John J. Mearsheimer's Five Types Of Lying

Throughout Sissela Bok writing, she continues to focus more emphasis on justification. According to Bok, justification is the means by which a liar’s distorted perspective can be revealed. (Bok, 1999, p. 75) Bok suggests that “reasonable person” in general be considered the audience in ethical matters. (Bok, 1999, p. 91) She mention early in her writing that justification requires one to exercise the golden rule, sharing the perspective of those lied to as well as the one benefiting from the lie. The last eight chapters she discuss justification in great detail and clarification. In other words, often times in most situations a lie will backfire and cause harm to an individual as well as the person who is telling the lie. She give example of kinds of lies that are justified, such as lies in wartime and other crises, lies protecting

“This is true.” (O’Brien, 420) – with this simple statement which also represents a first, three-word introductory paragraph to Tim O’Brien’s short story, “How to Tell a True War Story”, the author reveals the main problem of what will follow. “Truth” – when looked up in a dictionary, we would probably find definitions similar to sincerity and honesty on the one hand, and correctness, accuracy or reality on the other hand. When looking at these definitions, one can make out two groups of meaning: While sincerity and honesty are very subjective, correctness or accuracy are supposed to be objective by nature. One can be sincere and still not report the truth, due to the simple fact

In discussions on the topic of lying, a controversial issue has been whether there is justification of lying or not. Where this agreement usually ends, however, is on the question of if there is ever a time when a lie can be told for the good of someone else. Whereas some are convinced that lies should never be told, others agree that there are certain instances where lying is acceptable because the liar protects the one lied to. In the essay “The Ways We Lie” by Stephanie Ericsson, she explores the types of lies and how they affect everyday people. In Anton Chekhov’s fictional story, “The Lady with the Dog,” he displays two characters, Dmitri Gurov and Anna Sergeyevna, lying for love and to avoid consequence by their spouses. I stand against lying for the benefit of oneself because I think that it has the ability to ruin relationships or friendships and is hard to keep up the lies which leads to creating more lies. Although some people think that there are circumstances that warrant lying, I claim that no one should lie because lies end up hurting both people involved: the liar and the person lied to.

These forms of lying take the attention off the liar by either pushing the blame towards the victim, or seemingly ignore the issue that the lie is covering up. There are other lies that are a combination of other types of lies. For example, delusion, which is the use of excuses to defend lies, is a branch off of dismissal. Ericsson also points out that “groupthink”, which is lying to remain loyal to a community, is a mixture of ignoring facts, omission, and other types of lies written about in the essay.

According to the text On Lying: Writing Philosophical History after the Enlightenment and after Arendt by Sophia Rosenfeld focuses on the works by Hannah Arendt. Hannah Arendt was a German-Jewish intellectual who fled Germany with the rise of Adolf Hitler in 1933, lived in Paris as a stateless refugee and Zionist activist until 1941 and then fled to and settled in the United States (Isaac). Hannah Arendt wrote a “Political Lying” essay at the end of the 1960’s and first years of 1970’s. During this time Arendt became an experienced world traveler.

Ericsson first uses metaphors to establish her purpose for writing the essay. As an example, the author says “Unfortunately, it [stereotype] often shuts down the original thinking, giving those hungry for the truth a candy bar of misinformation instead of a balanced meal.” (pg. 164). By using metaphors, the author allows the readers minds to wander and think about what is being said in a way they can easily comprehend. Next, the author uses hyperbole to dramatize her points. An example of this would be “I once tried going a week without telling a lie, and it was paralyzing” (pg. 159). Hyperboles benefit the essay in that they provide a dramatic contrast, thus allowing the point to stand out more. Finally, there is a profusion of rhetorical questions in “The Ways We Lie”, especially at the beginning and ends of the essay, which assist the author in strengthening the purpose. In fact, Ericsson asks when talking about the consequences of lying and tell the truth: “What far-reaching consequences will I, or others, pay as a result of my lie? Will someone’s trust be destroyed? Will someone else pay my penance because I ducked out?”(pg. 160). Similarly, in the second to last paragraph, the audience is asked how much people will tolerate before they become “sick and tired of being sick and tired” and also when will they stand up and assert their right to trust, “realize the truth is in the fine print” and when will they stop

The art of deception is an essential skill, especially in moments such as political debates and commercial promotions. In today's society, artifice is a widely utilized skill to persuade the public. The commercial market connects producers to consumers through propaganda which appeals to consumers through elements such as pathos, ethos, and logos. Utilizing these elements, the audience is immediately drawn into the viewpoint of the deceiver. Politicians tried to appear as ordinary and modest as possible to seem more appealing to their audience. But, it can be a deception. As Chris Hedges said in his Empire of Illusion, a story is the best form of artifice because the “consistency and emotional appeal of the story are paramount.” Often politicians tell stories to create a persona making themselves look more trustworthy.

