The Pros And Cons Of Lies

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

Stephanie Ericsson, through personal anecdotes in her essay “The Ways We Lie,” reveals that no matter how big or how small, a lie is a lie. Throughout the essay, she defines the different ways people lie and explains to the reader the significance of the lies they tell. At the same time, she gives examples in which she lies because she believes that “we lie. We all do.” This keeps the readers from thinking she is criticizing everyone, but herself. As she sees it, we need to take in consideration the consequences of the lies we tell before telling the bank “my deposit is in the mail” when it isn’t. Such use of personal anecdotes support the theme and strengthen the essay because they establish pathos which move the audience to realize the impact

In “The Ways We Lie”, Ericsson describes the different types of lies: white lie, facades, ignoring the plain facts, deflecting, omission, stereotypes and clichés, groupthink, out-and-out lies, dismissal, and delusion. First Ericsson claims that white lies is when a person “assumes that the truth will cause more damage than a simple, harmless untruth” (Ericsson 181). A person decides that it is better to tell the lie rather than to tell the truth because of how he or she perceives the outcome will be. Ericsson believes that people who use white lies decide what is best for the other person and it “is an act of subtle arrogance to decide what is best for someone else” (Ericsson 181). When people use white lies they’re assuming that what they are doing something that is beneficial for the other person. Although they do not know

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.

She elaborates upon the fact of how we lie so often that it has basically become a normal thing for us to do daily. Stephanie Ericsson’s essay effectively meets its purpose through the use of rhetorical questions, anaphora, analogy,

Lying: it’s something everyone is guilty of. Whether they be big or small, lies are everywhere. We live in a society full of lies, so we take the consequences of lying with a grain of salt. There’s no doubt about it; lying can be dangerous. Therefore, we should be more wary of our lies and their consequences. Lies can be detrimental and do have the potential to change society for the worse.

It is thought that liars intentionally lie to benefit from something. A delusional lie has a distorted belief. Folks that tend to

“The truth is always an insult or a joke, lies are generally tastier. We love them. The nature of lies is to please. Truth has no concern for anyone's comfort” Katherine Dunn perfectly describes what attracts us to lies from a quote in her book Geek Love. Most people lie to help themselves make it through day to day life. If people lie all the time, can all that lying really have an immense effect? Delays for telling the truth is not always a bad thing.While some lies are more helpful to some people more than others. Lies can make people seem untrustworthy, although lies help protect innocence, maintain self-esteem, and prevent harm from yourself or others.

In Stephanie Ericsson’s essay, “The Ways We Lie”, she describes the many ways we create miscommunication individually and as a community. Lies that affect us individually are lies we commit between ourselves and a small group, like, “your hair looks great” to a friend, knowing you meant the opposite. Meanwhile, lies that affects society is on a more severe consequence scale – Adolf Hitler, world famous anarchist, persuaded his soldiers into believing obliterating the life of massive amount of Jewish believers had a good cause, when it actually disrupted society itself. Her main topic is how we are consumed by lies and deceptions abused by oneself and society. She categorizes each lie which she later elaborates the different consequences they

Once people know that a person habitually lies, they do not take that person as seriously. Being honest demonstrates self-respect and respect for others. Honesty is appealing and engaging to others. Honesty also sets a good example for people who look up to that person. People will become closer and have faith in an authentic person. An honest person invites authentic and real friendships. Imagine if a friend overhears a lie told by another peer, it is possible that it could damage the relationship. It can be difficult to regain their trust once they are aware of the regular lying. People frequently tell lies to bypass sharing truths that feel uncomfortable or awkward. Lying should be avoided because it is important to share true judgment and care for others. Lying typically ruins relationships whether they are personal or work-related. It is clear that lying creates skepticism and disbelief. Most people will stop asking liars for advice on personal issues because they know they will not get truthful information. Friendships are often broken because of lies that get too big to keep lying about. Lying hides who people really are. People should try to keep a clean slate by staying honest, especially when there are consequences. Lying gets rid of credibility, yet people seem to lie more

In her essay “The Ways We Lie” Stephanie Ericsson (2007) states different ways people lie in their lives and explains the reasons why people lie. Ericsson starts her essay, by explaining how she lied four times in just one day, and that she doesn’t feel guilty about doing it. Although at the same time she explains that everyone lies one way or another but there is no such a thing as a good lie. The author continues her contends by listing different types of lies people use in different situations such as: the white lie, facades, ignoring the plain facts, deflecting, omission, stereotypes and clichés, groupthink, out-and-out lies, dismissal, and finally delusion then she explains each in detail by providing examples.

How often do we lie and never consider the outcomes? In her essay, “The Ways We Lie,” Stephanie Ericsson explores the different types of lies and the consequences of their usage. She effectively provides anecdotal and factual evidence to support her definitions of lies.

As we all know, lying is a constant part of many people’s lives, whether they realize it or not. Now and then, we’ve all lied to our parents about our homework being completed. (Even though your homework is not done because playing video games or texting your friends is more interesting.) Honestly, lot’s of us have told a lot of white lies or maybe even a whopper of a lie, and we all have varied views on when we should or shouldn 't lie. Such as Brad Blanton, an author of a book about lying and the article, “Honestly, Tell the Truth” who believes in the concept of radical honesty: telling the truth at all times. (excluding a matter of life or death) By cutting out the white lies we tell throughout the course of our lives, there will be less lies to, as Blanton states “unnecessarily complicate our lives.” I agree with Blanton and his opinion that we honestly need to tell the truth and that if we cut out most if the lies we tell, our lives will be free of the aftermath of a lie: damaged relationships and unnecessary amounts of stress. I believe that lying is burdening to the liar who usually fights a losing battle, for he will most likely be found out. I also believe that if we excessively lie, this pattern will become a habit and a problem that will be hard to get rid of in the future. I consider lying to be harmful and damaging to relationships and to negatively affect your character and lower your moral standards. Everyone has lied occasionally, if not frequently, but if

In “The Ways we Lie,” Stephanie Ericsson expresses her own life experience as an example to show, how difficult it is to balance the moral value of living a lie and the consequences of telling the truth in real life. Ericsson expresses her views thoroughly on how “we all lie” for different reasons and for different purposes. In “The Way We Lie,” informational essay, some of the words contradict each other, for example, she explains the impossibility and the consequences of telling the truth all the time, while she explains the consequences of telling a lie without taking a side. She used those statements to build a strong bond with readers by eliminating judgment and creating humble moments. Ericsson’s essay grasped my attention easily and intrigued me so much that, I couldn’t keep my eyes of the pages; the end of each paragraph brought me to have text-to-self connections.

To lie by omission is another way some people choose to tell a lie. To lie by omission means to intentionally omit a vital piece or pieces of information leaving the other person with a misconception. For instance, a wife asks her husband if he were at the night club, the husband tells his wife that he is working late, which is true, however, he omit’s the fact that he also visited the night club. Lying by omission undermines the truth. It is often used to manipulate someone into altering their behavior to suit the desire of the deceiver. The lie is not the words or lack of words; the omission is the intention of the deceiver. Lying by omission includes failures to correct pre- existing misconceptions.