[analognoise]

> Never lie to anyone for any reason. This always makes me think of: “Are there Jews hiding nearby?” “Why yes, I’ve been hiding them for a long time, but nobody had thought to ask. I’m sorry to give them up but I cannot lie.”

[maleldil]

How many such extreme situations do you encounter in your daily life? Most people will not face situations like these, so "never lie" is reasonable.

[wutwutwat]

you don’t have to answer them. You can just not say anything. A thing you should have done instead of shit posting.

[analognoise]

Such an answer to someone like the Gestapo would give up your friends - they would not be so easily thrown off. The question is if an absolute like that outweighs, say, the life of others; your only chance to save them is to lie directly for them. Do you do it?

It wasn’t a shit post, it was an example from a philosophy class I took decades ago that stuck with me.

I believe we were discussing Kant at the time, who did hold that such a lie (even to save the lives of others) was not a positive good, but I found that extremely unsatisfying answer I could not agree with. Then again it’s been enough decades for the details to be fuzzy.