After reading both stories, I found that I enjoyed Stephanie Ericsson’s, “The Ways We Lie” the most. This story was very interesting and made me think of many different things. I did not realize that there were so many different ways to lie. I was guilty of doing a few of them. After reading the section about the white lie, I realized that I do this sometimes without even noticing it. Ericsson gives the example of when your friend may look terrible one day, but you tell them that they look nice just so they would feel better. Most people, along with myself, do not see this as a bad thing because you are doing something good for someone else, but either way you are still lying. As I continued reading, I was also shocked about a few parts, especially

After reading the articles, it is clear that article 3 resonates with me. One reason is that in paragraph 5 Blanton said,” Being honest all the time is what’s radical—and rare. Many people think they tell the truth, but they don’t because they withhold information. Have the courage, to be honest, and have a relationship with others based on reality. Don’t avoid the issues.” For example, Blanton says to have the courage, to be honest, but I am not courageous enough to tell my parents if I lied because I would get my butt yelled at. The article also points out that in paragraph 11 Blanton says Yes, but we shouldn’t manipulate the truth except for rare times—if you’re hiding Anne Frank in your attic because her life is in danger.” This is important

We are told from a very young that we should tell the truth, and that lying is wrong; an immoral action which we should not engage in. Yet lying is a large part of daily life, whether it be our lying to others or others lying to us, around us, or lying in ways that affect our lives. Oftentimes, the lies we tell are for social gain; for the purposes of esteem, affection, or respect. We lie as a way to manage others impressions of us. Studies have found that women are generally more intimate in their interactions, which would suggest that they lie less. However, might women lie more to benefit others, as opposed to self-centered lies? A study by DePaul et al. (1996) set out to answers questions about the frequency of lying, types of lies told,

In the Netflix series House of Cards, Kevin Spacey portrays house majority whip Frank Underwood, who is overlooked for the Sectary of State position as a new president is sworn into office. This act of betrayal sets him on a path to destroy those who took away what he believed to be rightfully his. Throughout the series, Underwood demonstrates that he is a master manipulator, who can bend the truth in ways that help him and harm his adversaries. In Friedrich Nietzsche’s On Truth and Lying in a Non-Moral Sense, the idea that truth is an illusion is presented (768). While humans ultimately can determine the truth behind a given situation, they are far more willing to believe what is presented to them if it maintains peace and provides opportunities that are more advantageous to them.

In today’s American society, lying has become something that we are accustomed to using almost every day without even realizing it. In “The Ways We Lie”, Stephanie Ericsson, screenwriter, advertising copywriter, and writer, elaborates on the act of lying and how it is used by everyone on a daily basis. She comes up with a list of the common, different kinds of lies that we all have told. Furthermore, the text goes in depth about the significance of lying and how it is an essential part of every human’s life. Ericsson’s essay effectively conveys this idea through the use of pathos, logos, ethos, personal examples, rhetorical questions, and analogies which helps the reader better understand the reasoning behind lies and how it affects our

Politicians should be allowed to lie and deceive the American people if the end result is better security and prosperity. Although lying is frowned upon you may have to keep a secret from your country and cover it up with a white lie. Perhaps something really serious is going on in the world and your country may be in danger. If the Americans want a certain solution but the leader feels as though it is a bad idea then they should most definitely lie only to make things better. This only applies if there will be a good end result.

the truth and lying to save themselves, whether it be their reputations or in the case of The

Let’s say that, we always hear lies everywhere. Lies can hurt other people, and lies can be a joke to have fun with everyone. Lies can also be a way to glossing over the fact. Lies can protect who are telling the lie. Everyone lies, although the ideas of lying to people are wrong, but people still lie about anything in their life. In this essay, it will talk about which ways people will lie and how they lie.