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Suppose that everyone I encounter is conspiring to keep the truth of something (mostly for money) from me by a mixture of deception, lies and perhaps outright stupidity/gullibility (that is soon turned into complicity).

Does the scale of such a "conspiracy" render it evil, or is it just a sum of isolated acts of self involved secrecy etc. (which I assume would be a confusion of value)? If evil, what sort of evil would it be, what sort of response to it is reasonable etc.?

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    As much as people here likely wish to help you, as soon as you mention mental illness, it becomes irresponsible for unqualified users to comment with authority on your situation. The typical advice is to seek professional help, from people who understand issues like yours and know how to safely guide you towards healthy reconcilement /recovery from any problems you might be having. – Futilitarian Mar 03 '23 at 15:22
  • it's not florid enough to run for help @Futilitarian does the question make sense as an ethical one? –  Mar 03 '23 at 15:23
  • You've asked a couple of questions in the OP. Maybe remove the reference to delusion and pose a single question, perhaps with relevant definitions/examples. – Futilitarian Mar 03 '23 at 15:25
  • Check out the guidelines for good questions. Questions which merely invite opinion are typically deemed off-topic here. Opinion will always be involved, but questions which invite answers from the body of philosophical work to date are desired. So, you might do some research on conspiracy theories, which in turn will help your formulate a clearer question. – Futilitarian Mar 03 '23 at 15:46
  • so you think i should delete @Futilitarian ? –  Mar 03 '23 at 15:47
  • Up to you. But if it was me, I would. I think you'll find the link I provided interesting and it should help you frame a question which remains relevant to you, but is also more relevant to this site. – Futilitarian Mar 03 '23 at 15:49
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    @Futilitarian idt it's relevant to my specific question, but thanks i looked at some of the link –  Mar 03 '23 at 16:01
  • Let us continue this discussion in chat. – Futilitarian Mar 03 '23 at 16:05
  • Your question is a Christian question even if you don't realise it. (In this interview the rabbi told Richard Dawkins "Richard you may be an atheist but you're a Christian atheist!") To make your question more neutral (and hopefully more useful to you) see my answer. – Rushi Mar 04 '23 at 08:02
  • i don't think / not asking if it's a sin, and there are definitely secular versions of 'evil' that's come up here before @Rusi-packing-up –  Mar 04 '23 at 20:59
  • anyway, back to closing questions because they're difficult to answer :/ –  Mar 04 '23 at 21:00

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In the usual case, the number of people engaging in such things as lies, deception, etc., for the purposes of fraud does not decide whether it is immoral or not. One doing it is immoral, two doing is immoral, three doing it is immoral, etc.

The number of people involved might have legal consequences. That would depend on the local laws, the exact nature of the fraud, etc. etc. You should consult a lawyer on that sort of issue.

This presumes there are no circumstances that would cause observers to find the actions acceptable. You might find exceptions in time of war, just as an example. Just to have a specific, extracting all the money from the guy running the munitions plants of the country invading your home country might be acceptable.

Boba Fit
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  • yeah there's not gonna be anything much more than this to say, thanks –  Mar 03 '23 at 16:07