tile repair , perhaps forgetting their research projects FromTeaching Ethics , Fall2003 , pp . 89-91 . Reprinted with permission of the Board of Directors of Teaching Ethics .. THE CHECK IS IN THE MAIL & quot ; or releasing uncharted debris into space , the tiniest fragment of which could have catastrophic effects on future shuttle and space missions ? Would they collapse from emotional stress , or even harm each other there in their small , now-lethal cocoon ? The astronauts are about to die in the performance of their own professional duties . Not performing them well could affect others . But if there is a chance of survival , even a slim one , wouldn ' t their performance level be diminished by the stress of knowing their fate ? This is an argument for not telling them what we know . But if this were a case in medical ethics , the assumption would be made just the other way around . Suppose , for example , that you ' re a physician , and have seven cancer patients , each of whom will die . Would you tell them the truth ? Yes , of course ; truthtelling even in fatal cancer diagnoses is now standard practice in medicine-though physicians try to do so with tact , empathy , and for Among the standard arguments understanding . people who are facing death truthtelling are that should be allowed to have time to say goodbyes , to set their affairs in order , to make amends , or , if they ' re religious , to make whatever final confessions and prayers they