Suchergebnisse

Is it ever all right to lie? A philosopher looks at lying and deception in public and private life-in government, medicine, law, academia, journalism, in the family and between friends.Lying is a penetrating and thoughtful examination of one of the most pervasive yet little discussed aspects of our public and private lives. Beginning with the moral questions raised about lying since antiquity, Sissela Bok takes up the justifications offered for all kinds of lies-white lies, lies to the sick and dying, lies of parents to children, lies to enemies, lies to protect clients and peers. The consequences of such lies are then explored through a number of concrete situations in which people are involved, either as liars or as the victims of a lie.

The underlying theme of this essay is distrust. It is out of distrust of one another—often quite reasonable distrust—that nations arm against one another, and that they use deception and secrecy to protect themselves. In turn, such actions on the part of any one nation generate more distrust in the adversary, who then arms yet more, and considers further increases in secrecy and new forms of deception.

This article reexamines the works of Erasmus, the Abbé de Saint-Pierre, Kant, and other pacifists who have advocated collective societal efforts toward a lasting world peace. In contrast to Thucydides' (Realist) view of the inevitability of war due to intrinsic human nature, the author presents the early Christian arguments of pacifism grounded in morality and religion, including the "just-war" views of Augustine and Saint Thomas Aquinas, who believed that war fought for self-defense, or other "justifiable" purposes, was morally and religiously grounded in efforts to punish wrongdoings and "convert unbelievers." Is the state of peace a natural one or one that must be achieved through practical steps within moral constraints by leaders of nations and their citizens? Realist thinkers who once rejected, on strictly normative grounds, the moral claims of the possibility of a lasting world peace now take the strategic position that the goal of attaining lasting world peace is clearly worth striving for, "however utopian it seemed when first advocated."

1 The Teaching of Ethics in the American Undergraduate Curriculum, 1876–1976 -- I General Issues in the Teaching of Ethics -- 2 Goals in the Teaching of Ethics -- 3 Problems in the Teaching of Ethics: Pluralism and Indoctrination -- 4 What Does Moral Psychology Have to Say to the Teacher of Ethics? -- 5 Evaluation and the Teaching of Ethics -- II The Teaching of Ethics in the Undergraduate and Professional School Curriculum -- 6 The Teaching of Ethics in American Higher Education: an Empirical Synopsis -- 7 The Teaching of Undergraduate Ethics -- 8 The Teaching of Ethics in Undergraduate Nonethics Courses -- 9 Professional Ethics: Setting, Terrain, and Teacher -- III Topics in the Teaching of Ethics -- 10 Paternalism In Medicine, Law, and Public Policy -- 11 Whistleblowing and Professional Responsibilities -- IV Summary Recommendations on the Teaching of Ethics -- 12 Hastings Center Project on the Teaching of Ethics: Summary Recommendations.