Jump to content
Objectivism Online Forum

Why Is Lying, Stealing And The Initiation Of Force Wrong?

Rate this topic


BluEarthRotting

Recommended Posts

It is not a contradiction to apply one standard to yourself and another to other people.

Uhhmnmmmm. Yes, Vladimir, it is a contradiction - and the term for it is hypocrisy.

The premise behind such a notion is the supremacy not of the objective facts of reality but rather the acceptance of one's desires and whims as a self-evident irreducible primary - whims which are, inexplicably, morally denied to other people. That is NOT at all consistent with rational self-interest and is an approach that is VERY much at odd with everything Objectivism stands for.

Edited by Dismuke
Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 53
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

Because I sure as heck think more of myself than to sell out and become a shoplifter for the grand sum of 10 cents. Sure, that was not very practical in terms of my time management for that particular day. But I can sit here and, in all honesty say I have never shoplifted. If I were not able to do so - well, let's just say my opinion of myself would be rather different.

While I agree that you would have felt like crap if you had decided to steal and that you would have violated your principles It is not the primary reason for not stealing.

If one is to practice these virtues, one must do so as a matter or principle - and doing this at all times is sometimes hard. To practice the virtue of honesty, you must actually be honest on principle. A person who lies only on very rare occasion is not an honest person - he is a liar. To practice the virtues of independence and productiveness requires that one live one's life in a certain manner as a matter of principle.

I think its important to point out that you dont practice the principle of honesty or productiveness for the sake of upholding the principle, you do it for a reason, a reason that is in your self interest.

The "loss" you may expeience by not follwoing these principles(even though it is a loss in itself) is not the fact that you didnt follow the principle, but is a "loss" you can actually point to in reality.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I think its important to point out that you dont practice the principle of honesty or productiveness for the sake of upholding the principle, you do it for a reason, a reason that is in your self interest.

That's very true - and I thought I had made that pretty clear in my posting. I certainly am not aware of anything I said in my posting that would suggest otherwise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Join the conversation

You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.

Guest
Reply to this topic...

×   Pasted as rich text.   Paste as plain text instead

  Only 75 emoji are allowed.

×   Your link has been automatically embedded.   Display as a link instead

×   Your previous content has been restored.   Clear editor

×   You cannot paste images directly. Upload or insert images from URL.

Loading...
  • Recently Browsing   0 members

    • No registered users viewing this page.
×
×
  • Create New...