PHL217H1 Lecture : Lecture 4
Document Summary
Truth as public reason"s goal and as society"s precondition. The idea is- kant couldn"t be right about this because murder is far worse than lying: no quick dismissal of kant as a defender of would-be murderers. Kant"s original example is of a police officer who compels you to speak about the whereabouts of someone you are devoted to, who is about to commit a crime. Court case, you must answer the question, and in answering it seems as though you will contribute to a guilty verdict against your friend, who you are quite sure is innocent. There"s no easy answer, and we should feel a certain amount of tension, whichever way we go. If you lie, and propose the maxim of this lie as universal, the legal system itself turns into a sham. It"s not over whether falsehoods are permissible, but rather whether the rule prohibiting lies have any exceptions.
