A lie (also called prevarication) is a type of deception in the form of an untruthful statement, especially with the intention to deceive others, often with the further intention to maintain a secret or reputation, protect someone's feelings or to avoid a punishment. To lie is to state something that one knows to be false or that one does not honestly believe to be true with the intention that a person will take it for the truth. A liar is a person who is lying, who has previously lied, or who tends by nature to lie repeatedly.
Lying is typically used to refer to deceptions in oral or written communication. Other forms of deception, such as disguises or forgeries, are generally not considered lies, though the underlying intent may be the same. However, even a true statement can be considered a lie if the person making that statement is doing so to deceive. In this situation, it is the intent of being untruthful rather than the truthfulness of the statement itself that is considered.
Classification
Types of lies
The various types of lies include the following:
Fabrication
A fabrication is a lie told when someone submits a statement as truth, without knowing for certain whether or not it actually is true. Although the statement may be possible or plausible, it is not based on fact. Rather, it is something made up, or it is a misrepresentation of the truth. Examples of fabrication: A person giving directions to a tourist when the person doesn't actually know the directions. Often propaganda is classified as a fabrication.
Bold-faced lie
A bold-faced (often also referred to as bare-faced or bald-faced, although all three have slightly different meanings) lie is one which is told when it is obvious to all concerned that it is a lie. For example, a child who has chocolate all around his mouth and denies that he has eaten any chocolate has told a bold-faced lie.
Lying by omission
One lies by omission by omitting an important fact, deliberately leaving another person with a misconception. Lying by omission includes failures to correct pre-existing misconceptions. An example is when the seller of a car declares it has been serviced regularly but does not tell that a fault was reported at the last service. Propaganda is an example of lying by omission.
Lie-to-children
A lie-to-children is a lie, often a platitude which may use euphemism(s), which is told to make an adult subject acceptable to children. Common examples include "The stork brought you" (in reference to childbirth) and the existence of Santa.
White lie
A white lie would cause only relatively minor discord if it were uncovered, and typically offers some benefit to the hearer. White lies are often used to avoid offense, such as complimenting something one finds unattractive. In this case, the lie is told to avoid the harmful realistic implications of the truth. As a concept, it is largely defined by local custom and cannot be clearly separated from other lies with any authority.
Noble lie
A noble lie is one which would normally cause discord if it were uncovered, but which offers some benefit to the liar and assists in an orderly society, therefore potentially beneficial to others. It is often told to maintain law, order and safety.
Emergency lie
An emergency lie is a strategic lie told when the truth may not be told because, for example, harm to a third party would result. For example, a neighbor might lie to an enraged wife about the whereabouts of her unfaithful husband, because said wife might reasonably be expected to inflict physical injury should she encounter her husband in person. Alternatively, an emergency lie could denote a (temporary) lie told to a second person because of the presence of a third.
Perjury
Perjury is the act of lying or making verifiably false statements on a material matter under oath or affirmation in a court of law, or in any of various sworn statements in writing. Perjury is a crime, because the witness has sworn to tell the truth and, for the credibility of the court to remain intact, witness testimony must be relied on as truthful.
Bluffing
To bluff is to pretend to have a capability or intention which one does not actually possess. Bluffing is an act of deception which is rarely seen as immoral when it takes place in the context of a game where this kind of deception is consented to in advance by the players. For instance, a gambler who deceives other players into thinking he has different cards to those which he really holds or an athlete who indicates he will move left and then actually dodges right is not considered to be lying (also known as a feint). In these situations, deception is acceptable and is commonly expected as a tactic.
Misleading/Dissembling
A misleading statement is one where there is no outright lie, but still retains the purpose of getting someone to believe in an untruth. "Dissembling" likewise describes the presentation of facts in a way that is literally true, but intentionally misleading.
