Lying is Unacceptable “Time will inevitably uncover dishonesty and lies; history has no place for them” (Sihanouk, n.d.). Sihanouk’s statement about lying means that lying has no place among us, it’s unacceptable. Humans have the ability to become liars, even callow children can make the choice to tell a lie. Over time, lying becomes a habit and it becomes part of people’s everyday life. The American culture tends to eschew the idea of lying, yet it becomes a habit in almost every American’s life, and it can go unnoticed. Lying is an act that can manifest into a habit or an instinct, it goes against moral values, and people try to justify it.
Liars Try to Justify Their Lies People believe that there is a “good” lie and a “bad” lie. “Good” lies are classified as lies that you tell for good reasons. For example, telling your friend she looks good in an outfit even if she looks bad, just to avoid hurting her feelings. “Bad” lies are classified as lies that someone tells to deliberately mislead someone from the truth and these lies usually have negative connotations. For example, spilling water all over grandma’s computer but blaming it on someone else. People tell “bad” lies to cover up the truth, to take the blame off themselves, or to bring negativity. However, there truly is no difference between a “good” lie and a “bad” lie. Both of these types of lies have been brought up as a way to try to justify lying, when really, dishonesty in any form is more
Lying has is a part of our culture, and it seems as if not a day goes by where you do not lie at all. Our world could not exist as it does, if we lived in a society in which lying did not exist. However as humans, we are prone to lying, because of our need to protect ourselves, or the ones close to us, that we turn to lying in order to either make our lives easier or to avoid problems. Humans have adapted over time into societies where lying is an evolutionary advantage, which has made it a part of our DNA. Even children, as soon as they can talk, are using deception as a way to get what they want, and these children have not even had a chance to learn to lie. Lying also continues throughout our entire lives, because it is not something that we can help, it is a part of who we are. When evaluating the argument Stephanie Ericsson makes in “The Ways We Lie”, regarding the reasons we chose to lie, however it is also important to consider extending the argument to include the idea that lying is not only a daily occurrence, it has also become imbedded into human nature.
There comes a time when a doctor, minister or politicians and an individual will tell a lie. It could be a white lie or big lie; most people almost generally resort to lying in certain situation. Often times a lawyer will lie in order to protect his client, or vice versa, a client will tell a lie in order to avoid being incarnated. There are many situations an individual will be placed in, and at some point in a person’s life they will need to tell a lie. Is it appropriate to lie? This is what Sissela Bok writes about in Lying: Moral choice in Public and Private Life. Bok acknowledges that despite numerous religious and moral statements against lying, people will still lie in certain situations. She will discuss and
All history comes with contradictions. With every moment in history comes a corresponding moment which can take the accuracy and understanding and change them forever. Throughout time people add small pieces of information to great events in our past. This is where we get the misinterpretation of history. In chapter five of the book Lies My Teacher Told Me, these contradictions are brought into light and force us to look at them again. As I have learned in my history courses we can always question the accuracy of a story but we may never fully understand the truth. There have been three important times I have been through that have shaped my understanding of history today, specifically the part of history dealing with slavery and racism.
“The Ways We Lie” is an essay written by Stephanie Ericsson, first published in the Utne Reader in 1993. The Utne Reader is an American magazine that publishes pieces from alternative media sources. However, the essay was mostly directed toward people who have told a lie at least once in their life and have may have felt guilty about it. The purpose for the piece was developed using original syntax, logical appeals, and descriptive tropes, the purpose being that one should think twice before telling a lie.
Angelo Segura English 12 Honors Dr. Jen 5 May 2018 The moment we proclaim we don’t or have never lied is the moment we lie. It doesn’t matter how well we say it, there are points in our lives when we are faced with certain situations where the only viable option to get out of it is to lie. Lies may be categorized, but whether it’s a good lie or a bad lie, it’s still a lie. Throughout her essay, “The Ways We Lie”, Stephanie Ericsson explores and exploits different kinds of lies we may use in our daily lives.
In the essay The Ways We Lie, author Stephanie Ericsson writes in depth about the different types of lies used by most people everyday. While listing examples of them, Ericsson questions her own experiences with lying and whether or not it was appropriate. By using hypothetical situations, true accounts, and personal occurrences, she highlights the moral conflicts and consequences that are a result of harmless fibs or impactful deceptions. In an essay detailing the lies told to ourselves and others, Ericsson points out one bold truth; everyone lies. Through her writing, Ericsson causes the reader to look into how they’ve lied in the past and how to effects others and the general greater good of society.
