Poll: Does breaking a promise constitute a lie?

[Claymorez]

I thought this a thought provoking question today - Does breaking a promise consitute a lie and if so why or how big does the promise broken have to be to constitute a lie?

 

[Aunel]

yes, you lied about not breaking the promise.

 

[wolfy098]

No.
It counts as being untrustworthy and more likely however.

(backstory to the question)

 

[gigastrike]

No. It's based on what you believed would happen, not what actually did.

 

[ma55ter_fett]

Yes and No, if they broke it for no good reason its a lie, if it was broken because of something they couldn't control then it's not.

 

[IrishBerserker]

Really depends on the size/extent and circumstances of the promise.

 

[Lord Mountbatten Reborn]

Really depends on the size/extent and circumstances of the promise.

I agree with blood-covered Gir the second. If it was some small crappy little thing then really, it can be safely ignored. If it was massive and you explicitly promised etc. you wouldn't break it I'd see it as a lie.

 

[Monocle Man]

It becomes a lie the moment you no longer intend to keep the promise or the moment you break the promise.

You said you were going to do X but you didn't. That is a lie. No matter in what context.

You are held at gunpoint and forced to tell something you promised not to: You lied that you would keep that promise because you did not keep that promise.

The content doesn't matter, if you say something that is false, you lie. In the beginning it may not be lie because you intend to keep the promise, but once broken, it was a lie.

 

[Claymorez]

e.g. I promise to buy milk
a) I forget to buy the milk
b) I dont reolise what I have agreed to
c) I decide I can't be bothered

am I lieing in any of these scenario's after I make the promise (just additional info to throw in the pot)

 

[Pendragon9]

If it's a promise you had the ability to keep, but didn't, then it's a lie.

 

[Monocle Man]

e.g. I promise to buy milk
a) I forget to buy the milk
b) I dont reolise what I have agreed to
c) I decide I can't be bothered

am I lieing in any of these scenario's after I make the promise (just additional info to throw in the pot)

Yes, you lied. Not intentional but you did.
That is with my definition of 'to lie': Telling false for true.

If your definition of 'to lie' would be 'Consciously telling false for true' it would be a no.
But isn't there some kind of disorder where you unconsciously lie non-stop? So far goes that definition.

 

[Madkipz]

No. Unless they knew they were going to break it beforehand then it is not a lie.

 

[Timotei]

Willingly breaking a promise borders on the edge of lie, but if by external influences you aren't able to keep a promise then it cn't be consodered a lie because it was out of your control.

 

[The Austin]

No, as long as you had the intention to keep it.

 

[SomethingUnrelated]

People shouldn't make promises they can't keep, unless they intend to carry them out, and something happens that preventss them from doing it.

 

[KarumaK]

Obviously the answer is yes, you promised to do something and then you didn't therefore you lied.

Except if the promise was uncompleted due to events outside your control.

 

[Tsaba]

No, if you where unable to keep the promise then it really wasn't a lie as a much as it was a failure to come through in the end, if they had promised with the intent of never being there in the first place then it would have been a lie.

 

[Kimarous]

Intentionally? Yes.
By accident? No.