Most evil people in the world are described as being liars, but does this does not make all lies evil. Everyone lies and surely not everyone in the world is evil. Most people begin to lie at age four, but no one would call an innocent child evil. Many people would argue that people lie because they solely want to be deceitful, but not all lies are as simple as that. Stephanie Ericsson in The Ways We Lie discusses many different types of lies, and why people tell these types of lies. There are numerous types of lies and a plethora of reasons for why someone would tell a lie. Some people lie to spare the feelings of others, some people lie to cover something up that they have done, and some people lie mainly to hurt others for the fun of it.
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Sometimes people lie to themselves to cover up parts of their lives that they are not proud of in hopes that if they lie to themselves enough that they will believe the lie. This is not healthy. There are many different ways to get over a situation that would be better for a person than lying to themselves. This may not be considered an immoral form of a lie, but it is an example of how a lie could be unhealthy. Many people who lie do it to protect another person or to save a person from getting offended (160). Many would argue that no one has the right to decide for someone else whether or not they should be denied the truth because they may get offended. It may be considered evil to leave someone in the dark of something that could be completely life changing because, it they may not take it very well (161). No one would consider being polite to be immoral. If a person cannot stand to be around someone and pretends to be that person’s friend when they are around, that would be considered deceit. Most people would say that being deceitful is immoral, so in this case being polite is immoral. This is a type of lie that most people justify as being acceptable if it is even recognized as a lie …show more content…
Most people prefer the truth, but most people also do not like for people to ruin their day by telling them their honest opinion. A lie is only a lie if what they are telling you is false. Friedrich Nietzsche said in Morality as Anti-Nature “truth is confused with the effects of believing something to be true” (355). It can be argued that a lie is justified if the person telling the lie believes it to be the truth. Ericsson believes that lying is immoral, but everyone does it. She implies that it is justified to lie at times, but that it should not get out of hand (Ericsson 160). Nietzsche would agree with Ericsson because he believes that truth is relative to what a person believes, and that whether or not to participate in immoral acts is a decision that people make with their own free will (Nietzche 355). Lying is immoral, but can be justified at
Sometimes people lie to themselves to cover up parts of their lives that they are not proud of in hopes that if they lie to themselves enough that they will believe the lie. This is not healthy. There are many different ways to get over a situation that would be better for a person than lying to themselves. This may not be considered an immoral form of a lie, but it is an example of how a lie could be unhealthy. Many people who lie do it to protect another person or to save a person from getting offended (160). Many would argue that no one has the right to decide for someone else whether or not they should be denied the truth because they may get offended. It may be considered evil to leave someone in the dark of something that could be completely life changing because, it they may not take it very well (161). No one would consider being polite to be immoral. If a person cannot stand to be around someone and pretends to be that person’s friend when they are around, that would be considered deceit. Most people would say that being deceitful is immoral, so in this case being polite is immoral. This is a type of lie that most people justify as being acceptable if it is even recognized as a lie …show more content…
Most people prefer the truth, but most people also do not like for people to ruin their day by telling them their honest opinion. A lie is only a lie if what they are telling you is false. Friedrich Nietzsche said in Morality as Anti-Nature “truth is confused with the effects of believing something to be true” (355). It can be argued that a lie is justified if the person telling the lie believes it to be the truth. Ericsson believes that lying is immoral, but everyone does it. She implies that it is justified to lie at times, but that it should not get out of hand (Ericsson 160). Nietzsche would agree with Ericsson because he believes that truth is relative to what a person believes, and that whether or not to participate in immoral acts is a decision that people make with their own free will (Nietzche 355). Lying is immoral, but can be justified at