The Morality of Lying in Contrast to the Philosophies of Kant Essay

The young girl gazes at you impotently from within the tangled wreckage. You witnessed the crash a massive truck careened into a minivan as it passed on the highway, killing the driver on impact, and virtually lacrimation the girl in half. Now she hangs from the car, held together by the seatbelt. Her nervous transcription critically damaged, she cant feel much pain, but she knows that her mail service is not optimal, to say the least(prenominal). She is six years old she probably doesnt understand the concept of death. As you stare equally helplessly into her forethought stricken eyes, the only words that you can muster are put one acrosst worry, everything will be okay. This is obviously a trickery thither is absolutely no chance that the dying girl will thusly survive and have no cause for worry but this lie contains ideas to sooth her fear, allowing a comparatively peaceful passage out of this life. Surely fewer would argue that the little girl did not deserve to be comforted, as the alternative seems somewhat heartless Why should I help you? Youre not worth my time, youll be dead in a minute. Indeed, sexual relation the truth, in this case, appears even less object lesson than the lie. There is, however, at least one who would disagree with this scenario a certain Immanuel Kant, whose philosophy insists that lying is ruin in every circumstance. But despite Kants fervent belief, it is not hard to see how lying can be a beneficial, inversely advantageous, and in fact moral act that still consistently complies with Kants own moral imperatives.Because Kants philosophy does not specifically go down what a lie is, we are led to believe that speaking an untruth, no matter what the context, is strictly immoral. But speaking untruth does not convey the negative conno... ...lf to a degree, allowing room for leniency. Lies can be perfectly acceptable, selfless, and moral in the face of a greater evil, or when no stultification is being done on any side. BibliographyGass, R. H., & Seiter, J. S. (1999). Persuasion, Social Influence, and Compliance Gaining. Needham Heights, MA Allyn & Bacon.Henningsen, D. D., Cruz, M. G., & Morr, M. C. (2000). Pattern Violations and Perception of Deception. Communication Reports. Vol. 13, No. 1, pp. 1-9.http//www.allwords.com/word-white%20lie.htmlKant, Immanuel. The Foundations of Ethics. Moral Philosophy a Reader. Ed. Louis P. Pojman. Indianapolis, IN Hackett Company, 1993. 194-213.Pruss, Alexander R. Lying, Deception and Kant. Alexander R. Pruss Ethics Blog. 30 Aug. 2001. Baylor U. 8 Mar. 2008 .