Do you lie? Tell the truth now!

[Lyx]

I quite possibly hate nothing more in the world than malicious dishonesty and all its consequences. It can get me into a rage that is difficult for others to understand.

I have never intentionally lied to myself in the last 20 years (cannot remember enough before that timeframe to be sure).

I have intentionally lied to dishonest people - though, i in such cases prefer if i can get max efficiency by just not saying everything, instead of lying - which works more often than one would think. The reason why i handle stuff different towards others, is that there are some social situations, where the whole game is rigged, yet one is almost forced to deal with people and would only get unfair disadvantages for being honest. In such cases, i act like "well, you get what you deserve".

This however to me is not a blank cheque to lie to other people. I would hate myself for lying to people who treat me honestly and fairly. I only resort to lying if the "environment" is set up to punish honesty and the situation cannot be solved by "not telling everything".

So, to summarize: I am always honest, unless the game is rigged against honesty and i am forced to "play".

 

[SD-Fiend]

this statment is a lie

 

[The Salty Vulcan]

Yep. More than once a day. Hey, I can't help being naturally gifted in the art of Deciet. I've been able to talk my way out of late assignments, parking tickets and a $400 Library Fine. That one was easily my finest hour.

 

[Drake_Dercon]

How about a time when I should have lied? A friend of mine made a big mistake once. Huge. He posted a note, a simple joke on someone's locker. That joke was that someone's father had called and asked to bring depens (adult diapers). That person's father had recently died of bowel cancer. He had no idea.

Someone had a terrible weekend, he intended for a WTF laugh. He got threats on his life.

The entire school rose up to militancy (someone was really popular, it's a small school), he had to hide out in the office because nobody believed me as I tried to explain his act. Why? He was new to the school, he had never lost anyone and he could be a bit of a jerk sometimes. Nobody really knew him well enough to know his good intentions. He had to get a police escort out of school (only the escort never showed), he skipped two weeks and eventually changed schools.

And I had the opportunity to take the fall.

The difference? I had been there two years longer. People knew me, people knew who I was, I had shown myself to be a generally nice person, I avoid people. That, and my own father had died a year previous. I probably could have diffused it, I could have explained it away, I could have survived. Sure I would have suffered, but I would have come through. It was over in a couple of weeks anyway.

Teenagers suck.

The bottom line is, I could have lied and suffered in reputation (which I don't hold in very high regard anyway), but I didn't, and now one person has a hundred and fifty plus people he can't approach civilly anymore. Sometimes a well-placed lie is a very good thing.

 

[Boneasse]

Lying can be used for both good or evil, or evil with good intentions and vice versa. Of course there are different levels of lying, from the small white lies to the big fat corporate global world-altering lies.

Call me ignorant, but can you please explain why you think lying can be good?

What you stated and quoted in your opening text didn't explain that enough to me.

Well, good might have been a bit of an exaggeration, but if you lie to make another person happy - I.E. tell someone they look good in certain clothes, when you think they really don't - you have used a lie to make someone else happy, albeit still deceitful.

 

[dragonslayer32]

I don't lie, I believe invalid truths. My philosophy gained from the film 'Get Him to the Greek'.

 

[Boneasse]

Lying can be used for both good or evil, or evil with good intentions and vice versa. Of course there are different levels of lying, from the small white lies to the big fat corporate global world-altering lies.

Call me ignorant, but can you please explain why you think lying can be good?

What you stated and quoted in your opening text didn't explain that enough to me.

Well, good might have been a bit of an exaggaration, but if you lie to make another person happy - I.E. tell someone they look good in certain clothes, when you think they really don't - you have used a lie to make someone else happy, albeit still deceitful.

So you would rather be happy, and ignorant of the truth, if it meant you would be deceived into believing you are something you are not?

That is the root of evil if you ask me. Deception to further a false ideal is not something to be taken lightly.

There is no logical reason to use a false statement to achieve good. It goes against the idea of good. That is bad. Right?

Yes, yes it is. But is it entirely bad for the person you are lying to? You make them happy, and they won't ever know better. Is it then better to tell them that they look horrible and should put on something else, hurting their feelings? That's why I said the word 'good' was actually exaggerating, since, as you also pointed out, being deceitful is an act of evil.

It's a bit of a philosophical question, I reckon, as it is up to the individual to judge whether or not lying can be "good" in a given situation. It all comes down to our individual norms and our own take on what lying means to 'us' (yourself). It also depends on how egoistic we are, since we can lie for someone else's sake, or for our own entirely.

What do you think?

 

[FortheLegion]

I lie way to much
multiple times a day about things I shouldn't lie about but I still do.
They compile over each other and build up eventually the truth will be revealed in a massive cascade of anger and frustration........

 

[smithy_2045]

I always lie.

 

[Cowabungaa]

Sadly, I do so a lot. I'm not proud of it, mind you. I especially lie about my state of mind (no I'm not alright, but you don't have to know that) and to my boss to make sure I don't have to work fuckloads.

 

[Yarpie]

Yepp, I lied the other day. There is a certain person I have been more or less avoiding for a week or two. I ran into that person a few days ago, and claimed I have been swamped with work. This was partially true, but not entirely. How did I justify it? Well, I didn't want to see the person so I did what I could to avoid it. Consider it a way to secure my own well being for a while.

As for whether it is all right to lie in certain cases, of course it is. Suppose a friend of mine comes knocking on my door and tells me she is being chased by an axe murderer. She runs and hides in my basement. A few seconds later the killer comes knocking and asks me if I have seen her. Should I tell him the truth and send my friend to a certain death? Some would say I should, just to be a "moral person" who does not tell lies, but personally I would rather have a lie on my conciousness than the death of a close friend. But hey, that's just me.

 

[OrokuSaki]

Constantly, especially to family and friends.