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Politics : Sharks in the Septic Tank -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Solon who wrote (73571)	8/28/2003 2:38:41 AM
From: one_less	Respond to of 82486

"There is nothing intrinsically good or bad about truth telling." My query is whether or not swearing an oath to the truth means anything. kholt's responses seem to represent a view that the oath as equivalent to a promise which may compound the commitment to tell the truth. However, she also seems to think that people are compelled toward truth telling on the basis of an internal ethical standard that would make any external influences superfluous to the action itself. Her viewpoint in addition to yours (given that I have understood them correctly) seem to nullify the "oath" swearing cerimony, as it is reduced to meaningless court ritual...at least on the basis of any cultural standard. CH's comment that perjury is almost never prosecuted would lead me to think that the laws around truth telling in court are not taken very seriously either, so fear of punishment by the legal system does not contribute much to the issue. "...and I find myself somewhat puzzled by the emotion behind the words. " What emotions were you puzzled by?

To: Solon who wrote (73571)	8/28/2003 10:53:16 AM
From: Neocon	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 82486

I agree that honesty may be trumped, but I do not think that it is morally indifferent. Trust is an essential social value. We ought to be able to count on people's word in most instances, with fairly narrowly circumscribed exceptions. This extends not only to relying on their representations, but to counting on their promises. Not only is the justice system trashed if we cannot rely upon people to answer truthfully in most instances, but the idea of testifying under oath is that one especially stakes one's honor on one's veracity. Unless there is a very strong over- riding reason, to fail to tell the truth under oath is contemptible.