Full Idea
A carefully crafted evasion pays homage to truth-telling in a way that an outright lie does not.
Gist of Idea
Careful evasions of truth at least show respect for it
Source
Michael J. Sandel (Justice: What's the right thing to do? [2009], 05)
Book Reference
Sandel,Michael J.: 'Justice: what's the right thing to do?' [Penguin 2010], p.137
A Reaction
Nicely put. He refers to an incident in Kant's life. I think of the great equivocation controversy at the time of the 1605 Gunpowder Plot. See the porter in Macbeth. All I ask is that people care about the truth. Many people don't. Why?