In the essay titled “Lying” by Sam Harris, when he states that “not all acts of deception are lies,” this does not imply that not saying the truth about a topic is not lying. Throughout his writing, Harris expresses the different situations. At times, humans may object that not saying the truth it’s the correct thing to do; in order to safe another being’s life. However, he also portrays examples of how “doing the right thing,” meaning to say a “white” lie, may not provide the positive result that we intended to obtain. For instance, in a situation where the mother is terminally ill and her son just died in a car accident, is keeping the truth from what happened morally correct? Many can argue that disclosing such harmful news can worsen her
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In other words, the author says cosmetics are a mask used by women to mislead others, about their true appearance. According to Harris, when he states in the first line of his essay that “not all acts of deception are lies,” meaning that to be deceitful is a way to avoid saying or portraying the true facts about something; not necessarily means lying. With this statement, he contradicts himself with the previous example of women lying about their appearance by using cosmetics. Additionally, Harris gives the example of a common question “how are you?” of being used as a way of people not being truthful. When asked this simple question, most people will automatically respond with “I’m fine,” without answering truthfully. Now, will this be considered …show more content…
However, are they truly white lies because they have a good purpose and therefore not considered as lies in general? Harris explains that “white lies are still lies,” we are being deceitful by creating a false statement. By lying, this places our moral and integrity and honest values on a scale, which as Harris states “sources of moral wealth are destroyed the moment we deliberately misrepresent our beliefs.” One of the negative outcomes of lying is that without noticing as Harris expressed, “you may find yourself behaving as most people do quite effortlessly.” This last word “effortlessly” presents the lie to be a normal comfortable routine for people to do, without this action becoming a burden in their
In other words, the author says cosmetics are a mask used by women to mislead others, about their true appearance. According to Harris, when he states in the first line of his essay that “not all acts of deception are lies,” meaning that to be deceitful is a way to avoid saying or portraying the true facts about something; not necessarily means lying. With this statement, he contradicts himself with the previous example of women lying about their appearance by using cosmetics. Additionally, Harris gives the example of a common question “how are you?” of being used as a way of people not being truthful. When asked this simple question, most people will automatically respond with “I’m fine,” without answering truthfully. Now, will this be considered …show more content…
However, are they truly white lies because they have a good purpose and therefore not considered as lies in general? Harris explains that “white lies are still lies,” we are being deceitful by creating a false statement. By lying, this places our moral and integrity and honest values on a scale, which as Harris states “sources of moral wealth are destroyed the moment we deliberately misrepresent our beliefs.” One of the negative outcomes of lying is that without noticing as Harris expressed, “you may find yourself behaving as most people do quite effortlessly.” This last word “effortlessly” presents the lie to be a normal comfortable routine for people to do, without this action becoming a burden in their