Deception and Self Interest
The local “News and Observer” recently featured an article on lying (“Liar, Liar, Where’s the Fire?”, Jan 29). Faculty of UNC and others working and living in the wider community weighed in on the topic, and a number of themes related to lying were explored. These included evolutionary explanations of lying, lying to spare the feelings of others, ways of teaching children not to lie, and lying in advertising and real estate. Much of this was interesting, but when the question of why a person shouldn’t lie was raised the answer was usually given in terms of self-interest. The reasoning was basically that, in the long run, it is in the individual’s (or the organization’s) best interest to tell the truth. Otherwise one might earn a reputation for lying, which is something that can be harmful in a number of ways. Who would buy a product from an organization with a reputation for deception? Or who would be friends with a person known for his or her dishonesty? And so on.
Arguments that appeal to self-interest in this way to ground moral obligation are interesting, and can help build the case for telling the truth. But they are probably not enough. Missing are reasons to be honest that have nothing to do with self-interest. To be fair, in the article it is never claimed that the only reasons to tell the truth are self-interested in nature, and “unselfish” reasons to be moral are gestured at. But one would understandably get the impression from the article that there are not many compelling reasons to tell the truth apart from those stemming from self-interest. This would be an unfortunate and maybe dangerous way to think of our obligations around truth-telling.
Plato is maybe the first philosopher, at least that we know of, to have addressed the problematic relationship between self-interest and morality. It seemed to Plato that if self-interest provided the only reasons to be moral, then it would very often make sense to be immoral. Why he thought this is simple, and can be applied to the specific case of lying: though telling the truth can give you a good reputation that can be advantageous, sometimes, if you’re sneaky enough, you can lie without harming your reputation. Then you would have a good reputation and whatever else you have gained through deception. This would be the best of both worlds from the standpoint of self-interest!
4 comments:
I think that lying, in any way, is always immoral. Even if you are just trying to make a friend feel better. For example: If your friend asks you if something he/she has done something that looks good, and you say yes even though you don't think so, the friend might be in trouble later on. If you had just told the truth in the beginning the troubled situation which may have occurred later, could have been avoided. I think that if someone does not lie because they do not wish to hurt someone else's feelings, they can tell the truth in a nice way which will not offend the other person. Plato's theory which states that man is innately truthful and strives to be the "perfect image" reflects my idea.
As a side note:
In Judaism/Hebrew theres a phrase "Leshanot lephi shalom",
meaning that the only time you should lie is if telling the truth threatens peace. Its interesting how the verb used is 'change' and not 'lie'.
In the talmud Bayt Shamai and Bayt Hilel have a smilar arguement. In the case of an ugly bride do you lie and tell her she is beautiful or say mazel tov w/o mentioning her looks?
Bayt Shamai insists that you don't mention her looks because we must "stay far from a lie". However, Bayt Hilel claims you must lie and tell the bride she is beautiful in order to maintain peace.
I believe that lying is a very sensitive subject when discussed in terms of ethics and morality. An absolute moralist would argue that a lie, no matter what the outcome or even the intention of the liar is morally wrong and that no one should lie. This is because lies in general cause pain and therefore cannot be deemed as an ethical action. However, a moral relativist would argue, that in some instances a lie might be necessary in order to maintain the peace, or even to alleviate stress from a situation, and therefore could be considered morally correct.
In terms of this discussion, Ashley clearly has an absolutist approach with regards to lying. I am not so sure I agree with this philosophy. I agree with Yael and her point in that lying in some instances might be necessary and can be considered morally correct. For example, a murderous villain had escaped from prison. He approaches me and asks if I know who “John Goldberg” is and where I could find him. He goes on to add, that if he ever were to lay eyes on John again he would kill him. Now, I happen to go to school with John and know exactly where he lives. So what do I do?
If I read Ashley’s comment correctly, she would have me tell the truth and tell this killer where John lives. Unfortunately, I cannot see this as being ethical, in fact I see the very opposite. In order for me to act ethically, I must in fact lie in order to save John and therefore, I think there can be no black and white division when it comes to lying, but rather there are shades of grey and we all must logically figure out when lying is appropriate or not.
I understand the point of view which Sarah was addressing, in the case of John. I agree that in Judiasm this is one of the few times people are allowed to lie. Yet, this allows people to lie under other ethical issues.
In the case of John , it is possible not to lie in this situation. One could say that they do know where John is, but they will not tell the murderer. This would be an altruistic action because you are also putting yourself at risk, but at the same time, not telling a lie.
Lying because someone could be murdered may be a good point, but what about people who lie about their age for discounts with money. Some people may need certain discounts because they are not financially capable of meeting the standards. People should not be allowed to lie in such situations, which im sure one would agree, adresses an ethical issue. If exceptions are allowed, this creates a loophole for other problems. People should strive to tell the truth in a kind way.
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