Assignment 13

Think about lying and honor in three settings:

There seems to be no conflict between these in Chushingura
At W&L the Honor Code is unequivocal
In the wider world, lying and other forms of deception are certainly common responses to situations of all kinds.

Ask yourself under what circumstances lying is (a) an ethically acceptable strategy, and/or (b) pragmatically the best choice in each of these settings?

Write a response with two parts:

Consider the story line in Chushingura (using the synopsis materials handed out and linked on the course page, and referring to other materials on Chushingura that I have linked). Identify the most important instances of deception, and comment on their relation to notions of honor as depicted in the film.
Despite the blanket proscription of the Honor Code, people at W&L do lie and/or deceive in some circumstances. Discuss deception as you have observed it at W&L --the settings where it does actually happen, and your reading of the community's perception of where the lines are drawn.

Save your response as /anth230/lying.html and make a link to the file on your index.html page by 9 AM Wednesday 10 November.