Exaggeration
An exaggeration (see also hyperbole) occurs when the most fundamental aspects of a statement are true, but only to a certain degree. It is also seen as "stretching the truth" or making something appear more powerful, meaningful, or real than it actually is.
Jocose lies
Jocose lies are those which are meant in jest, and are usually understood as such by all present parties. Teasing and sarcasm are examples. A more elaborate instance is seen in storytelling traditions which are present in some places, where the humour comes from the storyteller's insistence that he or she is telling the absolute truth, despite all evidence being to the contrary (i.e. tall tale). There is debate about whether these are "real" lies, and different philosophers hold different views (see below).
Contextual lies
One can state part of the truth out of context, knowing that without complete information, it gives a false impression. Likewise, one can actually state accurate facts, yet deceive with them. To say "yeah, that's right, I slept with your best friend" utilizing a sarcastic, offended tone, may cause the listener to assume the speaker did not mean what he said, when in fact he did.
Puffery
Puffery is an exaggerated claim typically found in advertising and publicity announcements, such as "the highest quality at the lowest price," or "always votes in the best interest of all the people," or "even a jeweler cannot tell it from a genuine diamond."
Lying in trade
The seller of a product or service may advertise untrue facts about the product or service in order to gain sales, especially by competitive advantage. Many countries have enacted Consumer protection laws intended to combat such fraud. An example is the Illinois Consumer Fraud and Deceptive Business Practices Act that holds a seller liable for omission of any material fact that the buyer relies upon.
Lie by obsolete signage
Examples are the continued use of old stationery that has printed information such as a previous telephone number, or advertising that remains painted on a wall after an enterprise has ceased business.
Augustine's taxonomy of lies
Augustine of Hippo wrote two books about lying: On Lying (De Mendacio) and Against Lying (Contra Mendacio).[1] He describes each book in his later work, Retractions. Based on the location of De Mendacio in Retractions, it appears to have been written about A.D. 395.[2] The first work, On Lying, begins: "Magna quæstio est de Mendacio". From his text, it can be derived that St. Augustine divided lies into eight categories, listed in order of descending severity:
- Lies in religious teaching.
- Lies that harm others and help no one.
- Lies that harm others and help someone.
- Lies told for the pleasure of lying.
- Lies told to "please others in smooth discourse."
- Lies that harm no one and that help someone.
- Lies that harm no one and that save someone's life.
- Lies that harm no one and that save someone's "purity."
Augustine believed that "jocose lies" are not, in fact, lies.
Love and war
The cliché "All is fair in love and war"[3][4] finds justification for lies used to gain advantage in these situations. Sun Tzu declared that "All warfare is based on deception." Machiavelli advised the Prince "never to attempt to win by force what can be won by deception," and Thomas Hobbes wrote in Leviathan: "In war, force and fraud are the two cardinal virtues."
Psychology of lying
The capacity to lie is noted early and nearly universally in human development. Social psychology and developmental psychology are concerned with the theory of mind, which people employ to simulate another's reaction to their story and determine if a lie will be believable. The most commonly cited milestone, what is known as Machiavellian intelligence, is at the age of about four and a half years, when children begin to be able to lie convincingly. Before this, they seem simply unable to comprehend why others don't see the same view of events that they do — and seem to assume that there is only one point of view, which is their own.
Young children learn from experience that stating an untruth can avoid punishment for misdeeds, before they develop the theory of mind necessary to understand why it works. In this stage of development, children will sometimes tell outrageous and unbelievable lies, because they lack the conceptual framework to judge whether a statement is believable, or even to understand the concept of believability.
When children first learn how lying works, they lack the moral understanding of when to refrain from doing it. It takes years of watching people tell lies, and the results of these lies, to develop a proper understanding. Propensity to lie varies greatly between children, some doing so habitually and others being habitually honest. Habits in this regard are likely to change in early adulthood.
