I was very excited to attend the annual Asian festival, especially with the company of one of my closest friends who had left our neighborhood five years ago to live in another city. Lucy Johnson grew up in my neighborhood, and we attended the same school and played all sorts of games together. However, when we completed high school we parted ways. Recently, she called to tell me that she was attending an annual festival close to our town, and that she would only come if I agreed to accompany her. With the eagerness to meet her after a long time, I agreed to attend the festival. On the designated day, I dressed up elegantly and left home without informing anyone because I did not want someone to ruin my plans. However, Lucy never showed up at the venue of the event. When I called her, she was sorry. Apparently, she was caught up in a family meeting. The situation was quite disappointing because my childhood friend could not keep her promises, and never bothered to call early to cancel the reunion. I lost trust on her, and the friendship has never been the same gain.
One thing that makes untruthfulness so wrong is lack of fidelity. When an individual is untruthful to themselves or to others, he or she breaks their obligations and commitments in a relationship. I believe that an individual has personal responsibility to provide truthful information to his or her close friends if he or she values the relationship. If he or she knowingly provides wrong information, he or she does not value the relationship. Even if the truth hurts, a true friend has the obligation to be sincere and honest at all times; especially if the untruthfulness is likely to betray the friend or undermine the friendship. Therefore, untruthfulness is wrong because it reflects lack of fidelity to one’s obligations and responsibilities in a relationship. Thomson (2012) says, “Realize that your commitments matter; if you are consistently breaking your word, your relationship will not be fully satisfying.” The statement demonstrates that breaking promises and commitments the way Lucy did will lead to the disintegration of relationships.
Lack of commitment and responsibility is a non-consequentialist reasoning about what is wrong with untruthfulness. The non-consequentialist approach demonstrates that the wrongness or rightness of an action is based on the intrinsic factors or processes of the deed rather than its consequence. Commitment to one’s obligations is an intrinsic value that must be exhibited at all times. Whether telling the truth will hurt or make someone happy, it is one’s obligation to do so. The consequence of telling the truth should not be the priority; but the commitment and responsibility to provide accurate information should always be of primary concern in a relationship.
Cat Johnson demonstrates the consequentialist theory of ethics because she suggests that telling lies leads to broken relationships. “What lying does, as a rule, is to create multiple realities…, so that split will now influence your relationship and your common future” (Johnson, 2012). The consequentialist theory suggests that the judgment on whether an action is right or wrong depends on the consequence of that action. If the behavior results in a negative outcome, then it is wrong; and if it causes good results, it is right. Johnson suggests that untruthfulness is wrong because it causes relationships to disintegrate.
References
Thompson, C. (2012). How to be true to Your Word. Experience Life, April 2012.
