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Morality of lies
Morality of lies
Academic essays on the ethical dilemma of lying
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Reading Response #4
This week’s readings, and the readings we have dealt with in previous weeks, have laid the foundation to assess important questions, such as whether or not lying is ever ethically defensible. It is generally known that it is possible to argue either for or against the defensibility of lying, however, it now is on me to choose a side by considering the most important reasons and supporting them with examples.
First of all, I want to clarify that I personally consider the act of lying, holding back the truth, and deception as ethically defensible – depending on situations, relationships and the degrees of lies. In chapter one, the author raises the question: “Does it matter what exactly is the situation?” (p. 10) when it comes
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1, p. 10). Furthermore, “even if it were possible, it probably wouldn’t be desirable” (Ch. 1, p. 10) – indicating that an “adroit management of deception” sometimes seems more appropriate, desirable even, than pure truth telling. A balanced management of truth telling and deception is considered thoughtful, especially when it comes to the sake of other people. One statement that is made in chapter 1 suggests the following: “If I’m allowed to lie, then you’ll want to lie, and soon you will lie about everything and then everybody will want to lie about everything, too” (p. 24). I disagree with this statement, because I believe that deception can sometimes be appropriate. However, it is necessary to weigh in all factors (situation, relationship, degree of lie) – Deception or lying asks for an adroit management of truth telling and deception. Through this moral management, we will not necessarily fall into a habit of lying, but rather a habit that lets us consider all environmental factors. A big role, when it comes to the moral management of deception and truth telling, plays the relationship one has with others involved. As mentioned in the readings, an act of lying “is sometimes self-interest and sometimes the interest of others” (Ch. 1, p. 18). Especially in regard to situational factors, we often try to “consider the welfare of everyone …show more content…
One statement I highly agree with was made in chapter 7 and was made in regard to the handling of public relations: “The way is just as important as the ends sought at any particular moment by fallible human beings” (p. 101). In the end, all “humans are active, creative mammals who can represent what exists if it did not, and what doesn’t exist if it did” (Ch. 1, p. 12), primary through our strategic use of language. In short, we are able to tell the truth, however we are also able to recreate the truth, especially when a recreation of truth serves a desired outcome. However, especially in professional communication, the outcome alone cannot necessarily justify our actions. Professional communication influences many different audiences and has more responsibility than an individual in a private situation. Chapter 7 also states: “Communicators may feel that the intentional creation of ambiguity or vagueness is necessary, accepted, expected as normal, and even ethically justified” (Ch. 7, p. 106). Usually, we are aware of companies and professional communicators to either show us the truth from a certain point of view, or remaking it. In political campaigns, we often expect politicians to cover up the truth, lie, in order to win voters – We are aware of it and we expect it.
Shulevitz, Judith. The Liberation of Lying: What Wolff gets and the frauds don’t. 2008. Retrieved from
Author Allison Kornet in her article (1997) “The Truth about Lying: Has Lying Gotten a Bad Rap” states that deception or lying has become a part of everyone’s life. A person lies or deceives as often as he brushes his teeth or combs his hair. Many psychologists have neglected or ignored the concept of deception or lying and its effects on everyone’s life. Kornet explains that in the previous two to three decades, the psychologists started noticing or analyzing the effects of a person’s deception on others or why a person lies so many times in his day-to-day life. The person might learn lying from childhood
In society, some people are looked at as liars or “bullshitters,” as stated in the article, “Is Lying Bad for Us?” Honesty is not always the best policy, and in certain situations, liars are best not to tell the truth when protecting the innocent, or protecting oneself. Because of this, lying should be looked at as a standard in society and something that people recognize in every day life.
Viorst opens her article by explaining social lies. She describes these as lies to avoid hurt, such as lying to a cousin by pretending to enjoy dinner. Judith believes they are necessary and acceptable; without them, relationships would be icky and short. By being honest and not telling white lies a person can come off harsh. Furthermore, Viorst thinks that not telling social lies is arrogant.
