[Bella]

In a philosophy class we were posed with the question, "Would you give up a friend who maybe guilty of a crime and was hiding in your house?"

It is a moral dilemma, what would you do? Your friend maybe innocent or not?

The best answer was to give a potentially misleading truth, if someone asked if you knew where they were, you would say," Not at this very moment." Not a lie as such, but you don't give up your friend as they could be in the toilet, under a bed, you don't know the exact location.

[Spartan]

Under most circumstances I would not give up a friend who was hiding in my house.

[Aprilj83]

This question does not apply to everyone. To ever be put in this situation you must think about how you yourself got there. If a friend of mine was trying to use me to hide from the law, I don't think they are a good friend to have. If they are innocent then there isn't a reason to be hiding. And to put me and my loved ones in that predicament is simply selfish and that means they don't care about your well being so why should you care about there's?

[Bella]

It is hypothetical, but I was applying it to maybe someone who was in a war zone. What is a friend had defected and asked for shelter who was injured, say someone who was brainwashed by jhadists? Would you take them in and then give them up, or refuse to let them in or try to convince them they are wrong?

[Skyspirit]

Interesting. I am surprised that this question did not arise in my philosophy class. However, it does pose a good question. While I have never had that exact problem, I have had similar issues.

In one case, I have trusted a friend without an ID who often said he couldn't go back to VA for various reasons, including some legal ones. Though, his residence had been long enough that those charges would not be valid any longer, i.e., past the Statute of Limitations here in the U.S.

In another, I overheard someone (I didn't know her personally) say that someone else had served time for her crime. I found this haunting to say the least, as the crime appeared to have been murder, not sure what degree.

As I did not know her, and could not confirm her story as fact, I didn't feel it was my place to say anything at the time. Now, you make me think maybe I was in error. Still, the outcome was based on a court trial and a jury, so regardless, it is doubtful any changes in guilt or sentencing would have been found by a later court. In fact, most that know her which I have discussed this with believe she just wanted to make an impact and possibly scare people.

Now, if I had known either one of these people and considered them good friends, it woudn't matter. If I knew a crime had been committed, I believe it would be in my best interest, so as you say not to be charged with harboring a criminal, to provide any and all information related to the crime to the authorities.

Your thoughts?

[Bella]

The premise was not to judge the person, but it was from a Kantian ethics perspective of what was moral and the right thing to do. If you willingly wanted to help the friend, then the only thing you can do is provide a misleading truth, you are not lying to the police or betraying your friend.

But then is it doing the right thing if you knew they were guilty? Are you helping them more by getting them to confront their actions and accept the consequences of their actions? Who so do you owe anything to, society or your loyalty to your friend?

This was a dilemma Nathaniel Hawthorne had with his friend Franklin Pierce. When he was President he gave his friend the best paid job available, however, Pierce did not want slavery to end and fought against it. Hawthorne was against slavery, but was loyal to his friend who had helped him throughout most of his life. This caused friction with his friends and family and he had to leave Salem because of it. He dedicated his book 'Our Old Home' to him, which caused outrage as people refused to buy the book or tore out the dedication. Was he wrong to be loyal or misguided?

[js85]

It's completely subjective, but more often than not I would give up the friend. If a friend was on such a bad path that they were on the run, they need some intervention. If it was something misunderstood or justified (which is rare), then I would do what I can to help the truth come to light.

[bronzetiger]

Depends on which crime he or she is being sought for. If it's for something grave such as murder, I would lie for my friend just once. After the police are gone, I would ask him why he did what he did. I would try to talk him into surrendering and seeking legal protection. If he doesn't want to, then I would let him go.

[Herald]

In a philosophy class we were posed with the question, "Would you give up a friend who maybe guilty of a crime and was hiding in your house?"

It is a moral dilemma, what would you do? Your friend maybe innocent or not?

The best answer was to give a potentially misleading truth, if someone asked if you knew where they were, you would say," Not at this very moment." Not a lie as such, but you don't give up your friend as they could be in the toilet, under a bed, you don't know the exact location.

True friendship is also founded on what is right. I don't want to conspire with anybody who is doing what is wrong. The best thing to do is to talk to my friend and explain to him that if you are really innocent, then you can boldly face the music.

But if he is really guilty, then I would not be a party to his crime. He must face the music.

[Bella]

In a philosophy class we were posed with the question, "Would you give up a friend who maybe guilty of a crime and was hiding in your house?"

It is a moral dilemma, what would you do? Your friend maybe innocent or not?

The best answer was to give a potentially misleading truth, if someone asked if you knew where they were, you would say," Not at this very moment." Not a lie as such, but you don't give up your friend as they could be in the toilet, under a bed, you don't know the exact location.

True friendship is also founded on what is right. I don't want to conspire with anybody who is doing what is wrong. The best thing to do is to talk to my friend and explain to him that if you are really innocent, then you can boldly face the music.

But if he is really guilty, then I would not be a party to his crime. He must face the music.

True friendship is about being there for the lows and the highs. Sometimes a friend needs someone to guide them to what is right. No one is perfect and can do all the right things, we can all have a bad thought every now and then. You accept friends as they are and that means their bad traits as well.

The question is a moral dilemma, it is not for you to judge what is right or wrong, but what you would do and your moral conscience. Would you betray someone who could be innocent, lie, or let the police find them by themselves and not actively hand them over? Those are the only options.