The Ways We Lie Analysis

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.

In this essay, The Ways We Lie, Ericsson writes examples of lies we tell daily. She explains that not all the lies we tell are intentional. We choose to make life easier by lying. This essay also highlights situations that occur in everyday life. Ericson explains that “The white lie assumes that the truth will cause more damage than a simple, harmless untruth.” (89) She then continue to explain that a “white lie” can be dangerous simply because telling the truth could ease a lot of pain.

“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.

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.

Throughout her essay, Ericsson fails to provide substantial evidence for the lies that preserve our mental health or even the ones that keep our families safe from harm. According to Ericsson, lies often possess the ability to poison our lives, but what about the lies that save them? Refusing to tell a

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.

Ericsson claims that she could write the book on delusion, a cousin of dismissal and is the tendency to see excuses as facts (128). Ericsson states that delusion is a powerful liying tool, because it leaves out all the informations that contradicts what we want to believe (128). Ericsson also believes that delusion is helping people to survive and function on a day to day level. “If we were to fully contemplate the consequences of our stockpiles of nuclear weapons or global warming, we could hardly function on a day-to-day level” (Ericsson 128). The author concludes her arguments by restating that it is nearly impossible to eliminate lies from our lives no matter how hard we try, however there is a “difference between telling functional lies and living a

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.

The point that Ii am trying to relayreciprocate is that there are many different kinds of lies, and not only do we lie to other people without even noticing, but we also lie to ourselves. Lying has become a part of human nature, a part that we would not survive without. It has become almost an instinct and this shows by the way people don't even notice that they are doing it. One Of Ericsson’s key points is the consequences of telling the truth and why we lie. She says that by telling small lies we are protecting ourselves and protecting others.

Stephanie Ericsson is a novelist. She does a great job explaining why people lie and the different types of lies in her essay “The Ways We Lie.” Ericsson’s essay was first published as the cover story for the Utne Reader magazine in 1993. Ericsson tries to send an important message through her essay: “Lying has influence on nearly everyone we have known.” As she describes her experiences with her partner, child, friend, and bank, the situation becomes very familiar to the readers which have gone through similar situations every day” (31,32,33).

So by not lying you will feel less stress and keep your blood pressure from rising. In “Is Lying Bad for Us?” by Richard Gunderman he talks similar to Haupt but talks about how when not lying you have a bunch of health benefits. “The Ways We Lie” by Stephanie Ericsson talks about different types of lying and how each has effects on a person. All three talk about lying and the physical and physiological effects.

Lying the one form of communication that is the untruth expressed to be the truth. Immanuel Kant states that lying is morally wrong in all possible ways. His hatred for lying has made him “just assumed that anyone who lied would be operating with a maxim like this: tell a lie so as to gain some benefit.”(Landau,pp.171) This is true for a vast number of people, they will lie in order to gain a certain benefit from the lie rather than the truth.It is similar to if you play a game of truth or dare, some rather pick a dare because it would release them from having to tell the truth. However, those who do pick truth still have a chance to lie to cover up the absolute truth.People lie in order to cover who they truly are. Even if you lie to benefit someone or something else, it would not matter to Kant because he does not care for the consequences. If you lie but have a good intention it is not the same for Kant, he would argue that you still lied no matter the consequence that a lie is a lie. “ While lying, we accuse others for not being transparent. While being hypocrites ourselves, we expect others to be sincere.” (Dehghani,Ethics) We know how it feels to be lied to by a person, so in order to not have the feeling returned, we hope the person will be truthful. We rather be surrounded by truthful people constantly despite all the lies that some people tell. No

After reading Stephanie Ericsson’s essay, “The Ways We Lie”, I believe that there are several ways a person may tell a lie. According to our text, Webster defines a lie as a false statement or action especially made with the intent to deceive. Some lies can be harmless and others can be very harmful. Any lie told is one of deceitful intentions, whether it was an intentional or unintentional lie. A person could tell a white lie, facade, ignoring the plain facts, stereotypes and clichés, or an out-and-out lie. Regardless, of what type of lie that is told some lies can do more harm than good. I believe that the white lie and the out-and-out lies are the most harmless lies, while, ignoring the plain facts could be very harmful. A white lie is

This is because silence is not the truth, so by remaining quiet, that person is not telling the truth. A more recognizable form of lying is outright lying, such as when a student claims to be working hard on her philosophy paper when she has in fact been partying at Myrtle Beach for the last two days. Deception is yet another form of lying, because by tricking another person into believing something false, one is withholding the truth from that person. By withholding the truth, the truth is not being told, so the deceiver must be a liar. Regardless of the form in which a lie is being presented, all lies have one thing in common. By giving others false thoughts or perceptions of an event, lies can have a strong influence on our free thinking. Therefore, they are all violations of human reason, something that many people strongly respect. As we will see shortly, the ability to reason is also considered valuable to both Mill and Kant, since it underlies both of their moral theories.

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.