Is Lying Ever Justified

There comes a time in every persons life where they feel a burning sensation to lie, but is it worth it? Don’t they feel the shame and the guilt of that lie? On average, people lie between ten to two hundred times a day. But doesn't all of that lying come with a lot of conflict and trouble? The more that you lie the more conflict arises by avoiding truth then if it were to be faced head-on.

Lying is a common habit that everyone has had experiences with. I have lied and have been lied to numerous times. Everyone has. However, not everyone exposed to a certain lie is aware of it’s true power. In her essay “The Ways We Lie”, Stephanie Ericsson criticizes our bad habit of lying. She explains many different types of lies and even gives examples to show how harmful they can be as “our acceptance of lies becomes a cultural cancer that eventually shrouds and reorders reality until moral garbage becomes invisible to us as water is to a fish” (128).

Have you ever wondered why it can be so hard to tell the truth, or why it seems better to tell a lie? In both F. Scott Fitzgerald’s The Great Gatsby and Rob Marshall’s Chicago, characters lie because they feel that it is easier. However, lying leads to a downward- spiral. The society we live in can either lead us to a complicated relationship with the truth or easy going. The problem with constantly telling lies is that it starts off with one then leads to another until everything you say is a lie. People know it is easier to tell lies than face the truth because they are either doing it for money, or protection for themselves, people they love, or relationships. Yes, telling lies can help but imagine the damage you’re building up on the way. Nobody likes liars and liars can be found anywhere, even families lie to each other. Relationships are just like thin pieces of paper that make small tears to it every time a lie is told. The paper can be put back together but it will never be the same or be seen the same.

Deception is never justified because it is not morally right. It is basically lying to mislead someone. Even if the lie is told to benefit the other person, it is still not right. Lies can be covered up, but sooner than later, they will appear on the surface. Some common forms of deception are falsification, exaggeration, and omission. Many lies are told for several different reasons, but they all have consequences. Some frequent consequences include hurting a loved one’s feelings, losing the trust of others, and causing others to suffer.

The majority of people think lying is inherently wrong, and it is only justified in cases of significant benefit. Fear, manipulation and pride are the three main reasons people choose to lie. Some of the harsher lies are

The controversy over the topic of whether lying is sometimes, always, or never justified is complete nonsense. To say it is always or never acceptable would mean you’re not thinking about the situations in which we lie thoroughly. Simply put, lying can be sometimes acceptable when it brings good intentions.

Have you ever lied to avoid getting in trouble, or to protect someone’s feelings? Most likely, since everyone lies at least once in their life. But then, there’s the big question: is lying justified? Most Americans say that white lies are okay, or lies to protect someone’s feelings. Some say that it is never justified, while others say that most lies are justified, even though by lying, it can have a bad consequence. My position is that lying is sometimes justified if you’re trying to protect someone.

Lying is one way people deal with conflict. Why wouldn’t it be. An example would be from the Diary of Anne Frank. The Diary is in the point of view of a young girl and her family hiding from the Nazis. She details her experiences in the annex as well as her thoughts and feelings of herself and others around her. Essentially, Anne and her family lie to the government and neighbors. There have even been many times when the Nazis have lied. They have lied to Jews by telling them they would be taking showers and killed them. Lying seems normal in situations of conflict. People may lie to save themselves or to save others. People may also lie to achieve a sort of goal, whether it be good or bad. It seems to be a very common way of responding to conflict.

We all know lying is bad and usually strive to tell the truth to others, but rarely ourselves. Sometimes people lie without meaning to because they truly believe they are telling the truth. These people are brainwashed into reacting certain ways in certain situations. They were lied to as children, told they were fine after being hurt, couldn't do something random because it was impolite, rudeness is intolerable in any circumstance, and many other lies. When these lies were told during the developmental period of the child's life they caused the child to misinterpret their own beliefs and lie to themselves once they reach adulthood. “We all put façades up to one degree or another” says author Stephanie Ericsson, these façades can so totally convince others of who we are they begin to convince us as well. However no matter

Additionally in the article lies,lies,lies, by michael duffy, duffy states that “lying to protect can be a matter of life and death.” this show that a matter of life and death can save or kill a person from even the most serious of harm to a person can determine a person’s friendship with you, this shows that you’ll end up losing those whom you don’t want around anyway, in dangerous situations lying is ok

The third reason why I think lying is sometimes ok is if you're trying to get yourself out of trouble or a lie. For instance in “Teens Do their Share of Lying” by Loretta Ragsdell, Ragsdell asks teens when they think lying to which a teen named tim answers “ the key to a good lie is to keep it simple, if you get caught in a lie, tell another one, and tell another one to cover that one up…”this reason proves that lying is sometimes ok because you don’t want to get in trouble so you lie or you got caught in a lie so you lie to cover up the other lie up. However in ”Rejecting All Lies” Immanuel Kant argues that “A lie even if it does not wrong any particular individual, always harms mankind individually”although opponents suggest lying is ok if you are trying to protect someone. Therefore I believe lying is sometimes

Is it always morally wrong to lie? Yes, I strongly agree, others might disagree; moreover, this can depend on one’s own morals.

According to Immanuel Kant, a German philosopher, lying is acceptable in not even one situation you can think of. He specifically states,”Truthfulness in statements which cannot be avoided is the formal duty of an individual to everyone, however great may be the disadvantage” (Bok 1). This is so important because it really elaborates on how religiously one should avoid

I do agree that lying is wrong, but is permissible at times. The utilitarian theory would suggest that lying would be permissible as long as it gave the greatest number of people pleasure and only hindered the minority. With children I feel that this is especially true because their fragile minds may not be able to comprehend the truth. Furthermore, telling the truth to your children may not be beneficial to either you or the child. However, I do try to tell my children the truth on most things, but feel that some things are best kept covered up. Do you feel that lying to your child assists them in taking in the world as a better place? When I was deployed I did not lie to my children when they asked me “daddy will you going to die at war.”

First, in the article, It’s the Truth: American Conflicted About Lying, this article talks about how it is hard to get people to stop lying. For instance, it says, “Not only is lying justified, it sometimes is a moral duty. An obvious example is when you’re lying to protect someone from serious harm. Lying is your last resort. It could be your only option. Lying is hard not to do and sometimes we can’t help it. Another example of lying being good is it says, “People who say lying is wrong are often abstract. In our real lives, we can’t always pick honestly without compromising some other value that might be as important.” Lying has its costs, but if you aren’t hurting anything than it is acceptable.