Can telling lies ever be justified? |
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The old admonition to children, ‘speak the truth and shame the devil’, runs contrary to what is called the schoolboy’s eleventh commandment; ‘tell a lie, and stick to it’. The one adage advocates honesty at whatever personal cost. When charged with some illicit tree-felling, the young George Washington is said to have said ‘I cannot tell a lie’. Those who advocate moral rectitude always argue that honesty is the best policy. Those who do not say ‘get away with wrong-doing if you can’. Thus, as a child you avoid punishment. As an adult, you hope to avoid the consequences of your actions. The one is the result of a strong sense of morality. The other stems from self-interest and indifference to the fate of other people. Silence itself may amount to a lie, particularly when it is meant to shift blame from oneself. Cicero said it is the nature of a scoundrel to deceive by lying , and it may well be argued that truth is an integral factor in the health of society. Justice itself depends on witnesses pledging themselves to speak the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth . The law has severe penalties for those who perjure themselves after taking this oath.So logically there should be no circumstances in which lying can ever be justified.
Yet, we can all think of occasions when to tell the truth would be a very mixed blessing.This applies especially to those who have access to secrets of national importance, particularly in wartime, or when there is danger of war. In these circumstances another moral issue is raised, and that is where personal loyalty lies. Most would say to one’s own country. For others, a strong political belief, based on conviction, is more cogent. So, during the ‘Cold War’ between NATO and the Communist bloc, people on both sides were prepared to betray their country’s secrets. This was generally out of conviction rather than for money, though the spy was usually rewarded in some way, sometimes by asylum and the conferring of honors and position. Such men and women would argue, and some still do, that the ultimate end justifies the means, if the means included lying and deception, so be it.The same principle applied particularly in the 1939 – 45 war. The allies relied heavily on agents, and the lies which were part of their stock-in-trade. Disinformation was born and played a prominent role on both sides. Some of the deception was very elaborate indeed. Hitler’s forces in France were tricked into believing that the invasion would be at the Pas de Calais rather than along the Normandy coast.
The Essay on The War Of 1812: Was The War Of 1812 Justified?
For America, the War of 1812 was justified. Clearly there were sufficient reasons for America to declare war with Great Britain. Time after time the British violated American rights and freedoms. Acts such as impressments, the attack on the USS Chesapeake, the violation of American neutral rights and waters, blockades on U.S. ports, and the ignoring of stipulations of Jay’s Treaty and their ...
England created a wholly fictitious army in the wrong place by setting up a subtle system of signaling, designed to be picked up across the channel. German doubts were settled by the planting of spurious invasion plans by agents in France. As a result, the invasion was given a good start. Every patriotic Englishman would say that all the lies and deception were amply justified both by the motivation and in the event. In much the same way, the British Ministry of Information concealed some failures and exaggerated some successes for the sake of morale. It was morale which enabled Britain to counter what seemed to be inevitable defeat.So, the good of others seems to go a long way towards justifying the lie, and this applies in some personal as well as national concerns. Nobody would applaud the man or woman who lied about extra-marital relations. The more honorable course is not to have any. Yet, it is not always kind to tell the brutal truth about a severe illness such as a cancer to a patient or to his or her relations just as soon as the illness is diagnosed. Treatment may be successful, so unnecessary sadness has been caused. Yet if not, there must come a time when the facts are disclosed. Not to do so prevents the patient from making testatory provisions. It also increases the shock to the family and friends when death actually occurs.Kindness may be a good reason, if not to tell a lie, at least to be economical with the truth . Another is tact. These two virtues oil the wheels of all social relationships. A lady may have chosen a hat which she obviously loves dearly, but you think it is hideous. Never tell her, even if you cannot bring yourself to say ‘Wonderful! Super!’ There are ways of side-stepping the issue. Anyway, dress is a matter of opinion rather than of fact, and what does it matter? No good at all could be done by telling the truth , and absolutely no harm done by withholding it. |
The Essay on People Lie Lies Feel Lying
Oops, I just told a lie. It was a little white lie but still, I lied. Why did I lie What an interesting thought: Why After thinking about this most complex question I came up with a variety of reasons why people find justification in lying. Be mindful that most of my thoughts stem from books or articles I have read about the not so honest people living in society. I know someone who has made bad ...
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LYING:
Lying is probably one of the most common wrong acts that we carry out (one researcher has said ‘lying is an unavoidable part of human nature’), so it’s worth spending time thinking about it.
Most people would say that lying is always wrong, except when there’s a good reason for it – which means that it’s not always wrong!
But even people who think lying is always wrong have a problem… Consider the case where telling a lie would mean that 10 other lies would not be told. If 10 lies are worse than 1 lie then it would seem to be a good thing to tell the first lie, but if lying is always wrong then it’s wrong to tell the first lie…
Why is lying wrong?
