”(663). Also, when I use the term “utility”, I mean the ratio of good to bad consequences an action will bring about (Williams 588).

Kant’s opinion that one should not lie comes from the ethical philosophy called Deontology. This philosophy presumes that one should only perform actions that are his duty to perform. How one determines which action falls under his duty is by putting the action to the categorical imperative and see said action passes. Lets say, for instance that a person wondered if they should lie to obtain something they wanted. First that agent would have to make a maxim out of his action, specifically “If I want something, I should lie to obtain it”. The next step is to “make this maxim a universal law of nature”, meaning that one must attempt to imagine a world that in which every single person would have to follow that maxim (FP 662). According to Kant, if every single person in the world lied to get something they wanted, the whole concept of truth would break down. Nobody could obtain what they wanted, because ...

... middle of paper ...

...ant’s philosophy in this case would be associated with madness.

Ultimately, Always telling the truth does keeps one’s hands clean of what may happen if the person the agent lied to does an action based off the lie. However, Kant’s proposition that one should never lie proves itself to be unrealistic in application because it calls for an agent to not take into account the consequences of their actions. By disregarding consequences, an agent is being irresponsible with their choices by potentially causing themselves or others harm.

Works Cited

Bailey, Andrew. First Philosophy: Fundamental Problems and Readings in Philosophy. Peterborough, Ont.: Broadview, 2002. Print.

Langton, Rae. Duty and Desolation. New York: n.p., 1991. Print.

Williams, Bernard. "A Critique of Utilitarianism." Ethics: History, Theory, and Contemporary Issues 3 (2006): 585-601. Print.

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