We apply different standards of behavior for different types of choices all the time (in terms of how much effort to put into the decision process), mostly successfully. So I read this reply as something like, “Which category of ‘How high a standard should I use?’ do you put ‘Should I lie right now?’ in?”
A good starting point might be: One rank higher than you would for not lying, see how it goes and adjust over time. If I tried to make an effort-ranking of all the kinds of tasks I regularly engage in, I expect there would be natural clusters I can roughly draw an axis through. E.g. I put more effort into client-facing or boss-facing tasks at work than I do into casual conversations with random strangers. I put more effort into setting the table and washing dishes and plating food for holidays than for a random Tuesday. Those are probably more than one rank apart, but for any given situation, I think the bar for lying should be somewhere in the vicinity of that size gap.
We apply different standards of behavior for different types of choices all the time (in terms of how much effort to put into the decision process), mostly successfully. So I read this reply as something like, “Which category of ‘How high a standard should I use?’ do you put ‘Should I lie right now?’ in?”
A good starting point might be: One rank higher than you would for not lying, see how it goes and adjust over time. If I tried to make an effort-ranking of all the kinds of tasks I regularly engage in, I expect there would be natural clusters I can roughly draw an axis through. E.g. I put more effort into client-facing or boss-facing tasks at work than I do into casual conversations with random strangers. I put more effort into setting the table and washing dishes and plating food for holidays than for a random Tuesday. Those are probably more than one rank apart, but for any given situation, I think the bar for lying should be somewhere in the vicinity of that size gap.