Those with Parkinson's disease show difficulties in deceiving others, difficulties that link to prefrontal hypometabolism. This suggests a link between the capacity for dishonesty and integrity of prefrontal functioning.[5]
Pseudologia fantastica is a term applied by psychiatrists to the behaviour of habitual or compulsive lying.
Mythomania is the condition where there is an excessive or abnormal propensity for lying and exaggerating.[6]
A recent study found that lying takes longer than telling the truth.[7] Or, as Chief Joseph succinctly put it, "It does not require many words to speak the truth." [8]
Morality of lying
The philosophers Saint Augustine, as well as Thomas Aquinas and Immanuel Kant, condemned all lying. However, Thomas Aquinas also had an argument for lying. According to all three, there are no circumstances in which one may lie. One must be murdered, suffer torture, or endure any other hardship, rather than lie, even if the only way to protect oneself is to lie. Each of these philosophers gave several arguments against lying, all compatible with each other. Among the more important arguments are:
- Lying is a perversion of the natural faculty of speech, the natural end of which is to communicate the thoughts of the speaker.
- When one lies, one undermines trust in society.
Belief systems
It is alleged[9] that some belief systems may find lying to be justified. Leo Tolstoy is cited[10] as describing religious institutions as "the product of deception [and] lies for a good purpose".
Lying in the Bible
The Old Testament and New Testament of the Bible both contain statements that God cannot lie (Num 23:19, Ps 89:35, Hab. 2:3, Heb 6:13–18).
Various passages of the Bible feature exchanges that are conditionally critical of lying (Prov 6:16–19, Ps. 5:6), (Lev 19:11, Pr. 14:5, Pr. 30:6, Zep 3:13 ), (Isa 28:15, Da 11:27). Most famously, in the Ten Commandments: "Thou shalt not bear false witness" (Exodus 20:2-17, Deuteronomy 5:6-21), a specific reference to perjury.
Other passages feature exchanges where lying seems to be conditionally promoted. (However some Christians would argue that lying is never promoted, but that even those who are righteous in God's eyes sin sometimes.) Old Testament accounts of lying include:[11]
- Rahab lied to the king of Jericho about hiding the Hebrew spies (Joshua 2:4–5) and was not killed with those who were disobedient because of her faith (Hebrews 11:31).
- Delilah repeatedly accused Samson of lying to her (Jg. 16:10, 13) as she interrogated him about the source of his strength.
- Abraham instructs his wife, Sarah, to lie to the Egyptians and say that she is his sister (Gen 12:10), which leads to the Lord punishing the Egyptians (Gen 12:17–19). However, it can be argued that this was not actually a lie as she was, in fact, his half-sister (During the time of Abraham, it was not unheard of for one to marry their half-brother or half-sister).
In the New Testament, Jesus refers to the Devil as the father of lies (John 8:44) and Paul commands Christians "Do not lie to one another" (Colossians 3:9, Cf.Leviticus 19:11). St. John the Revelator reports that God said "..all liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." [Rev 21:8]
Whereas most Christian theologians conclude that the Bible does not contain any intentional untruths, some scholars believe differently. Among those who conclude that the Bible contains lies and intentional untruths is Thomas Jefferson. He edited his own version of the Bible and omitted what he considered to be falsehoods. In describing the Bible, Jefferson wrote of "so much untruth, charlatanism and imposture", "roguery", "dupes and impostors", "corruptor" and "falsifications".[12]
Lying in the Quran
Allah knows the secrets of all hearts [42:24] and knows when one lies [9:42]. Thus one cannot frustrate Allah by falsehood [9:2] which is bound to perish [17:81] and those who lie destroy their souls [9:42]. Liars will be called to account on the Day of Judgements [29:13][45:27][58:18] and Allah will not guide them [40:28][61:7]. Woe to sinful liars! [45:7][51:10][52:11][96:16]
The following are particularly noted for punishment: shameful lies of idolaters [7:152][18:15], liars who disunite believers [9:107], those who lie that all good things are for themselves [16:62], hypocrites [59:11][63:1], those who lie against Allah when invited to Islam [61:7] or who treat Allah's signs as falsehoods [64:10].
