The Ethics Of Lying

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

People from all walks of life face many ethical dilemmas. These dilemmas have consequences. Our worldview determines how we deal with these dilemmas, and guides us to the right decisions. In this essay, I will examine an ethical issues through my Christian worldview. I will also present other viewpoints, and compare them to mine.

An example would be during the Nazi’s reign in World War Two where the Jews were persecuted by Nazi Germany. Benevolent and intrepid neighbours would often choose to protect their Jewish friends through weaving elaborate webs of falsehood and truth. They had to live under the constant threat of death hanging over their heads, wondering if today was the day that the Gestapo would come banging on the door, carrying loaded guns at the ready. They must live the lies that they tell day and night; their truths buried deep underneath layers of deceit. Yet without these cozenage, more Jews would have been found and killed and the goal of Hitler to eradicate this race may have succeeded. Deception during times such as these are

Stephen L. Carter links integrity and honesty. There are three constraints discussed in this essay. First, integrity does require a degree of moral reflectiveness. Second, Integrity may cause conflict that is must be resolved. It does not necessarily produce or protect interpersonal harmony. Third, a person who has integrity can be trusted. It does not avoid the restructuring of social structures and associations, because it leaves the matter to exercise of interpersonal authority.

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?

Medvic also defends politicians on the public’s charges about how they are liars and cheats. Medvic contends that we do not know how many liars and cheaters there are in politics. However, politicians are under more scrutiny and would more than likely be caught. In addition, politicians are consistent in what they say and attempt to keep their promises, as supported by Tracy Sulkin study, (Medvic p. 112).

anyone who has ever spoken a word has lied or bent the truth a little bit. In most cases

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.

"I did not have sexual relations with that woman, Miss Lewinsky." These were the infamous words proclaimed by former President Bill Clinton in response to the allegation that he had an affair with a White House intern while serving as President of the United States. A statement that was later found to be false and perjurious, and one that would eventually undermine his presidency. Lies come in different shapes and forms - while some lies can be harmless, others, such as President Clinton’s scandalous lie, are self-serving and can cause a great degree of harm to others or even to oneself. In Stephanie Ericsson’s “The Way We Lie,” Ericsson categorizes the various types of lies and their ramifications, whereas in Anton Chekhov’s “The Lady with the Dog,” the writing touches on the selfish lies that both Dmitri Gurov and Anna Sergeyevna tell to sustain their adulterous relationship. Although the extent to which lying is selfish depends on the motives and circumstances of the lie, I claim that not only are most lies selfish, but they are also morally wrong because they can cause irreparable damage to relationships and the trust between people.

“The most essential skill in political theater and a consumer culture is artifice,” said by Chris Hedges. Do we usually get lied to? Or are we really hearing the truth? In most cases, Politicians do lie, but that doesn’t mean that they all do. If a Politician does lie, they usually get caught up in the act. Or in other words they get caught in a scandal.Artifice is a problem because it’s a kind of way of tricking people. Such as involving lies, or “white lies,” which is the truth, but not the whole truth. It is important because we, the people, deserve the right of the truth. No one likes to be played around by lying. People may think artifice is not an essential skill, but it is because without it we wouldn’t listen to any other person's opinion for a right. Or in other words, some people don’t know what they want, and they would rather listen to another

Mearsheimer does write that lying is not that common in international politics, but it does happen occasionally because it is an anarchic system so there is no one to regulate it (2011, 8). Although Mearsheimer mainly focuses on lying, he also writes about other forms of deception, concealment and spinning (2011, 16-17). Inter-state lies are the first type Mearsheimer discusses; these lies are made between states to benefit one country (2011, 25). Next is Fearmongering, fearmongering exaggerates threats to gain the support of the public; this type of lie has been used many times in US History (2011, 45). Another type of lie that Mearsheimer writes about is strategic cover-ups. These are lies that hide policies that fail or they are controversial, an example of it was during the Cold War when the US docked nuclear-armed ships in Tokyo with permission from the Japanese government. This would have been controversial for the Japanese public because nuclear-armed ships are forbidden in their docks( 2011, 67-68).

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.

mother was brutally murdered and tortured.I would just tell the kid that his mother got

Thomas Jefferson once said, “He who permits himself to tell a lie once, finds it easier to do it a second time”. Nobody is perfect, we have all told a lie but was it a lie or a false statement? A lie is viewed as an unacceptable act while a false statement is viewed as the person who stated it just doesn't have the knowledge to know if it's true or not. Kelly McEvers, a NPR reporter, recently didn't use the word “lie” in an article about Trump because she thought it would put too much of her opinion in the article. Kelly was in the right when she didn't use the word lie.

Lying is part of human nature, we live in a society where lying has become a social norm. According to (Premuzic, 2015), studies suggests that based on an average person behaviour, we tend to lie around twice a day, but it varies from different cultures and person. Lying are generally considered immoral and known to be a deceitful act, but sometimes lying can be used for a good intention such as to preserve the feelings of others etc. So why do we lie? According to (Goman, 2013) we lie for a bunch of reasons depending on the situation we are in, these includes lying to get out things they don’t want to do, to avoid punishment, to keep secrets and lastly to protect people going through psychological harm.