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comment by _refugee_
_refugee_  ·  4025 days ago  ·  link  ·    ·  parent  ·  post: Is Lying Bad?

A counterargument.

    there is no acceptable form of lying

Sometimes, there are facts about oneself that one does not actively advertise. Maybe you're gay and you work in an openly discriminatory environment. It's not an option to come out and as a result sometimes, when people ask you what you did over the weekend, you can't say what you actually did.

What gives anyone the right to know anything about you if they ask? Saying all lying is bad means that one must tell the truth to everyone, all the time, on demand. There are situations where that can be used against someone, and not because they have done anything "wrong" or that harms anyone else - just perhaps offends morality or is different.

What if you are protecting someone from prosecution by a regime is unjust? Have you seen - what was it, Fargo or Argo - the movie where they smuggle a group of people out of a country pretending they are all actors. You're saying that that's unacceptable?

Sometimes people have to lie to save lives. Are you arguing that it is better to tell the truth and allow people to die/be prosecuted/become targets than to lie? The conclusion to your argument is that somehow the prosecutors would be worse off if they didn't get to victimize people because the people lied about their status than the victim would be.

On a more minute level what gives anyone the right to know what I am thinking at any given period? In ways lying protects privacy. If I am unhappy with someone but not ready to discuss it with them, and they ask me how I am feeling or what I am thinking about, don't I have the right to conceal it from them until I feel ready to broach the topic?

If my credit card is declined because I'm over the limit, is it not OK to lie and say "the company must have done something, I know I have money in the account" to the cashier because I'm embarrassed?