Recently, I was presented with an interesting question. It led to an internal debate as to what an individual’s moral obligation is, in a specific situation. If you like debating concepts, keep reading, and share your thoughts at the end!

So, what’s the question?

“If you know something that would change someone’s life, should you tell them?”

Now, generally, this question may be hard to answer. So, for the purpose of this discussion, I will add some clarifications.

The specifics:

They have the potential to live an extraordinary life, and you know what is stopping them.
You are confident that telling them would impact their life positively, at least in the long term.
There are other ways of sharing your knowledge, less directly. If you choose to, you are certain that it will be less impactful.

Does knowledge come with obligation?

At first, my attention was directed here. If I know something that impacts someone else, am I obligated to share that with them? The first time that I encountered this question was when I read the book, The Giver by Lois Lowry (1993).

Before we decide, let’s look at some real-world examples.

You know that you friend is having an affair. Are you obligated to inform your friend’s spouse of the affair?
You witness a poor child steal food from a booth at a farmer’s market. Are you obligated to report the child for theft?
Someone invites you to a surprise birthday party for a friend that hates surprises. Are you obligated to spoil the surprise, and tell the guest of honor?

Isn’t it interesting that we might change our response for each situation? I think your answer is impacted by your passivity, and your worldview. Consider this: Would your decision be swayed by the positive or negative impact it would have? If your friend liked surprises, would you still feel the need to tell them? If it was your friend’s spouse having the affair, would you even question sharing the information?

In our hypothetical situation…

We get some relief for our discussion. Fortunately, we can be confident that the information would have a positive effect on their life. However, I still encountered some debate at this point.

“Should you give them a choice as to whether or not they receive the information?”

Typically, there are two immediate reactions here:

“Of course. It’s their life, and you fulfill your obligation by informing them and letting them decide if they want to know what the information is.”
“No, because they’re decision cannot be well-informed unless they know what the information is. You must tell them.”

I have to say that this was the most difficult hypothetical for me. I think if the information you have is very impactful, you may feel like you should tell them. I think there’s a chance that if you ask them, you will still feel like you need to tell them, even if they have asked you not to. So, whether it is right or wrong, I think it avoids confusion and conflict to just share the information. From there they can choose to let it impact their decisions.

What do you think?

Let me know what you think in the comments! Have you been in this situation before? Do you believe that knowledge comes with an obligation?