There are many reasons why people think lying is wrong; which ones resonate best with you will depend on the way you think about ethics.
* Lying is bad because a generally truthful world is a good thing: lying diminishes trust between human beings:
* if people generally didn’t tell the truth, life would become very difficult, as nobody could be trusted and nothing you heard or read could be trusted – you would have to find everything out for yourself
* an untrusting world is also bad for liars – lying isn’t much use if everyone is doing it
* Lying is bad because it treats those who are lied to as a means to achieve the liar’s purpose, rather than as a valuable end in themselves
The Essay on Lying Is Lying Morally Wrong
Lisa Rice English 101-03 Lu pica-Scott Essay # 5 Lying Is lying morally wrong If you ask most people if they lie, the answer is answered quickly as No but is that a lie in itself. We like to think of ourselves as honest, righteous people, therefore, we lie to ourselves about lying. Well, the truth is we all lie, maybe not maliciously, but in some cases it is necessary to lie. Our parents lied to ...
* Many people think that it is wrong to treat people as means not ends
* Lying is bad because it makes it difficult for the person being lied to make a free and informed decision about the matter concerned
* Lies lead people to base their decisions on false information
* Lying is bad because it cannot sensibly be made into a universal principle
* Many people think that something should only be accepted as an ethical rule if it can be applied in every case
* Lying is bad because it’s a basic moral wrong
* Some things are fundamentally bad – lying is one of them
* Lying is bad because it’s something that Good People don’t do
* Good behaviour displays the virtues found in Good People
* Lying is bad because it corrupts the liar
* Telling lies may become a habit and if a person regularly indulges in one form of wrong-doing they may well become more comfortable with wrong-doing in general
* Some religious people argue Lying is bad because it misuses the God-given gift of human communication
* God gave humanity speech so that they could accurately share their thoughts – lying does the opposite
* Some philosophers say lying is bad because language is essential to human societies and carries the obligation to use it truthfully
* When people use language they effectively ‘make a contract’ to use it in a particular way – one of the clauses of this contract is not to use language deceitfully
What harm do lies do?
Lies obviously hurt the person who is lied to (most of the time), but they can also hurt the liar, and society in general.
The person who is lied to suffers if they don’t find out because:
* They are deprived of some control over their future because
* They can no longer make an informed choice about the issue concerned
* They are not fully informed about their possible courses of action
The Essay on How We Lie People Test Good
Lying is a part of life for each and every person on the planet. We do it everyday we there we know it or not. Grown adults do it more than childe rn do, people lie to save drama or to keep everyone happy. That person who sits in the front row in che arch may say she lives life by the ' book' and knows but she could be the main one in the town messing up. I believe if the Government told the truth ...
* They may make a decision that they would not otherwise have made
* They may suffer damage as a result of the lie
The person who is lied to suffers if they do find out because:
* They feel badly treated – deceived and manipulated, and regarded as a person who doesn’t deserve the truth
* They see the damage they have suffered
* They doubt their own ability to assess truth and make decisions
* They become untrusting and uncertain and this too damages their ability to make free and informed choices
* They may seek revenge
The liar is hurt because:
* He has to remember the lies he’s told
* He must act in conformity with the lies
* He may have to tell more lies to avoid being found out
* He has to be wary of those he’s lied to
* His long-term credibility is at risk
* He will probably suffer harm if he’s found out
* If he’s found out, people are more likely to lie to him
* If he’s found out he’s less likely to be believed in future
* His own view of his integrity is damaged
* He may find it easier to lie again or to do other wrongs
Those who tell ‘good lies’ don’t generally suffer these consequences – although they may do so on some occasions.
Society is hurt because:
* The general level of truthfulness falls – other people may be encouraged to lie
* Lying may become a generally accepted practice in some quarters
* It becomes harder for people to trust each other or the institutions of society
* Social cohesion is weakened
* Eventually no-one is able to believe anyone else and society collapses
When is it OK to lie?
The philosopher Sissela Bok put forward a process for testing whether a lie could be justified. She calls it the test of publicity:
If we were to apply this test as a thought experiment we would bring together a panel of everyone affected by a particular lie – the liar, those lied to and everyone who might be affected by the lie.
The Essay on Capitalistic Society People Joads Steinbeck
The United States has, since it s founding, been a capitalistic society and its citizens have always been frightened of proponents of other -isms such as communism and socialism. This political climate made it difficult for socialists, such as John Steinbeck, to become popular writers. His book, Grapes of Wrath, was popular because, instead of promoting Socialist philosophies, he showed the faults ...
We would then put forward all our arguments for telling a particular lie and then ask that ‘jury’ of relevant and reasonable persons if telling this lie was justified.
