On a Supposed Right to Lie from Philanthropy – A Response

Running head: ON A SUPPOSED RIGHT TO LIE FROM PHILANTHROPY – A RESPONSE
ON A SUPPOSED RIGHT TO LIE FROM PHILANTHROPY – A RESPONSE
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1ON A SUPPOSED RIGHT TO LIE FROM PHILANTHROPY – A RESPONSE
Immanuel Kant is one of the most celebrated German philosophers who had argued that
the source of the morality of a person is dependent on the reason that exists within the mind of
the concerned person. The following essay deals with the arguments put forth by the eminent
philosopher Immanuel Kant on the matters that pertain to the arguments put forth by Immanuel
Kant against the right of the concerned person to lie.
The celebrated German philosopher opines that speaking the truth in any matter is a
moral duty that should be maintained by the concerned person. It should be considered to be a
duty on the part of the person to tell the truth to the people who are entitled to hear the truth. The
philosopher further opines that no person might be granted the rights to any truth that might pose
to be harmful to other people. Immanuel Kant argues that lying should not be considered to be a
moral action since the act of lying might hamper the moral capacity of the human beings as well
as prevents the other members to act in a free and rational manner. The act of lying is known to
undermine the dignity of the other members. The Kantian ethics tend to refute the conditions of a
lie.
However, the other believers in the Kantian theory tend to put forth certain circumstances
wherein the Kantian theory that claims that lying is an immoral act does not hold good. Cholbi
(2009) argues that there might arise situations wherein a person has to lie in an act of self-
defense or in situations wherein the concerned person might have to lie in order to save the life
of another innocent person. This is found to be in opposition to the theory put forth by Kant
which states that the lying in any form is an immoral act. Korsgaard (1986) differs from the
Kantian philosophy on the fact that the dealings with the evil might be manipulated in order to
respond to the various situations that might arise within the given time frame. The author tends
to throw light on the various implications of the categorical imperative that was stated by the