Government Lying: Necessary Evil?
Tristan Jeong, CJ Meyer, Elijah Williams
PHI 102 FYS, Section 36, Professor Genevieve LaForge
Introduc)on The citizens always have
discussed the morality of
deceptions of the governments.
The issue has mainly two sides,
one being “For” government lying
and the other side being “Against”
it. However, there is a side that
says it “Depends” on the
situation. Our project focuses on
whether it is okay for a
government to lie to its people
and the evidence that is for and/
or against the issue as a whole.
Methods •  Articles from databases, such
as EBSCOhost and ProQuest
•  Articles from Google Scholar
•  Discussions based on each
other’s point of view on the
topic
•  Key terms: deception,
government, war, national
security
“Against” •  Vietnam War: LBJ used Gulf of Tonkin
Incident to win legislative authority
and to bring Gulf of Tonkin Resolution
into effect.
•  Gulf of Tonkin Incident didn’t really
happen.
•  Gulf of Tonkin Resolution started
the Vietnam War and brought
disastrous casualties.
•  Iraq War: US invaded Iraq for having
“Weapons of Mass Destruction”.
•  There were no active WMD
programs by the Iraqis in 2003/04.
•  The war led to serious casualties
and left Iraq in chaos.
•  Honesty is one of the universal
virtues.
•  Kant disallows lying in any
circumstances.
“For” •  Our government’s recent mission to
capture and eliminate terrorist threat
Osama Bin Laden.
•  By not revealing information about the
mission to the public, the mission was
successfully carried out bringing
happiness and security to the majority
of American people and other persons
affected by Bin Laden’s actions.
•  The Trojan Horse was sent by the
Greeks to the Trojans as a peace
offering but was actually the Trojans’
demise and proved to be a clever and
very beneficial tactic for the Greeks.
•  In 1945, President Truman had to
make the decision of whether to bomb
Japan or not and kept it hidden from
the public until he made a decision.
•  He ended up dropping the bomb on
Nagasaki, ultimately ending World War
II.
“Depends” •  The government should be able to lie
under extreme circumstances.
•  Ex.- May 2nd 2011, when President
Obama withheld information that
American armed forces were going to
invade Bin Laden’s compound.
•  What could have happened if the truth
was released?
•  Bin Laden could have found out this
information and moved to another
location; thus he might haven still
been alive today.
•  When national security would be
threatened by the truth being told to
the public.
•  Utilitarianism: lying should be allowed
if it brings happiness and minimizes
pain.
Findings •  Instances in which a government can
lie or not tell the truth are when lies
are beneficial to the people.
•  Government lies only work if they
favor the interests of the people or
the government performing the
action.
•  However, the government ought not
to lie because it causes distress and
problems within the society.
•  Also, government lies can bring
unforeseen events, such as casualties,
and can also start wars.
•  The government should be able to lie
to its people only when national
security is threatened.
Conclusion •  There is no absolute answer.
•  The deceptions can lead to
disaster and chaos, but they can
lead to beneficial effects also.
•  More research is needed to have
better arguments and reasons.
References •  Plato. “Allegory of the Cave.” The
Republic. c380BC. Web. October 4th,
2014.
•  Chris Mossa. “Government Lies”
www.cjr.org. July 7th, 2014. Web.
October 4th, 2014.
•  "The Decision to Drop the
Bomb."Ushistory.org. Independence Hall
Association. Web. 11 Nov. 2014.
•  "National Security." — Right2Info.org.
Web. 18 Nov. 2014.
•  Nathan, James A. "Robert Mcnamara's
Vietnam Deception." USA Today Magazine
124.2604 (1995): 32. Academic Search
Complete. Web. 17 Nov. 2014.
•  MAROLDA, EDWARD J. "Grand Delusion:
U.S. Strategy And The Tonkin Gulf
Incident." Naval History 28.4 (2014):
24-31. Academic Search Complete. Web.
17 Nov. 2014.
•  FISHER, DAVID, and NIGEL BIGGAR.
"Was Iraq An Unjust War? A Debate On
The Iraq War And Reflections On Libya."
International Affairs 87.3 (2011):
687-707. Academic Search Complete.
Web. 17 Nov. 2014.