Play along...

[tinyjo]

OK, just for fun, here is the essay question I will be answering this afternoon:

‘It is wrong to tell lies, so patients should always be told the truth about their condition.’ Is this a good argument?

I've turned off emailing comments on this and I promise not to look until I've written the essay (1000 words, in case you're interested). What do you think?

Comments

[aveleh]

Maybe I've been out of school for too long, but this just doesn't seem like an *argument* to me, but rather two loosely related statements that don't actually follow each other.

I do think it's wrong to tell lies, but I don't think it always follows that one should tell the truth. Sometimes the wrong thing is the right thing.

And I'm pretty sure that some research has shown that some patients benefit from *not* being told the truth, specifically those who are certain stages of altzimers, where a true *feeling* environment is more important than a truthful one. And while I generally believe that a patient should be told the whole truth, it's because I believe that a doctor's job includes helping patients make informed decisions, not strictly because I believe it's wrong to lie.

So there's just something that doesn't sit right with me for this as an argument, and at least part of it is the *always*.

[oxfordhacker.livejournal.com]

I absolutely agree (as I hope I made clear in our discussion above). Even if you assume that 'Don't tell lies' = 'Always tell the truth' (which seems a stretch), and agree that this is a good fundamental principle (which is at least arguable), I still don't think that it should be your most important consideration.

[tinyjo.livejournal.com]

Technically it is an arguement, since it states a premise, followed by a conclusion. What I think you're saying (and I fully agree with) is that the conclusion is not actually justified by the premise, even if you accept the premise.

Always is a bad word in nearly all subjects apart from maths in my experience :) On the plus side, absolute statements are really easy to argue against, as you only have to find one counter example, which made my essay writing easier!

[oxfordhacker.livejournal.com]

I agree, and support this argument, as ever, with web comics (http://www.xkcd.com/435/) (http://xkcd.com/263/) ()