Moral Absolutism and Noble Lie

Abstract

The author analyzes the approach to the problem of lie proposed by Kant in the essay “On the alleged right to lie from philanthropy” which caused a vivid discussion in Russian ethics. In everyday life we usually guided by the logic of common sense and we are constantly focused on searching for compromises. Therefore, it is very difficult to switch to another logic – the logic of uncompromising morality when it is necessary to preserve the human dignity and individual freedom. Nonetheless, it may be heartless to follow the unconditional imperatives of formal morality in usual life. Obviously, the Kantian commitment to tell nothing but the truth in any situation contradicts intuitions of commonsense morality. The main value for Kant is the internal integrity and moral autonomy of the subject, focused only on himself, his noumenal and panhuman basis. A brief excurse into the specification and typology of ethical absolutism taken by the author allows determining the position of Kant and his followers as an abstract absolutism. At the same time, the rejection of abstract absolutist approach to the issue of lie does not necessarily lead to the rejection of absolutism in general, as it is demonstrated in the analysis of alternative ethical positions of A. Gewirth and N. Geisler. In conclusion, the author poses the question of the possibility of combining the deontological and consequentialistic position within a coherent normative doctrine.