Ross thought that all people should be benevolent and so if lying affects one's benevolence, one needs to decide if lying is better for the sake of benevolence.
Ross' non-absolutist take to ethics is preferred because is considers what is morally right in certain situations. In the instance of a Poker game, it is a game that relies upon lying or "bluffing" so it actually does pass Kant's universal law test. Kant would probably not take issue with the game of Poker because it is a game that needs the aspect of bluffing in order to work. But, if we want to use the example and examine it purely from a Kantian perspective on lying, then we must consider that people are acting from a means approach and not an end approach and all of the players have the same intention in mind -- to wind the game -- and thus they have to use lying as a means to get what they want (the pot of money).
W.D. Ross's prima facie duties are always more "moral" than Kant's absolutist duties. For example, the duty to help other people must always be considered, however we also, according to Ross, have the duty to always keep our promises. So if we have promised to take our friend to the airport but on the way to the airport we witness a very serious accident, we have the moral duty to stop and help others. We can weigh stopping against breaking...
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