Friday, January 27, 2006

Here's a dilemma for you today...

Random stumbling about the wonders (and silliness) of the Internet today found me this article from the Philosophers' Magazine Online.

Anyway, the author (Daniel C. Dennett) of this article asks the question (to paraphrase): Should people who are being deceived for their own good be told? His focus is on the context of religion, but it is a question applicable to many common situations:
Should the sweet old lady in the nursing home be told that her son has just been sent to prison? Should the awkward 12-year-old boy who wasn't cut from the baseball team be told about the arm-twisting that persuaded the coach to keep him on the squad?
But to simplify his essay to this one concept is to do him a disservice. I'm merely distilling one idea that made me think: "Whoa, Nellie!"

The point is: if you want to have your brain twisted around a moral quandary, read this article.

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