II—Deception and the Desires That Speak against It

Abstract

This article explores the role of desires in the ethics of deception. The argument concentrates on intrinsic desires not to have false beliefs and on the resulting role of false beliefs as building-blocks, not just causes, of harm. If there is a duty of beneficence at all (a duty to further welfare or a duty to avoid harm) and desire fulfilment is at least a component of welfare, there is often a direct wrongness in causing a false belief.