Lie
229723
226127568
2008-07-16T22:59:13Z
76.78.90.126
{{Citations missing|article|date=July 2007}}
{{otheruses1|untruthfulness}}
{{redirect|Lying|the movie|Lying (film)}}
{{wiktionarypar|lie}}
A '''lie''' (also called '''prevarication''') is a type of [[deception]] in the form of an untruthful statement with the intention to deceive, 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 one believes is [[false]] with the intention that it be taken for the [[truth]] by someone else. 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.{{Fact|date=July 2008}} 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 ==
{{TOCright}}
=== Types of lies ===
The various types of lies include the following:
;Bald-faced lie
:A bald-faced (or barefaced or boldfaced) lie is a lie that is told when it is obvious to all concerned that it is a lie. For example, a child who has chocolate all over his face and denies that he has eaten the last piece of chocolate cake, is a bald-faced liar.
;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.
;Lie-to-children
:A [[lie-to-children]] is a lie, often a [[platitude]] that may use [[euphemism|euphemism(s)]], that is told to make an adult subject acceptable to children. A common example is "The stork brought you."
;White lie
:A white lie would cause no discord if it were uncovered and offers some benefit to the liar, the hearer, or both. White lies are often used to avoid offense, such as telling someone that you think that their new outfit looks good when you actually think that it is a horrible excuse for an outfit. In this case, the lie is told to avoid the harmful implications and realistic implications of the truth. As a concept, it is largely defined by local custom and cannot be clearly separated from regular lies with any authority. As such, the term may have differing meanings in different cultures. Lies that are harmless but told for no reason are generally called white lies.
;Noble lie
:A [[noble lie]] is one that would normally cause discord if it were uncovered, but that offers some benefit to the liar and perhaps assist in an orderly society and thus potentially gives some benefit to others also. It is often told to maintain law, order and safety. A noble lie usually has the effect of helping an [[elite]] maintain power.
;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 come of it. For example, a neighbour might lie to an enraged husband about the whereabouts of his unfaithful wife, because said husband might reasonably be expected to inflict physical injury should he encounter his wife in person. Alternatively, 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, witness testimony must be relied on as being truthful.
;Bluffing
:Pretending to have a capability or intention one doesn't. [[Bluffing]] is an act of deception that is not usually seen as immoral because 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 than he really does, or an athlete who indicates he will move left and then actually dodges right, is not considered to be lying. In these situations, deception is accepted as a tactic and even expected.
;Misleading
:A [[misleading]] statement is one where there isn't an outright lie, but still has the purpose of making someone believe in an untruth.
;Dissembling
:"Dissemble" is a polite term for lying, though some might consider it to refer to being merely ''misleading''. It is most commonly considered to be a [[euphemism]] for lying.
;Exaggeration
:An [[exaggeration]] occurs when the most fundamental aspect(s) of a statement is true, but the degree to which it is true is not correct. An example of this kind of lie is if a little kid says they threw a ball across the park then that is an exaggeration.
;Jocose lies
:Jocose lies are lies that are meant in jest and are usually understood as such by all present parties. [[Sarcasm]] can be one example. A more elaborate example is seen in [[storytelling]] traditions that 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 to the contrary (i.e., [[tall tale]]). There is debate about whether these are "real lies", and different philosophers hold different views (see below).
;Promotion lies
:Advertisements often contain statements that are not credible, such as "We are always happy to give a refund." or exaggerated predictions such as "You will love our new product."
;Belief systems
:It is alleged<ref>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</ref> that some belief systems may find lying to be justified. [[Leo Tolstoy]] is cited<ref>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</ref> as describing religious institutions as "the product of deception [and] lies for a good purpose."
