The Way We Lie

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.

Lies have been around for as long as people have been. We all lie, whether it is to protect someone we love of to cover up something we don’t want others to know about, it is still lying, and we all do it everyday. Lying has become the new normal for our modern society, so much so, that some of us have lost our morals completely. It is just so much easier and quicker to just lie to someone than to tell the truth, and now you can never tell who is lying to you or who is telling the truth. People use to have morals about lying and many people would feel bad about it and teach their children to never lie, but now in today’s society they just pop out of our mouths like they're nothing. We will never stop lying because it’s easier to live 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 50 Essays: A Portable Anthology, Stephanie Ericsson’s essay “The Ways We Lie” focuses on the many ways society lies today. “We exaggerate, we minimize, we avoid confrontation, we spare people’s feelings, we conveniently forget, we keep secrets, we justify lying to the big-guy institutions” (159). It is common for many people to think of lying exactly how it is on the surface, not telling the truth. Ericsson’s essay forces you to second guess this stereotype and begin to realize that lying is even more prevalent in today’s society than most people might imagine. Looking around today with this mindset would help us make more informed political decisions, better decisions on friends, and better “next-step” positions. Our lives are not horrible places, but better steps for these areas of our lives could improve our lives dramatically.

In the essay, "The Ways We Lie,” the author, Stephanie Ericsson, tells about the many ways people lie and explains the reasons for doing so. In her essay, she talks about ten specific ways of lying that she believes are prevalent in today’s society.

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

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,

It is very true that we lie. We lie everyday conscious or unconsciously, anywhere and to anyone. It has become a way of life to many people, when one lies it feels completely normal, actually they don’t feel anything at all. One can be couth lying in any place like work, home and to different person’s friends, family, clients, teachers and even authority. In the preface of the story the author had describe how in a day she had lied a minimum of four times to various people. In spite of this the authors tried a different approach she tried now to go a week without consciously lying, she discovered that it is merely impossible and of course as various negative consequences. So the main topic here could be why do we lie? Thus to know the reason why we like we must first examine the ways we lie, the so commonly ways we lie daily fashion. And to these there are several ways to lie, let’s examine two: The so called “White Lies” and of course the common stereotypes and Clichés.

Honesty and deception both play valuable roles in all parts of personal lives and society. Richard Gunderman stated, “To tell the truth is to live authentically and responsibly, to really live.” Living honestly is a way to have less stress to your life, proven by Richard Gunderman in “Is lying bad for us?” However, dishonesty seems to at an all time high with the growth of communication as stated in “On Bullshit” by Harry Frankfurt. In addition, lying can provide incredible short-term benefits discussed by Stephanie Ericsson in “The Ways We Lie.” Gunderman’s claim on authenticity is valid because most cultures see honesty and trust as two of the more lauded values. Telling the truth relieves stress and adds trust. Yet, there is a seemingly

The author of “The Ways We Lie” Stephanie Ericsson published this article to breakdown and categorize the many different types of lies we tell on a daily basis. Now, can a person tell lies on a daily basis and still consider themselves an honest person? A person who lies on a daily basis cannot be considered a honest person. One cannot be considered honest because lies are meant to deceive and give a false impression. Also one who lies on a daily basis should not be considered honest because a lie can affect reality either lightly or in a drastic way.

Alcoholism is one of the most delusional lies one can tell themselves. In the essay, “The Ways We Lie,” by Stephanie Ericsson, she states that, “alcoholics … believe that the problems in their lives are legitimate reasons for drinking rather than results of the drinking” (477). Alcoholics believe that they can stop at any time and that the benefits outweigh the side effects. They lie to themselves and lose trust from peers. I understand this first hand from my alcoholic granfather. Alcoholism is a direct result of being delusional. Delusion is the most catastrophic way to lie because it can cause physical danger, it creates isolation due to the lack of trust and it hides underlying issues of the delouser.

Over the summer I have decided to read, “7 Ways We Lie” by Riley Redgates for my choice book. This book first caught with a bright colorful cover as well as an entertaining title. After I read the first couple of pages I was immediately hooked in, even though I find it hard to connect or get attached to books the way I was to this one.

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.

In Stephanie Ericsson's essay, "The Ways We Lie," (1992), the author explains that a person can lie without even knowing they are doing so simply because it is part of the human nature. Ericsson uses personal life situations, such as: lying to the bank about a check being in the mail, lying about the reason why she was late to a business meeting, and telling a friend she was busy and could not go eat with her. Her main purpose is to explain the different types of lies told daily by most people in order to illustrate that although we may not realize we are lying, technically we are and sometimes it could be for the good of the person or for the worse. Ericsson relates to his target audience, everyone, by stating everyone lies one way or another,

After studying the three articles, “The Lies We Persist in Telling Ourselves” written by Linda Weltner, “Why We Crave Horror Movies” by Stephen King, and Brent Staples’ “Just Walk on By: Black Men and Public Space” it was difficult to decide which one to expand on. The more I scrutinized over their work, the more aggravated I became concerning Linda Weltner’s mentality on how advertising does not affect her. Weltner is very much convinced that she “had purchased not for [her], but for the woman [she] would like to be”(Weltner 1) although to get the concept, would it not have to be through a form of advertisement?