Is it unethical to pretend
to be ethical when you are not? Wouldn’t it be better to act in your true
nature, even if said nature is inherently unethical?
I dig what you’re trying to
do here. You’re trying to create an equation wherein the conclusion contradicts
the premise: “If we agree that the ethical man is honest, the man must act in a
manner that reflects that honesty, even if his honest reaction is to act
unethically.” (This is a little like asking if an all-powerful God could create
a rock he couldn’t lift.) Unfortunately, your logic is off. Ethical behavior is
not an inherent human quality. There is nothing natural about internalizing a collective framework for how people should
operate within a culture. It’s learned behavior.
If you walk into a bakery,
your natural impulse might be to gobble every cookie in the store and walk out
without paying a penny. If you choose instead to purchase only one cookie and
thank the girl behind the counter when she gives you your change, you could
argue that you w1ere merely pretending to act like a civilized person and that
your actions contradict your motives. The outside world, however, is not
necessarily interested in the authenticity of your motives. Behaving ethically
is the process of separating yourself from whatever your “true nature” desires
and accepting that the world involves people who are not you.
