Thursday 25 February 2010

All lies are not equal.



The truth, as the light, makes blind. Albert Camus

The ethical questions posed by the act of lying are complicated to say the least. I think most of us would say that all lies are not equal, yet many are quick to condemn lying as one of the worst characteristics a person can possess. Do you expect therefore to be told the truth ALL the time? I put it to you that 'you can't handle the truth!'
'Hey, Hello, How are you?' you are asked on meeting a friend 'fine, thanks.' You have probably just committed your first lie within 5 seconds of meeting. This kind of lying is a necessity, it greases the cogs of society. You could of course have said 'actually, in some aspects of my life I'm ecstatic, in others deeply miserable and the rest; somewhere between the two. Let me tell you about a specific problem I'm having with a fungal infection...' I assure you it doesn't go down well.
How about a friend who has a secret that they perceive as embarrassing? they may be concerned that if they tell you about it, you'll like them less. How do we gauge the validity of that secret? it may be they murdered someone in cold blood, it may be they were abused as a child. In between is a spectrum of morality. Is omission of information a lie in itself?
The above clip from 'Annie Hall' illustrates what can happen if we blurt out our innermost feelings.
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2 comments:

  1. Anonymous3 March 2010 at 15:16

    Your post made me laugh as it is SO true! 'Hi, how are you?' The person asking probably doesn't actually care that much how you are...but just feels obliged to ask. The realisation of this has hit me in the last year or so when one day I actually decided to responded truthfully for a change.

    Person: 'Hiya, you alright?'

    Me: 'Well...no actually. I've had a pretty **** year, I'm having a bad day...things keep going from bad to worse and to top it off, I walked out my front door today to be greeted by the bus I was supposed to catch drive straight past me, therefore making me late for work and getting a bit of a telling off!

    Person: 'Awww, don't worry. Just get a drink down your neck!'

    Yes many thanks to that individual. Thats very useful. Do you see what I mean??

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  2. Sharna2 May 2010 at 17:39

    I agree that lying is something we do all the time without even realising it. However, I also agree that not all lies can be judged equally. Lying becomes a problem when people tell "big" lies unnecessarily which have the potential to hurt people immensely. And yes I always say "I'm fine," when someone asks how I am - who doesn't.

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