===Augustine's taxonomy of lies===
The origin of the word "lie" is generally ascribed to Middle English from around 900 AD. <ref>[http://dictionary.reference.com/search?q=lie lie - Definitions from Dictionary.com<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref>. However, [[Augustine of Hippo]] wrote his book [[De Mendacio]] "Of Lying" as part of his work: "Retractions" <ref>On Lying [De Mendacio.] From Retractations, Book I, last Chapter. This book appears from its place in the Retractations to have been written about A.D. 395. Translated by Rev. H. Browne http://www.newadvent.org/fathers/1312.htm</ref> in 395 AD. He had previously written two other books on the subject: a "Book on Lying" and "Against Lying". In "Of Lying" he writes that he is reconciling his two previous works, and addressing the great question of lying, which he felt was an urgent need of his time. He began: "Magna quæstio est de Mendacio."
From his text it can be derived that St Augustine divided lies into eight kinds, 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"<ref>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''.</ref> <ref>1578 Lyly Euphues I. 236 ''Anye impietie may lawfully be committed in loue, which is lawlesse.''</ref> 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|the Prince]] "never to attempt to win by force what can be won by fraud" and [[Thomas Hobbes]] wrote in [[Leviathan]] "In war, force and fraud are the two cardinal virtues." Here <ref>[http://www.usafa.edu/isme/JSCOPE95/Chomeau95.html] All is Fair in Love and War, John Chomeau</ref> is a review of the history of deception in war.
==Psychology of lying==
{{Unreferencedsection|date=April 2008}}
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 that anyone doesn't see the same view of events that they do -- and seem to assume that there is only one [[perspective (cognitive)|point of view]]: their own -- that must be integrated into any given story.
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 fantastic 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 lie and the results of 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 into early adulthood.
[[Pseudologia fantastica]] is a term applied by [[psychiatrists]] to the behaviour of habitual or compulsive lying.
==Morality of lying==
The [[philosopher]]s [[Augustine of Hippo|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 (sociology)|trust]] in [[society]].
===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).
The Old Testament adds that God hates a lying tongue (Prov 6:16-19, Ps. 5:6) and forbids men to lie (Lev 19:11, Pr. 14:5, Pr. 30:6, Zep 3:13 ) or to take refuge in lies (Isa 28:15, Da 11:27). Most famously, lying is forbidden in the [[decalogue|Ten Commandments]]: "Thou shalt not bear false witness" ([[Book of Exodus|Exodus]] {{bibleverse-nb|Exodus||20:2-17|HE}}, [[Book of Deuteronomy|Deuteronomy]] {{bibleverse-nb|Deuteronomy||5:6-21|HE}}) a specific reference to perjury, but taken to have wider application.
Old Testament accounts of lying include:<ref>See also O'Neill, Barry. (2003). [http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/polisci/faculty/boneill/bibjer5.pdf "A Formal System for Understanding Lies and Deceit."] Revision of a talk for the Jerusalem Conference on Biblical Economics, June 2000.</ref>
*The Hebrew midwives lied to the king of Egypt rather than carry out his order to kill all male Hebrew babies; the midwives did this because they “feared God” (Exodus 1:15–20).
*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, Sarai, 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).
In the New Testament, Jesus refers to the [[Devil]] as the father of lies (John 8:44) and Paul commands "Do not lie to one another" (Colossians 3:9, Cf.Leviticus 19:11). Jesus would seem to tell a lie to the Apostles in {{niv|John|7:8-10|John 7:8-10}}, when He says "Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast; for my time is not yet full come," but then later on goes up to attend the same festival. However, this is not a lie, because he wasn't ready at that moment of time to go to the festival. Jesus did not say that he was not going to the festival at all-it was that he did not ''yet'' go to the festival.
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".<ref>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.</ref>
==Consequences of lying==
Once a lie has been told there can be two alternative consequences: it may be discovered or remain undiscovered.
*Discovery of a lie tends to 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]]. Another consequence of a discovered lie is that it undermines trust which is a binding agent of human relations. One trusts that another is truthful. When a lie is discovered then the state of mind and behavior of the lie teller is no longer predictable. Trust then decreases and is perhaps even completely withdrawn.
*An undiscovered lie is a latent danger to the liar who is probably aware that it may be discovered, especially if that would lead to the sanctions above, as when the liar has obtained some unjust advantage by telling the lie.
