The Thomistic Institute Is Lying Always Wrong? | Fr. Gregory Pine
Feb 9, 2024
Fr. Gregory Pine, a doctoral student in Christology at the University of Fribourg, discusses the importance of truthfulness in society, explores the nature of communication and the sin of lying, examines different types of lies and their moral implications, explores the moral complexity of lying to protect lives, and delves into moral intuitions, tradition, and perplexity in the Catholic intellectual tradition.
AI Snips
Chapters
Transcript
Episode notes
Truthfulness As Part Of Justice
- Lying is a deficiency of the part of justice called truthfulness, which orders our words and deeds toward the common good.
- Fr. Gregory Pine traces veracity to nature and social goods, making truthful speech essential for communal flourishing and owed to others.
Why Lies Violate Human Nature And The Common Good
- A lie is saying what you think false with intent to deceive, and it's wrong because it misuses a natural faculty and destabilizes the common good.
- Pine argues lies are intrinsically disordered like using a tool for the opposite of its end, producing social mistrust.
Three Types Of Lies And Their Gravity
- The tradition distinguishes malicious, jocose, and officious lies with varying gravity: malicious are gravely sinful, jocose are lighter, officious are least grave.
- Pine maps these to mortal versus venial sin depending on intent, knowledge, and harm caused.