The Quran gives this formula to judge who is culpable in an accusation of rape: If his shirt is rent from the front, then is her tale true, and he is a liar! But if his shirt is torn from the back, then is she the liar, and he is telling the truth![12:26,27]
Lying in pagan mythology
In Gestaþáttr, one of the sections within the Eddaic poem Hávamál, Odin states that it is advisable, when dealing with "a false foe who lies," to tell lies oneself.[13]
Consequences of lying
Once a lie has been told there can be two alternative consequences: it may be discovered or remain undiscovered.
Under some circumstances, discovery of a lie may discredit other statements by the same speaker and can lead to social or legal sanctions against the speaker, such as ostracizing or conviction for perjury. When a lie is discovered, the state of mind and behaviour of the lie teller (liar) is no longer predictable.
The discoverer of a lie may also be convinced or coerced to collaborate with the liar, becoming part of a conspiracy. They may actively propagate the lie to other parties, actively prevent the lie's discovery by other parties, or simply omit publicising the lie (a secondary lie of omission).
Deception and lies in other species
The capacity to lie has also been claimed to be possessed by non-humans in language studies with Great Apes. Even Koko, the gorilla made famous for learning American Sign Language has been caught red handed. After tearing a steel sink from the wall in the middle of a tantrum, she signed to her handlers that a cat did it, while she pointed to her kitten. It is unclear if this was a joke or a genuine attempt at blaming her tiny pet. Deceptive body language, such as feints that mislead as to the intended direction of attack or flight, is observed in many species including wolves. A mother bird deceives when it pretends to have a broken wing to divert the attention of a perceived predator — including unwitting humans — from the eggs in its nest to itself, most notably the killdeer.[citation needed]
Paradoxes about lying
Within any scenario where dualistic (e.g., yes/no, black/white) answers are always given, a person who we know is consistently lying would paradoxically be a source of truth. There are many such paradoxes, the most famous being known as the liar paradox, commonly expressed as "This sentence is a lie", or "This sentence is false". The so-called Epimenides paradox ("All Cretans are liars", as stated by Epimenides the Cretan) is a forerunner of this, though its status as a paradox is disputed. A class of related logic puzzles are known as knights and knaves, in which the goal is to determine who of a group of people is lying and who is telling the truth.
Lie detection
Some people may be better "lie detectors" than others, better able to distinguish a lie by facial expression, cadence of speech, certain movements, and other methods. According to David J. Lieberman PhD in Never Be Lied to Again: How to Get the Truth in Five Minutes or Less in Any Conversation or Situation, these methods can be learned. Some methods of questioning may be more likely to elicit the truth, for instance: "When was the last time you smoked marijuana?" (a leading question) is more likely to get a truthful answer than "Do you smoke pot?" Asking the question most likely to get the information you want is a skill and can be learned. Avoiding vague questioning will help avoid lies of omission or vagueness.
The question of whether lies can reliably be detected through nonverbal means is a subject of some controversy.
- Polygraph "lie detector" machines measure the physiological stress a subject endures in a number of measures while he/she gives statements or answers questions. Spikes in stress are purported to indicate lying. The accuracy of this method is widely disputed, and in several well-known cases it was proven to have been deceived. Nonetheless, it remains in use in many areas, primarily as a method for eliciting confessions or employment screening. Polygraph results are not admissible as court evidence and are generally perceived to be pseudoscience.
