Is lying always wrong......especially if.....?

Question

If you lie for a good cause is lying wrong. If you lie to somone and they don't find out you have lied, is it OK. Is lying only wrong if that person finds out you have lied....

Answer 1

"A truth that's told with bad intent
Beats all the lies you can invent."

William Blake

Answer 2

Lying is wrong, even if the other person doesn't find out. White lies are probably wrong too, although it depends on all the circumstances in each case.

If your friend says, 'does my bum look big in this?' and you say 'no' , the she might go out it a dress that makes her look terrible, which you wouldn't want, if you were her real friend. NOTE: This does NOT apply to men of course because they never know what the right thing is and can't guess-so don't ask! Seriously, because a lie isn't discovered doesn't make it OK. You are letting someone down- abusing their trust- if you tell them a lie. If they DO find out,then you're not going to have them for a friend anymore!

Answer 3

I don't think you could call lying "wrong". To call something wrong is to say that irrespective of causal factors it is morally corrupt. Lying certainly cannot be viewed as something disconnected from causality.
If you have good reason for lying, if lying is easier and strategically more viable then I would see it as rather an attractive option. If nobody finds out, if you're a good enough liar and if it doesn't place you in considerable future difficulty then lying is enticing.
In the end it serves perfectly well as a truth so long as a counter-argument/evidence doesn't emerge.

The point that many ethical philosophers make is that dishonesty from a definate cause is hard to impune on purely moral grounds. Lying without cause or necessity, i.e. for pleasure, is in my view sociopathic at worst.

It is easy to moralise, but lying has almost an extra-moral function so I think to truly understand how we see lying as negative we have to think in more social analytical terms rather than moral terms.

Answer 4

Lying always ends up being wrong.
A. you have now done two things wrong.
B You must have a very low opinion of the person you are lying to.
C. Just how long will you have to keep up this lie.
D. It is so stupidly hard to keep on Lying.
E. Some put it down to Cowardice.

If you just say sorry, you just get one telling off, but some admiration for being honest.

Once you are caught out in a lie, you can never realy be trusted, and the good cause is cheapened.

You don't have to always tell the full truth, but lying never helps.

Answer 5

I don't belive a simple statement like this EVER applies to all circumstances. Rules like this are useful as guidelines, but when they become absolute truths spoken by god they become restrictive and even excuses for being mean to people. You can say whatever you want to people and as long as you weren't lying it's OK, even if it hurts them, right? It's OK for me to tell people what others said about them behind their backs because I'm just being honest. If the Gustapo asks you where the Jews are hiding is it OK to tell them? Some would say, "well God would never do that to you or put you in that situation.".....B.S.
Every situation has to be assesed to find the BEST solution for the situation. And best is determined by a persons goals and values. Not just one value like honesty. But all values have to be balanced and a best choice made. This is called adult decision making.
Yes, MOST of the time honesty is good. It keeps us on track. Honesty, especially with ourselves, keeps us grounded in reality. Helps us make good decisions. We don't have to keep track of our lies. But humans have the capability to deceive ourselves and others. I believe this ability wasn't given to us for nothing. It has a purpose. Like everything else, there is use and abuse.
I don't like to think of any behavior as right or wrong. They just have consequenses. Lying has consequenses of destroying trust if you're found out. It is work because you have to worry about being discovered and you have to think about what you said so you don't get caught. But these consequenses must be considered along with the consequences of telling the truth which, as in the case of hiding friends from those who would kill them, is perhaps more severe than the consequenses of lying.

Answer 6

I think "white lies" are OK. Sometime the truth causes more harm than a lie because some people can not handle the truth. The truth is sometime uncompromising and merciless.

Answer 7

how would you view a person if you found out they lied to you?, no matter about what, you would not like them as much as you did before you found out, would you. On the other hand, our parents lie to us all the time when we're kids, we know about it and we don't care. I guess it always depends on the circumstances.

Answer 8

If you need to lie to someone to protect their feelings, then you shouldn't say anything. If you need to lie for a good cause, then your cause will be tainted by the fact that you had to lie for it. Just tell the truth or remain silent.

Answer 9

Lying sometimes can be very useful. If you do it for a good cause, in order to avoid hurting somebody's feelings, it's the right thing to do.

Answer 10

Lying is not always wrong, think Santa and the tooth fairy, lying has it's place.
Anyone who says they don't lie are [guess what] lying!

Answer 11

This is a personal moral issue. You need to decide this for yourself. Truth is not some absolute objective reality.

One might argue that if I tell a deranged person where someone is if the ask me, knowing that they intend to kill this person, I am complicit in their death should they be killed.

Is this truth or common sense?

Love and blessings Don