Formalizing the Moral Evaluation of Speech Acts: Truthfulness, Lies and Ethical Dilemmas
In life-or-death situations, a benevolent lie may appear more moral than telling the truth. Yet such lies can backfire, producing unintended and sometimes fatal consequences. This tension, famously disputed by Kant and Constant in 1797, applies not only to lying but to assertive speech acts in general, raising the ques...