- Various truth drugs have been proposed and used anecdotally, though none are considered very reliable. The CIA attempted to find a universal "truth serum" in the MK-ULTRA project, but it was an overall failure.[citation needed]
- A recent study found that lying takes longer than telling the truth, and thus the time to answer a question may be used as a method of lie detection. However, it has also been shown that instant-answers can be proof of a prepared lie. The only compromise is to try to surprise the victim and find a midway answer, not too quick, nor too long.[7]
Dr. Paul Ekman and Dr. Maureen O'Sullivan spent several decades studying people's ability to spot deception in a study called the Wizards Project. They studied police officers, psychologists, judges, lawyers, the CIA, FBI and the Secret Service. After studying nearly 20,000 people, they identified just over 50 people who can spot deception with great accuracy. They call these people "Truth Wizards".
Dr. Freitas-Magalhaes developed the ForensicPsy and the Psy7Faces to read lies by facial expressions.
Representations of lying in fiction
- The Adventures of Baron Munchausen tell the story about an 18th century baron who tells outrageous, unbelievable stories which he claims are all true.
- A famous anecdote by Parson Weems claims that George Washington once cut a tree over when he was a small child. His father asked him who cut the tree and Washington confessed his crime with the words: "I'm sorry, father, I cannot tell a lie." The anecdote has been proven to be a completely fictional story.
- Carlo Collodi's Pinocchio was a wooden puppet often led into trouble by his propensity to lie. His nose grew with every lie; hence, long noses have become a caricature of liars.
- The Boy Who Cried Wolf, a fable attributed to Aesop about a boy who continually lies a wolf is coming. When a wolf does appear nobody believes him anymore.
- In the film Liar Liar, the lawyer Fletcher Reede (Jim Carrey) cannot lie for 24 hours, due to a wish of his son which magically came true.
- In the 1985 Max Headroom, the title character comments that one can always tell when a politician lies because "their lips move". The joke has been widely repeated and rephrased.
- In the film Big Fat Liar, the story which producer Marty Wolf (a notorious and proud liar himself) steals from student Jason Shepard, tells of a character whose lies become out of control to the point where each lie he tells causes him to grow in size.
- Lie to Me, a TV series based on people who read lies by facial expressions.
Covering up lies
Sir Walter Scott's famous couplet "Oh, what a tangled web we weave / When first we practice to deceive!" describes the often difficult procedure of covering up a lie so that it is not detected in the future.
In Human, All Too Human, philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche suggested that those who refrain from lying may do so only because of the difficulty involved in maintaining the lie. This is consistent with his general philosophy that divides (or ranks) people according to strength and ability; thus, some people tell the truth only out of weakness.
See also
References
- ^ Both may be found in English translation in Saint Augustine: Treatises on Various Subjects, edited by Roy J. Deferrari.
- ^ Rev. H. Browne, http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1312.htm
- ^ 1620 T. Shelton tr. Cervantes' Don Quixote ii. xxi. Love and warre are all one. It is lawfull to use sleights and stratagems to attaine the wished end.
- ^ 1578 Lyly Euphues I. 236 Anye impietie may lawfully be committed in loue, which is lawlesse.
- ^ Abe N, Fujii T, Hirayama K, Takeda A, Hosokai Y, Ishioka T, Nishio Y, Suzuki K, Itoyama Y, Takahashi S, Fukuda H, Mori E. (2009). Do parkinsonian patients have trouble telling lies? The neurobiological basis of deceptive behaviour. Brain. 132; 1386–1395. PubMed
- ^ http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/mythomania
- ^ a b Roy Britt, "Lies Take Longer Than Truths," LiveScience.com, January 26, 2009, found at Yahoo News. Accessed January 26, 2009.
- ^ http://people.tribe.net/dancepanther/blog/93a51179-7ff3-4089-9818-8a2a47f81b45
- ^ Lying For a Good Purpose: Book of Mormon Apologetics Over the Years by Clyde R. Forsberg, Jr., paper at The 2008 International Conference Twenty Years and More: Research into Minority Religions, New Religious Movements and 'the New Spirituality' at London School of Economics, 16–20th April 2008
- ^ Gordon K. Thomas, "The Book of Mormon in the English Literary Context of 1837," Brigham Young University Studies, Vol. XXCII, No. 1 (Winter 1987),21
- ^ See also O'Neill, Barry. (2003). "A Formal System for Understanding Lies and Deceit." Revision of a talk for the Jerusalem Conference on Biblical Economics, June 2000.
