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MANDATORY GRADED ASSIGNMENT
Name
Institution
Question 1
Kant was more inclined on the obligation of upholding the relevant moral duty rather than dwelling and trying to predict the consequences which might result in telling the truth or a lie. Hence, Kant outrightly was against the idea of lying in all and every circumstance even if the intentions and consequences brought forth were of a good nature. With reflection to his famous case the “Inquiring Murder,” he says even if the truth leads to the death of a woman, the moral duty would have been upheld and so actions are perceived to be right when they are aligned with the duty which is the – moral duty of always telling the truth. In this case, without being certain of the consequences that our actions will bring, Kant says we should not opt to tell a lie so as to bring about good consequences or avoid any evil that may arise. To know the actual consequences, we should be able to predict them with the highest form of accuracy, something which not everyone in the world can do with ease. Additionally, in telling a lie to bring about good consequences, with no much certainty, there is a high chance that more worse occurrences can arise from the lie in comparison with if the truth was told.
Kant says that what we can be certain of, though, is that in the event of us choosing the truth, we are avoiding the evil, but when choosing to tell a lie, we are committing the evil. He also says, the good and bad consequences are beyond our human control but what we can control is the right to choose between committing an evil or not.

In the occurrence of bad consequences, they are considered not to be your fault and hence you are not held responsible, and so Kant emphasizes and believes that always coming straight out with the truth regardless of the outcome, is the right way to go.
Question 2
This is because when we are deciding on a given action, for example, telling a lie to a person, we should identify the maxim (moral rule) that we are using. If one does not approve of the maxim (moral rule) when it applies to himself or herself to also apply to everyone else, then it cannot be a universal law and so if he or she uses it for their gain then it would be morally wrong and hence considered a lie. The moral principles that we wish to pass as universal laws should, therefore, be followed by everyone and in all manner of events regardless of the consequences that arise. Therefore, if we don’t also wish to be lied to, then we should not pass such a maxim as a universal law.
Question 3
I agree with Kant on not lying and that it is always a moral wrong and that consequences should not be a measure on the decision of either telling a lie or the truth. This is because upholding a moral duty goes a long way in the evaluation and determination of the moral worthiness of a person. Us, human beings, are capable of making our choices with freedom and also have an ethical stand, whereby we should be able to respect oneself and also others. A person is either good or bad, that is, follows the moral duty in the event of deciding on the best action to take regardless of the consequences that may arise. The nature of a person’s motivation to an action matters a lot. If a person was motivated for selfish reasons, that is, through his or her emotions and desires towards a certain situation instead of morality then the person had no moral worth in this regard.
Lies are seen as wrong in two perspectives. First, it corrupts a person’s most important treasure, that is, being human. It shades of the ability to make free and reasonable choices. Second, lies we tell, also deny others the same quality, it makes them make decisions according to how we made them believe a lie instead of telling them the truth so as they can choose the right path. These lies have more damaging, interfering and misuse abilities compared to the truth. As such, lying should not be even an option.
Question 4
It is seen in society that employing the need to uphold honesty, and human dignity is a known tradition that the elderly and the people respected try to teach and pass on to the younger generation. Although as people grow older, they realize that the nature of telling the truth has to be moderated or in other words nuanced. In cases where a spouse asks for an opinion about their new dress, a new haircut or even their opinion about their weight gain, the other has to take into consideration the feelings of the other partner and hence avoid hurting them in any way. And so, lying in these cases can be seen as being the ethical and right thing to do but moral principles of “never lie” should be the way to go and endorsed in the general sense. In an example by Kant, he asks what a person should do in the event, you come across a person carrying a weapon, for example, a firearm, and requests for your assistance to know the whereabouts or the direction of an individual who had just passed you some moments ago, had taken. In this case, having to tell the truth, may unfortunately result in the death or the infliction of serious injuries to the said person while telling a lie will result in the saving of life (Plante, 2011).
Moreover, other ethical situations such as being able to have compassion for others, the need to save a life and many others clearly show that lying is the human and right ethical approach to take. So, even if it can be argued whether lying is ethical from various incidents and angles, I might support the use of “white lies” if they come in handy for managing and keeping healthy interactions and help build on others and so eventually lying can be seen as being the reasonable thing to do. Additionally, in the ethical decision-making process, it is advised to do the weighing of both merits and demerits while using different approaches with regards to ethics and hence figuring out the right course of action. Even though certain approaches might face conflict among themselves, certain approaches tend to stand out more than others in almost every situation. As human beings, being responsible, having respect for others, upholding integrity, having competence and expressing care and concern for others are principles which I think we should use to be able to come up with an ethical decision and with weighing, I think the need to have concern for the welfare of others tends to stand out the most (Mazur, 2015).
References
Plante, T. G. (2011, Dec 6). “Is Lying for the Greater Good Ethical?” Retrieved from https://www.psychologytoday.com/blog/do-the-right-thing/201112/is-lying-the-greater-good-ethicalMazur, T. C. (2015, Nov 13). Lying. Retrieved from https://www.scu.edu/ethics/ethics-resources/ethical-decision-making/lying/