Lies, they're everywhere, are they worth the trouble? Throughout these three articles, “It’s the truth”, “Honestly tell the truth”, and “Rejecting all lies”, the authors precisely analyze who agrees, and who doesn’t agree with lying, and why. Lying may be the first thing to come to mind when in a bad situation, but does anyone realize how much damage it can cause towards the other person or to the liar themselves?
In “The Ways We Lie,” Stephanie Ericsson draws on her experience as a screenwriter and self-help author to examine the usage and effects of lies in modern society. Written during a time of presidential indiscretions and published in a magazine centered on cultural trends, the piece delineates lying into specific categories and describes each one’s prevalence. Ericsson makes use of a matter-of-fact and forthright tone which contributes to credibility and reflects her confidence in discussing such morally grey topics. Throughout the piece, she explicates the implications of lying by making use of personal anecdotes, supporting quotes, and rhetorical questions.
To many people, a lie has little significance. Some people tell lies as a way to cover something up, make a different name for themselves, or just to make excuses. No matter what the situation, my father has constantly reminded me that the truth will set you free, and as I get older even though I am still in my youth, the more I realize the truth and importance of that statement. To me a lie is a form of disloyalty, the less you respect the person the more you lie to them as a way to cover up your true identity. A lie is when you mislead what is really the truth; where you don’t tell the full truth in order to deceive someone, or you avoid being honest at all. There are several different outcomes to
Self deception is the process or fact of misleading ourselves to accept as true or valid what is false or invalid. Self deception, in short, is a way we justify false beliefs to ourselves. There is no doubt that sometimes we are not realistic. Not all of our actions are rational or intentional. Sometimes we avoid reality, we deny the truth, and we fool ourselves. In some cases we may see the world the way we want to, and not the way it is. Self deception raises basic questions about the nature of belief and the relation of belief to thought, desire, and will.
To lie means to make an untrue statement with the intent to deceive, according to the Webster’s dictionary. It also means to simply create a false or misleading statement on purpose. There are also many synonyms to the word “lie,” such as: prevaricate, equivocate, palter, and fib. The word lie happens to be the most blunt of this group. “Prevaricate” softens the bluntness of a lie by implying quibbling or confusing the issue. This form of lying is common in courtroomms and press conferences by lawyers and politicians. “Equivocate” implies using words having more than one sense in an attempt to say one thing but to mean another. This is an attempt to mislead one without feeling as if one has lied. “Palter”
Ever since birth, people are told about lying and how it is something bad. Lying is projected as something that only can hurt people. Instead the slogan “Honesty is the best policy” is ingrained in their heads so that they are raised up to become honest people. Except not all lying is bad. Mark Twain shows this in his Adventures of Huckleberry Finn where Huck and many others lie throughout the whole novel. In the case of Huck, lying is what saves him and frees him from his grim situations. So lying itself is not that bad if it can save someone's life. This controversy over a good lie and a bad lie connect to the binary of appearances vs reality. As society’s appearance to the outside world is simply a lie to hide the horrors of slavery that
Socrates is a man of great controversy. He has been portrayed as many different personalities such as a sophist to a great philosopher to just a vocal old man. The true nature of Socrates is to be questioned. He spoke his thoughts on life and what his philosophy on life was. A couple arguments that he spoke about really stood out about lying. These arguments had brute force and were made very clear through his dialogue. According to his dialogue, he felt that there were two different types of lies.
People lie for all kinds of reasons. However half the lies are either self–orientated, and are therefore intended to make the liar appear better or to gain personal advantage (DePaulo et al., 1996). Self– orientated lies consist of people lying
Sometimes, some people will use a lie to hurt or laugh at someone. For example, when I was in primary school, my classmate enjoyed to laugh with someone in my class. Maybe they want to make fun of people, but they always make other people feel really bad of themselves. My teachers always told us to not do those awful things to other, but they didn’t care about that. They still make fun of other students. I think it is an immoral way to use lie because that would hurt not on the body, but on the spiritual side! If the spiritual gets hurt, it is harder to recover than physique pain! Also, my classmate could destroy a person childhood. It is the fact and grave! Lie can destroy everything not only childhood!