Topics Ethics

Question Is it wrong to answer a question with a lie when 1. The answer is none of the questioner's business AND 2. To attempt to dodge the question would arouse suspicion AND 3. To answer the question truthfully would cause some harm For example, suppose a woman needs to take some time off for fertility treatment. If her boss asks why she is taking time off, is it okay for her to lie about what she will do with the time?

Accepted:
August 11, 2010

Comments

Let's distinguish the question of whether it is wrong to lie from the specific example that you offer; I'll treat them in turn. Whether it is ever appropriate to lie depends on what one thinks determines the permissibility of an action: Kant, for example, at least on some interpretations--the topic is vexed--seems to say that lying is never permissible (much has been written on this topic: I recommend Christine Korsgaard's advanced, but stimulating essay, "The Right to Lie: Kant on Dealing with Evil," in her collection, Creating the Kingdom of Ends); a utilitarian who believes that the permissibility of an action is in some sense determined by its consequences (the sense in which consequences matter to utilitarians varies, depending on the form of utilitarianism in question), might say that lying is justified when the consequences of lying are more beneficial than the consequences of not lying. (For a interesting treatment of the permissibility of lying, see another essay by Korsgaard, "Two Arguments Against Lying," also in Creating the Kingdom of Ends.) In the case that you offer for consideration, however, it's not clear that the woman in question needs to lie: I don't think that it's any of her boss's business what she will be doing with her time: it seems to me that she is perfectly justified in responding that she is attending to a personal matter, and that answer should satisfy her boss. (Indeed, it seems to me that if her boss insists on the woman giving a more specific answer, that he is invading her privacy.)