Topic– Human Values – lessons from the lives and teachings of great leaders, reformers and administrators
8) “Falsehood takes the place of truth when it results in unblemished common good.”–Thirukkural. What do you understand by the above statement. Comment.(250 words)
Directive word
Comment- here we have to express our knowledge and understanding of the issue and form an overall opinion thereupon.
Key demand of the question.
The question wants us to express our opinion on the given statement- whether or not falsehood takes the place of truth when it results in unblemished common good. We have to bring out the essence of the statement and relate it to a practical example in order to make the meaning clearer.
Structure of the answer
Introduction– write a few introductory lines about the virtue of being truthful. E.g Being truthful means a strict adherence to a policy of honesty and openness etc.
Body-
Discuss the importance of being truthful and the benefits it brings along with it. E.g how it impacts our image in terms our integrity, trustworthiness, courage and justice even in the face of adversaries; etc.
Discuss how even falsehood is better than truth if it results in some unblemished common good. E.g one can tell a truth in situations where telling a truth could bring gloom, create chaos or hurt somebody etc; it relates to the principle of consequentialism which professes a pursuit of noble ends without much concerns for the means so employed.
Relate the importance of being untruthful by creating some hypothetical examples and to make your stand more clear.
Conclusion- based on your discussion, form a fair and a balanced conclusion on the given issue.
