How ethical is a lie?
Everyone as a child has been taught that lying is morally wrong. However, little consideration is taken to determine if a particular lie is in fact unethical. For an instance, suppose a doctor sees that her patient is very depressed and petrified for the outcome of his body checkup, and she knows that the results from the tests clearly shows that he will live for no longer than three months. She may decide to lie to her patient, by telling him he has a fifty-fifty percent chance of living, or by revealing the truth of the results to him. These two measures may be contrasted in terms of: morality of the lie, outcome of the dishonesty, and consequences on the society. To determine how ethical deception is, one cannot simply look at the simple facts to make a judgment. Imagine the doctor decides to lie to her patient by stating that he will have a fifty-fifty percent chance of recovering. According to the philosopher, Immanuel Kant’s perspective, the lie is undoubtedly immoral because an unethical person stated it. Kant believes that everyone is born with human dignity, and lying contradicts the part of humans that gives one their moral value. So, if a person is known immoral, a lie that they say will also be unethical. Howeve
Moreover, the outcome of a lie should be carefully and precisely taken into consideration, as it will dramatically affect the individual to whom the lie is addressed. In this particular scenario, if the doctor is ostensible and lies about her patient’s recovery probability, from previous knowledge, it will mentally affect her patient by giving him hope and happiness. Statistics show that when one has willpower, they will lead a blissful, long life. This intellectual aspect will benefit the patient, because he will develop fortitude, believing that he still has a chance to recover and live. Conversely, from previous encounters, if the doctor decides to inform her patient of his critical situation, he will mentally fall deeper in his ditch of dejection. Knowing for a fact that he will not survive, he will be depressed that he will never be able to accomplish all his goals and dreams. Furthermore, with the doctor’s dishonesty, it will affect how her patient reacts physically. A psychiatrist, Doctor Isabelle Phyler, explains that when diseased victims know they will have a chance of recovering, they set many restrictions, especially with their diet and habits. They will eat healthy foods and train with exercises, in order to increase their survival rate. On the other hand, if the truth is exposed and the patient understands that he has a limited time to enjoy his life, Phyler discloses that the majority of her patients choose to live life to the fullest. They cherish the remainder of their t
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Approximate Word count = 1011
Approximate Pages = 4 (250 words per page double spaced)
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