Have been wondering about this... to my mind people tell fibs and lie, but its not the same thing as dishonesty. Dishonesty seems "different" to a "simple" lie. It seems malicious and somehow "more" wrong..
Your opinions and views? Do you think they are the same or different? If different, in what way?
2007-09-12 01:06:01 · 10 answers · asked by Anonymous in Arts & Humanities ➔ Philosophy
As a parent I encounter this regularly - here is my take on it
A GOOD lie is something EVERYBODY does - with no intention of hurting another...infact is often used to protect others or make them happy such as Santa Clause, The Toothe Fairy, "your cat is visiting family far away" (when really it died), "you were not the heaviest girl in the room", etc...
then you have the EASY lie - this is the lie you tell to make your life easier, yet is still not harmful...such as "yes, mom I did send grandma (whom I'm not talking to) a get well card", telling your child Walmart is closed when your out of money for yet another TechDeck Dude, turning the clocks a half hour forward so you can justify sending them to bed a bit early because your exhausted, telling your spouse you did stop at the store even though you spent the time watching TV and now you have to run like the devil to get it done before they get home...
finally you have the malicous DISHONESTY - this is the lies you tell to gain something at anothers expense or to cover your *** for something you did really wrong...such as stealing, cheating, and denying that you stole your mothers alchohol after breaking curfew and getting busted by the local cop, or telling your best friend made up dirt on their new best friend in order to break them up.....
technically all three are wrong - but the intention is what matters..if your intention is good then most can be forgiven....if it's not then thats just plain dishonest and ruins your credibility to others.
2007-09-12 01:39:56 · answer #1 · answered by ppnj4 3 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Telling a lie, a fib, a white lie, cheating, stealing, being deceptive, being corrupt... aren't these all forms of dishonesty? I think telling a lie is being dishonest so one cannot be separated from the other.
That being said, I don't think the difference is in the words you use to describe the act. It can be said that telling a lie is not honest, fibbing is not honest, cheating is not honest, stealing is not honest, being deceptive is not honest, being corrupt is not honest. They are therefore all dishonest by simple definition.
Where the difference DOES lie is in how we, people, society, perceive of the act. People have been lying for ages and ages... Remember Goerge Washington who lied about chopping down the cherry tree? And remember Bill Clinton who lied about doing the dirty with Monica? Some people don't think that what Bill did with Monica is dishonest in the way you perceive dishonesty to be (more malicious). But what about Hilary Clinton? I would think she would think what Bill did is dishonest (as in malicious).
I also did a search on the Internet about dishonesty. What I found was interesting and echos what you seem to be saying. The search came up with different types of dishonesty... corporate dishonesty, spiritual dishonesty, malicious dishonesty, intellectual dishonesty, academic dishonesty, lack of integrity, crookedness, deviousness, trickery, underhandedness, etc. So what does this all mean?
I guess it means that yeah, there are different levels of dishonesty. And it all depends on how each person perceives the act of being dishonest... If I say to you: blue. What color blue do you think of? Light blue? Navy Blue? Royal Blue? It all depends on our perception. Now if I say to you: He lied to me about where he was. What comes to mind for you? It doesn't really matter because he was preparing my surprise party or do you think how furious you are because you know he's lied in the past about where he was... with a mistress!
Anything that is not the truth is dishonest. How much the dishonesty harms the person on the receiving end is really what it's all about in how we see the act of being dishonest.
2007-09-12 10:42:27 · answer #2 · answered by The ReDesign Diva 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
dishonesty is the overall attitude; lies is a small part of being dishonest, other similar vices are , cheating, stealing......etc all these bad things are dishonesty. Since you are an Angel you should not be worried about things like these!
2007-09-12 11:47:09 · answer #3 · answered by saturn 2 · 2⤊ 0⤋
Lies are lies and dishonest we agree upon that.
Dishonesty is encompasses lies but goes even further. It is possible to tell the truth in such a way that that those listening to or reading it are mislead. i.e. The truth but not the whole truth can be more destructive than an outright lie
2007-09-12 08:41:40 · answer #4 · answered by Scouse 7 · 1⤊ 2⤋
Dishonesty is not limited to false statements, indeed.
Dishonesty usually comes in the form of concealment of the truth or false affirmations, but it can just as well come in the form of a personality mask. While an individual can express the truth, the WAY it is expressed (and this includes factors of body language and facial expression) can be a false interpretation of their inner feelings and can consequentially taint the nature of truth.
2007-09-12 09:49:22 · answer #5 · answered by Cheshire Riddle 6 · 1⤊ 2⤋
dishonesty is a grammatical art if you say something that you know is not true then it is a lie.
if you do not tell someone something or you only tell them half the truth, which can lead them to believe something else it is dishonest,
but if you are dishonest or lie to spare someone Else's feelings then i personally feel that is justified,
however if it is simply malicious or you say it for personal gain then i do not agree with that
2007-09-12 11:05:42 · answer #6 · answered by moose 1 · 1⤊ 1⤋
Dishonesty can involve concealing the truth, distorting the truth, or misleading people's interpretation of the truth, whereas to actually lie you have to make a false statement.
2007-09-12 08:12:20 · answer #7 · answered by Avondrow 7 · 1⤊ 1⤋
For me, I don't think of them as separate. Dishonesty is dishonesty and if you are dishonest in one area of your life then it also happens in other areas of your life. With holding is also dishonest, for example: I know what he or she will say if I tell them such and such, so you don't tell them and that is also dishonest.
You are out of integrity if you are dishonest in a relationship.
2007-09-12 08:53:27 · answer #8 · answered by April First 5 · 0⤊ 1⤋
A lie will lead you to deceive under the pretence of a shield believing that no one can see or understand what it is you have done.You are sold on the name of a shield called denial. but you are the only one who will deny yourself the truth.
2007-09-12 08:16:33 · answer #9 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 3⤋
Err what the hell are you on about?
2007-09-12 08:16:26 · answer #10 · answered by los 7 · 0⤊ 3⤋