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Single Idea 21033

[filed under theme 3. Truth / A. Truth Problems / 3. Value of Truth ]

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 Ref

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?

The 19 ideas from 'Justice: What's the right thing to do?'

21028 We can approach justice through welfare, or freedom, or virtue [Sandel]
21027 Justice concerns how a society distributes what it prizes - wealth, rights, power and honours [Sandel]
21032 Speak truth only to those who deserve the truth [Sandel]
21033 Careful evasions of truth at least show respect for it [Sandel]
21030 The categorical imperative is not the Golden Rule, which concerns contingent desires [Sandel]
21031 Man cannot dispose of himself, because he is not a thing to be owned [Sandel]
21034 A just constitution harmonises the different freedoms [Sandel]
21035 Just visiting (and using roads) is hardly ratifying the Constitution [Sandel]
21037 A ratified constitution may not be a just constitution [Sandel]
21038 Does consent create the obligation, or must there be some benefit? [Sandel]
21039 Moral contracts involve both consent and reciprocity; making the deal, and keeping it [Sandel]
21036 Not all deals are fair deals [Sandel]
21040 Libertarians just want formal equality in a free market; the meritocratic view wants fair equality [Sandel]
21042 Should we redress wrongs done by a previous generation? [Sandel]
21043 Distributive justice concern deserts, as well as who gets what [Sandel]
21048 Work is not fair if it is negotiated, even in a fair situation, but if it suits the nature of the worker [Sandel]
21045 Teleological thinking is essential for social and political issues [Sandel]
21049 Liberal freedom was a response to assigned destinies like caste and class [Sandel]
21052 Justice is about how we value things, and not just about distributions [Sandel]