Tim Mazur's Lying Or Telling The Truth?

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Recommended: Importance of telling the truth

In today's society, telling the truth is praised as the most noble and prestigious thing to do, but that is not always the case. Lies are a part of human nature, while some can be harmless little white lies or deflect the cold sting of the truth, others are detrimental and have the capability to destroy lies. Right now, there is a 1st grader lying about his dog eating his homework and in the same breath, a police officer warping his testimony of a shooting to give himself a promotion. However, there are certain situations in which telling a lie better than saying the hard truth; such as a doctor telling a depressed patient that his diagnosis has a more positive outlook than it actually is. I believe that lies are justified in certain instances …show more content…

In my experience as an adolescent, there have been many instances where my friends talked behind my other friends back, and in these types of cases I have learned it is better to deny that such instance occurred. Doing this would mean that my friend would not be unnecessarily hurt by knowing the painful truth, especially if the drama will dissipate within a few days. In an article titled “Lying”, Tim Mazur says it may be more immoral to tell the truth than to lie, which is the exact opposite to what we were conditioned to know. Situations that are more serious than just a sour end to a friendship highlight the truth to this unorthodox statement. In the instance that was mentioned in Mazur's article, there was an experienced doctor who has the choice of telling the truth or a lie about the shortened life expectancy for a sick and depressed patient. In this case, if the doctor tells the truth, she increases the risk of the patient sinking deeper in his depression; leading to self harming and even suicide. On the contrary, if she tells a lie about how the patient has a good chance of recovery, his morals would rise and has a better chance of beating the odds. In this instance, telling a lie maximizes benefit and minimizes suffering, making it the more moral and socially just thing to do. However, not all lies are justifiable and righteous; there are many instances where one lies simply to corrupt others and benefit

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