Idea 32: The ethics of communication
A lie stands on one leg, but truth upon two.
English proverb
The ethics of communication revolve around the issue of telling the truth. When is it permissible to lie? There are some common-sense occasions, as Samuel Johnson once explained:
The general rule is that truth should never be violated, because it is of the utmost importance for the comfort of life that we should have a full security by mutual faith, and occasional inconveniences should be willingly suffered that we may preserve it.
There must, however, be some exceptions. If, for instance, a murderer should ask you which way a man is gone, you may tell him what is not true, because you are under a previous obligation not to betray a man to a murderer. ...