==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 Ape]]s. One famous case was that of [[Koko (gorilla)|Koko]] the [[gorilla]]; confronted by her handlers after a tantrum in which she had torn a steel sink out of its moorings, she signed in [[American Sign Language]], "cat did it," pointing at her tiny kitten. It is unclear if this was a joke or a genuine attempt at [[Blame|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 [[wolf|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]].{{Fact|date=May 2008}}
==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 [[paradox]]es, the most famous one 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|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==
{{main|Polygraph}}
Some people may be better "lie detectors" than others, better able to distinguish a lie by facial expression, cadence of speech, 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 eg "when was the last time you smoked marijuana?" 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 [[non-verbal communication|nonverbal]] means is a subject of some controversy.
* Polygraph "[[Lie detection|lie detector]]" machines measure the physiological [[stress (medicine)|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 drug]]s 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 largely a fiasco. {{Fact|date=February 2008}}
==Representations of lying==
*[[Carlo Collodi]]'s [[Pinocchio]] is a wooden puppet often led into trouble by his propensity to lie. His nose grows with every lie. A long nose has thus become a [[caricature]] of liars.
*In the film ''[[Liar Liar]]'', the lawyer Fletcher Reed ([[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 each lie he tells causes him to grow in size.
==Covering up Lies==
Sir [[Walter Scott]]'s [[Marmion|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 at some future time.
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. A similar explanation is given by [[Paul Ekman]] in [http://www.paulekman.com/pdfs/why_do_not_we_catch_liars.pdf Why Don't We Catch Liars?]
==Famous fairy tales based on lying==
* [[Pinocchio]], a wooden puppet who turns into a real boy, where his nose grows bigger and longer each time he tells a lie.
* [[The Boy Who Cried Wolf]].
==See also==
{{col-begin}}
{{col-break}}
* [[Big Lie]]
* [[Bullshit]]
* [[Cost underestimation]]
* [[Demagogy]]
* [[Dessek]]
* [[Humbug]]
* [[Hypocrisy]]
{{col-break}}
* [[Misrepresentation of the People Act]]
* [[Noble lie]]
* [[Optimism bias]]
* [[Reference class forecasting]]
* [[Pralay]]
* [[Prisoner's dilemma]]
* [[Strategic misrepresentation]]
* [[Taqiyya]]
* [[Truthiness]]
{{col-end}}
==References==
{{reflist}}
==Sources==
<div class="references-small">
*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). [http://dlist.sir.arizona.edu/2100/ "What is Lying?"] Paper presented at the ''Pacific Division Meeting of the American Philosophical Association''.
*[http://flyvbjerg.plan.aau.dk/HARVARDDESIGN63PRINT.pdf 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., [http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/lying-definition/ “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), 132-144.
*O'Neill, Barry. (2003). [http://www.sscnet.ucla.edu/polisci/faculty/boneill/bibjer5.pdf "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.
</div>
[[Category:Core issues in ethics]]
[[Category:Deception]]
[[ar:كذب]]
[[ay:K'ari]]
[[bs:Laž]]
[[br:Gaou]]
[[ca:Mentida]]
[[cs:Lež]]
[[da:Løgn]]
[[de:Lüge]]
[[et:Valetamine]]
[[el:Ψέμα]]
[[eml:Bàla]]
[[es:Mentira]]
[[eo:Mensogo]]
[[fr:Mensonge]]
[[gd:Breug]]
[[hr:Laž]]
[[id:Bohong]]
[[he:שקר לבן]]
[[lt:Melas]]
[[hu:Hazugság]]
[[nl:Leugen]]
[[ja:嘘]]
[[no:Løgn]]
[[oc:Messorga]]
[[pl:Kłamstwo]]
[[pt:Mentira]]
[[ro:Minciună]]
[[ru:Ложь]]
[[sq:Gënjeshtra]]
[[scn:Fannonia]]
[[simple:Lie]]
[[sk:Lož]]
[[fi:Valehtelu]]
[[sv:Lögn]]
[[tr:Yalan]]
[[yi:ליגנט]]
[[zh:谎言]]