Evasion (ethics)

In ethics, evasion is an act of deception where a true statement is irrelevant or leads to a false conclusion. For instance, a man knows that a woman is in a room in the building because he heard her, but in answer to a question as to whether she is present, says "I have not seen her", thereby avoiding both lying and making a revelation.

Evasion is described as a way to fulfil an obligation to tell the truth while keeping secrets from those not entitled to know the truth. Evasions are closely related to equivocations and mental reservations; indeed, some statements fall under both descriptions.