A surgeon friend of mine often quips, “If you think you can ‘get away’ with something, you probably shouldn’t be considering it in the first place.”
A reliable rule, no doubt! But rightness or wrongness isn’t as clearcut.
In philosophy, there’s a school of thought called virtue ethics. It suggests that moral behavior comes from cultivating a virtuous character and living in alignment with virtues like honesty, compassion, and courage. If you’re even thinking about deceitful behavior, it’s a sign that your character might need a bit of a tune-up.
On the flip side, while deliberate wrongdoing should never be condoned, sometimes ethics shifts to focus on practical utility. Utilitarianism, another philosophical approach, judges the rightness or wrongness of an action based on its consequences. From this viewpoint, wrongdoing might be seen as justifiable if it leads to a greater good, with the consequent focus on artfully dodging repercussions.
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