Have you ever told a lie to protect yourself or someone you love? People lie for their own purposes. Some people lie for themselves or for their close one. They depend on the lies so much that they do not care that their lies might hurt others. In Arthur Miller’s play, The Crucible, almost all the characters lie for their own desires and to protect their own interests. Even though lies are forbidden in their religion, some people are blind to understand the punishment of lying. The concept of lying to save oneself is also evident in “Fear Was Reason For Lying About Shooting, Woman Says” by Mary Spicuzza. The article highlights how a woman hid the truth about witnessing a murder just for the sake of her own life. Another article, “The Truth
Ericsson argued that “telling the truth all the time is nearly impossible” (159). Lies are part of everyday life, like drinking coffee for breakfast. For Barkley, lies became a stifling part of his life. The two authors explained how lies can impact a society.
Actions are either classified as right or wrong with no allowance for a gray area. Furthermore, the strict guidelines tend to conflict with commonly accepted actions. For example, lying is always considered morally wrong--even a “white lie.” Therefore, one must not lie even if it does more good. In our society although individuals accept lying as being morally wrong, “white lies” have become an exception.
When initially asked about the morality of lying, it is easy for one to condemn it for being wrong or even corrupt. However, those asked are generally guilty of the crime on a daily basis. Lying is, unfortunately, a normal aspect of everyday life. In the essay “The Ways We Lie,” author Stephanie Ericsson makes note of the most common types of lies along with their consequences. By ordering the categories from least to most severe, she expresses the idea that lies enshroud our daily lives to the extent that we can no longer between fact and fiction. To fully bring this argument into perspective, Ericsson utilizes metaphor, rhetorical questions, and allusion.
In the article “Is Lying Bad for Us”, Richard Gunderman persuades his readers the effect of lying can have on our daily lives. He expresses strong opinions towards being honest and how lying has negative consequences on not only our mental health but
In “Autonomy and Benevolent Lies” Thomas Hill presents the case of benevolent lies and if they are morally troublesome. Philosophers have been debating the moral difference between a malicious lie, told in order to hurt people, and a benevolent lie. According to Hill benevolent lies are “intended to benefit the person deceived, for no ulterior motives, and they actually succeed in giving comfort without causing main” (Thomas E. Hill). Many argue that benevolent lies are no different from a malicious lie because telling a lie is morally wrong. Others argue benevolent lies and malicious lies differ because of the deliberate intentions. Hill provides the reader with three cases of a benevolent lies. The three cases he presents are the possible suicide of a student which a Professor lies to the student’s mother, the
As John Ruskin once said, “The essence of lying is in deception, not in words.” This essence is debated in “The Ways We Lie”, written by Stephanie Ericsson, and “Doubts about Doublespeak”, written by William Lutz. In “The Ways We Lie”, Ericsson talks about the different ways people lie on a day to day basis. By comparison, in “Doubts about Doublespeak”, Lutz discusses the different forms of doublespeak that many individuals frequently use. Lutz considers doublespeak as a language that distorts the meaning of words in order to deceive another person, and only “pretends to communicate” (83). Although both authors agree that lying is about the use of deceptive language, Ericsson describes this use of language as occasionally being necessary,
Although it is considered wrong to tell lies, it seems that literature has offered us situations where telling lies isn’t necessarily bad. Of course, lying often has a tragic outcome, but not always for the person or people who told the lie or lies. Oftentimes, these unfortunate outcomes are directed at the person about whom the lie was told. Furthermore, these stories have explained that dishonesty can result in success for both the liar and the target. Maybe we have been teaching the wrong values to our children.
Lying is simply an act of not telling the truth, and this definition of lying will be used in future sections of this paper. There are three groups of lies t...
In “The Ways We Lie”, Ericsson describes the different types of lies: white lie, facades, ignoring
Secondly, it is okay to be untruthful if you are trying to protect people. In certain situations, it is safer, and more practical for you to tell a lie rather than putting a loved one in jeopardy. To illustrate you may be in a situation where you are in a serious or dangerous situation, and you do not what anyone else involved, to keep them safe. For example, if you are getting held up for ransom, would you tell the truth to a loved one and get them involved, or lie and keep them safe? The obvious answer is to keep them safe at all costs, even if it means lying. Also, you do not want to put someone in harm’s way, so it would be ...