Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life
Book Review
There comes a time when a doctor, minister or politicians and an individual will tell a lie. It could be a white lie or big lie; most people almost generally resort to lying in certain situation. Often times a lawyer will lie in order to protect his client, or vice versa, a client will tell a lie in order to avoid being incarnated. There are many situations an individual will be placed in, and at some point in a person’s life they will need to tell a lie. Is it appropriate to lie? This is what Sissela Bok writes about in Lying: Moral choice in Public and Private Life. Bok acknowledges that despite numerous religious and moral statements against lying, people will still lie in certain situations. She will discuss and explain the different excuses people will give for lying. The first four chapters of Lying, Bok analyzes the nature of lying and basic approaches to evaluating lies. She analyzes many philosophers theory on lying, such as Immanuel Kant, Thomas Aquinas and Saint Augustine. Bok also analyzes lying from the perspective of utilitarian philosophers, who justify acts more or less according to the goodness or badness of their consequences. However, she finds the utilitarian view unsatisfactory, due to the fact that utilitarian disagree among themselves about such matters as suicide and capital punishments. Although Bok agrees that some circumstances might warrant lies, she values the absolutists’ concern for the harm to trust and the result they can hurt someone when they lie on an individual. Bok begins to present her own theories about lying in Chapter 6 and 7, this is where she begins to discuss the types of excuses and then test the types by means of methods of justification and publicity. She states the most commonly used defense for lies are the four principles of avoiding harm, of producing benefits, of fairness, and veracity. Bok considers veracity to be essential to the appropriate functioning of the first three
There comes a time when a doctor, minister or politicians and an individual will tell a lie. It could be a white lie or big lie; most people almost generally resort to lying in certain situation. Often times a lawyer will lie in order to protect his client, or vice versa, a client will tell a lie in order to avoid being incarnated. There are many situations an individual will be placed in, and at some point in a person’s life they will need to tell a lie. Is it appropriate to lie? This is what Sissela Bok writes about in Lying: Moral choice in Public and Private Life. Bok acknowledges that despite numerous religious and moral statements against lying, people will still lie in certain situations. She will discuss and explain the different excuses people will give for lying. The first four chapters of Lying, Bok analyzes the nature of lying and basic approaches to evaluating lies. She analyzes many philosophers theory on lying, such as Immanuel Kant, Thomas Aquinas and Saint Augustine. Bok also analyzes lying from the perspective of utilitarian philosophers, who justify acts more or less according to the goodness or badness of their consequences. However, she finds the utilitarian view unsatisfactory, due to the fact that utilitarian disagree among themselves about such matters as suicide and capital punishments. Although Bok agrees that some circumstances might warrant lies, she values the absolutists’ concern for the harm to trust and the result they can hurt someone when they lie on an individual. Bok begins to present her own theories about lying in Chapter 6 and 7, this is where she begins to discuss the types of excuses and then test the types by means of methods of justification and publicity. She states the most commonly used defense for lies are the four principles of avoiding harm, of producing benefits, of fairness, and veracity. Bok considers veracity to be essential to the appropriate functioning of the first three
References: Bok, S. (1999). Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life. New York: Vintage Books.