Analysis: Essays About Lying

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Webster’s Dictionary defines a lie as an intentionally false statement. However, defining a simple three-letter word is not as easy as it seems on the surface. Upon reading or hearing the word lie, people are instantly associated with a general feeling of negativity. Lying generally creates feelings of dishonesty, untrustworthiness, deceit, and betrayal. However, lying is one of the oldest human social practices. Erin Bryant explains in her essay “Real Lies, White Lies, and Gray Lies” that even though lying has a derogatory label, it is a very common social behavior used by a majority of people on a daily basis. It has been a subject of scrutiny through the millennia by philosophers such as St. Augustine, Aristotle, and Plato. Can lies also be seen as positive? Don’t lies contribute to maintaining the bedrock of most relationships? In his essay “Lies, Lies, Lies,” Paul Gray answers this question. “Most ‘little white lies’ belong here, well-intentioned deceptions designed to grease the gears of society. In this context people want to be fooled. No one expects and few would welcome, searing honesty at a dinner party”.
There are many examples in history of lying to benefit others: the Underground Railroad, the Holocaust, or any revolution to overthrow unfair rule. Imagine the result of such events without the ability to lie. Picture a plantation owner inquiring as to the whereabouts of his slaves. Upon hearing a truthful response, he tracks down the slaves and all parties attempting to assist in their escape. They would then be made into examples for all, and the Underground Railroad would be rendered ineffective. This same concept can be applied to Nazi Germany, the Japanese Conquests of Eastern Asia, the establishment of the Unio...

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...re would be only truth. However, our world is far from perfect; all we can do is try to lie for the right reasons. In the words of Johnny Cash, “I walk the line.”

Works Cited

Argo, Jennifer. Shiv, Baba. “Are White Lies as Innocuous as We Think?” Journal of Consumer Research 38.6 (2012): 1093-1102. Academic Search Premier. Web. 16 Feb 2014.
Bryant, Erin. "Real Lies, White Lies And Gray Lies: Towards A Typology of Deception." Kaleidoscope: A Graduate Journal Of Qualitative Communication Research 7 (2008): 23-48. Communication & Mass Media Complete. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
Gramigna, Remo. "Augustine On Lying: A Theoretical Framework For The Study Of Types Of Falsehood." Sign Systems Studies 41.1 (2013): 446-487. Academic Search Premier. Web. 18 Feb. 2014.
Gray, Paul. “Lies, Lies, Lies.” Purposes. Ed. Stephen P. Reid. Upper Saddle New Jersey: Prentice Hall, 2007. PRINT.

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