- ^ The writings of Thomas Jefferson: being his autobiography, correspondence, reports, messages, addresses, and other writings, official and private. Published by the order of the Joint Committee of Congress on the library, from the original manuscripts, deposited in the Department of State, with explanatory notes, tables of contents, and a copious index to each volume, as well as a general index to the whole, by the editor H. A. Washington. Vol. VII. Published by Taylor Maury, Washington, DC 1854.
- ^ http://vta.gamall-steinn.org/havamal.htm
Sources
- Adler, J. E., “Lying, deceiving, or falsely implicating”, Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 94 (1997), 435–452.
- Aquinas, T., St., “Question 110: Lying”, in Summa Theologiae (II.II), Vol. 41, Virtues of Justice in the Human Community (London, 1972).
- Augustine, St., "On Lying" and "Against Lying", in R. J. Deferrari, ed., Treatises on Various Subjects (New York, 1952).
- Bok, S., Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life, 2d ed. (New York, 1989).
- Carson, Thomas L. (2006). "The Definition of Lying". Nous 40:284–306.
- Chisholm, R. M., and T. D. Feehan, “The intent to deceive”, Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 74 (1977),143–159.
- Davids, P. H., Bruce, F.F., Brauch, M.T., & W.C. Kaiser, Hard Sayings of the Bible (InterVarsity Press, 1996).
- Fallis, Don. (2008). "What is Lying?" Paper presented at the Pacific Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association.
- Flyvbjerg, B., "Design by Deception". Harvard Design Magazine, no. 22, Spring/Summer 2005, 50–59.
- Frankfurt, H. G., “The Faintest Passion”, in Necessity, Volition and Love (Cambridge, MA: CUP, 1999).
- Frankfurt, Harry, On Bullshit (Princeton University Press, 2005).
- Kant, I., Groundwork of the Metaphysics of Morals, The Metaphysics of Morals and "On a supposed right to lie from philanthropy", in Immanuel Kant, Practical Philosophy, eds. Mary Gregor and Allen W. Wood (Cambridge: CUP, 1986).
- Lakoff, George, Don't Think of an Elephant, (Chelsea Green Publishing, 2004).
- Mahon, J. E., “Kant on Lies, Candour and Reticence”, Kantian Review, Vol. 7 (2003), 101–133.
- Mahon, J. E., “The Definition of Lying and Deception”, Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy (2008).
- Mahon, J. E., “Lying”, Encyclopedia of Philosophy, 2nd ed., Vol. 5 (Farmington Hills, Mich.: Macmillan Reference, 2006), p. 618–19.
- Mahon, J. E., “Kant and the Perfect Duty to Others Not to Lie”, British Journal for the History of Philosophy, Vol. 14, No. 4 (2006), 653–685.
- Mahon, J. E., “Kant and Maria von Herbert: Reticence vs. Deception”, Philosophy, Vol. 81, No. 3 (2006), 417–44.
- Mannison, D. S., “Lying and Lies”, Australasian Journal of Philosophy, Vol. 47 (1969), 132–v144.
- O'Neill, Barry. (2003). "A Formal System for Understanding Lies and Deceit." Revision of a talk for the Jerusalem Conference on Biblical Economics, June 2000.
- Siegler, F. A., “Lying”, American Philosophical Quarterly, Vol. 3 (1966), 128–136.
- Sorensen, Roy. (2007). "Bald-Faced Lies! Lying Without the Intent to Deceive." Pacific Philosophical Quarterly 88:251–64.
- Margaret Talbot (2007). DUPED. Can brain scans uncover lies?. The New Yorker, July 2, 2007.
External links
