Single Idea 22441

[catalogued under 23. Ethics / D. Deontological Ethics / 2. Duty]

Full Idea

If you have by a lie prevented someone bent on murder from committing the deed, then you are legally accountable for all the consequences that might arise from it. But if you keep strictly to the truth, then public justice can hold nothing against you.

Gist of Idea

The law will protect you if you tell a truth which results in murder

Source

Immanuel Kant (On a supposed right to lie [1797], p.29)

Book Reference

'Deontology', ed/tr. Darwall,Stephen [Blackwell 2003], p.29


A Reaction

Shocking, from a supposedly great thinker. Cowardly hiding behind a perverse law. What would Kant do if the law were changed, to condemn someone who told a truth which would probably lead to a murder? Would he accept a jail sentence?

Related Idea

Idea 22440 Unconditional truth-telling makes a society impossible [Constant]