Is Lying More Ethical Then killing ? by Ahmed Nasir
During the tutorial class we had a class discussion about lying and killing, Our discussions were directed specifically on the issue whether lying is better than killing or in other word is lying more ethical then killing,
During the discussion my fellow classmates brought up several reasons and examples to support their viewpoints on the issues discussed,
Is killing more ethical then lying? To shed light on this question we would first have to look at what are we talking about, lying can be hiding the truth or deceiving or falsifying the truth of something from someone. On the other hand killing mean taking someone’s life.
When someone lies or is being lied to he is being deprived of the truth and what is actually happening. A lie could be when you tell your teacher that you were unable to come to class because you were sick when in real you were at a movie with your friends, and when a leader of a country starts an invasion of another country saying that is a threat to the world security while he knows that the country is not a threat. In the two cases is it ethical to lie? Would it be ethical to lie if the lie could save someone’s life?
The main arguments raised against lying were that it includes deceit and breaking trust and could lead to other social problems and breaking the society into pieces and that lies could be used for more destructive purposes and depending on the scale of these lies it could become a social illness that could destroy the civilized world as it has made us highly depend on each other. In the case of lies if someone wants to correct their mistake of lying, in most cases he will always have the option to make amends to the situation by telling the truth, come out clean and seek forgiveness from whom he has done wrong.
The arguments raised against killing however were much more serious as it involves the depriving someone of life and this is something which cannot be undone once it has been done. This makes it impossible to make amends to the situation like it can be done in the case of lying. This makes it more serious action then lying. But will it not be fair to kill a murderer or a dangerous criminal, whom if left alive would lead to more deaths?
After reflecting on the discussions we had in class and the things discussed above even though both of these things are not good practices , in my opinion it is more ethical to lie to someone than to kill someone,