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Full Idea
There belongs to truthfulness not only the avoidance of lying but also that other kind of attachment to truth which has to do with its preservation and pursuit.
Gist of Idea
We should speak the truth, but also preserve and pursue it
Source
Philippa Foot (Utilitarianism and the Virtues [1985], p.74)
Book Ref
Foot,Philippa: 'Moral Dilemmas' [OUP 2002], p.74
A Reaction
This is truth as a value, rather than as a mere phenomenon of accurate thought and speech. The importance of 'preserving' the truth is the less common part of this idea.
| 22458 | Consequentialists can hurt the innocent in order to prevent further wickedness [Foot] |
| 22459 | For consequentialism, it is irrational to follow a rule which in this instance ends badly [Foot] |
| 22460 | Why might we think that a state of affairs can be morally good or bad? [Foot] |
| 22461 | Good outcomes are not external guides to morality, but a part of virtuous actions [Foot] |
| 22462 | We should speak the truth, but also preserve and pursue it [Foot] |
| 22463 | Morality is seen as tacit legislation by the community [Foot] |
| 22464 | The idea of a good state of affairs has no role in the thought of Aristotle, Rawls or Scanlon [Foot] |