A Lie Is a Lie: The Ethics of Lying in Business Negotiations. Issue 4 (23rd October 2022)

• Record Type: Journal Article
• Authors: Sherwood, Charles N. C.
• Is Part Of: Business ethics quarterly. Volume 32:Issue 4(2022)
• Page Start: 604
• Page End: 634
• Publication Date: 2022-10-23
• Subjects: business ethics -- negotiation -- lying -- consent -- self-defence -- fiduciary duty; Business ethics -- Periodicals; 174.405
• DOI: 10.1017/beq.2021.41
• Languages: English
• ISSNs: 1052-150X

Abstract

Abstract : I argue that lying in business negotiations is pro tanto wrong and no less wrong than lying in other contexts. First, I assert that lying in general is pro tanto wrong. Then, I examine and refute five arguments to the effect that lying in a business context is less wrong than lying in other contexts. The common thought behind these arguments—based on consent, self-defence, the "greater good, " fiduciary duty, and practicality—is that the particular circumstances which are characteristic of business negotiations are such that the wrongness of lying is either mitigated or eliminated completely. I argue that all these "special exemption" arguments fail. I conclude that, in the absence of a credible argument to the contrary, the same moral constraints must apply to lying in business negotiations as apply to lying in other contexts. Furthermore, I show that for the negotiator, there are real practical benefits from not lying.