Anonymous 9/6/12

Discuss an experience that raised an ethical question for you.

While I was about to start this assignment, I spent about twenty minutes stressing over the fact that I couldnt think of anything that made me question ethics. I complained to my mother that I couldnt think of anything to say. I then asked her whether I should ask Professor Senechal whether I could make it up. Mom raised her eyebrow. Is that ethical? she asked. Therefore, I am going to write this paper on the ethics of lying (if there are any choose-your-topic essays in this course, Ill write more on this topic). Lying is a perfect example of Aesthetics/Ethics. Many would argue that lying is morally wrong. There are three major schools of thought on this. The first is the perspective of Immanuel Kant, who believed that all lying is morally wrong. Kant believes that all people are born with autonomy and human dignity. Because people change their decisions based on lies, their dignity is lessened and their autonomy is lost. Kant states that, therefore, no lie is a white or compassionate lie, because free will is the most important thing to humans. The second school of thought is utilitarian ethics. This perspective is that lying is not only moral on occasion, it is an obligation to lie when it will serve a greater good (ie. lying to protect someone as opposed to telling the truth and getting them hurt). The third school of thought is the beauty is truth view. This is the perspective most pathological liars havethat the world will be what they want it to be, and that lies are not immoral because they should be true, and therefore are. Personally, I am somewhere between Kant and utilitarian.