The Many Effects of Lying
The thought of someone lying conjures up many emotions. These emotions are more often than not negative, as lies are usually the basis of mistrust. In order to understand what effects a lie can have, one must determine what exactly constitutes a lie. According to the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, a lie is “to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive” (“lie”). With that understanding, there are two basic categories of lies: lies by omission, and lies by commission. Lies by omission simply conceal information, whereas lies by commission are statements tailored to mislead someone into believing that something is not true (Fulkner). Despite the negative connotation that usually surrounds the act of lying, lies actually have both positive and negative effects in today’s society. The following short essay will cover the reasons people lie, as well as both the negative and positive effects those lies have.
Children begin experimenting with lying and …show more content…
The lies that people tell to protect the feelings of others are widely referred to as white lies. Think what would happen if everyone on earth spoke their mind freely, and had no regard for the impact their statements made on the people around them. Some of the more obvious impacts are that everyone’s feelings would be hurt and relationships would quickly collapse. These types of lies are widely considered acceptable because they are done in good faith instead of malice, and are beneficial to society as a whole. Another example of a white lie is how most parents lead their children to believe in fictional characters, such as Santa Clause, the Easter bunny, and the tooth fairy. The belief in these characters is meant to enhance a child’s life, and while there is no harm in believing in such characters, they are still based on a
The thought of someone lying conjures up many emotions. These emotions are more often than not negative, as lies are usually the basis of mistrust. In order to understand what effects a lie can have, one must determine what exactly constitutes a lie. According to the Merriam-Webster’s dictionary, a lie is “to make an untrue statement with intent to deceive” (“lie”). With that understanding, there are two basic categories of lies: lies by omission, and lies by commission. Lies by omission simply conceal information, whereas lies by commission are statements tailored to mislead someone into believing that something is not true (Fulkner). Despite the negative connotation that usually surrounds the act of lying, lies actually have both positive and negative effects in today’s society. The following short essay will cover the reasons people lie, as well as both the negative and positive effects those lies have.
Children begin experimenting with lying and …show more content…
The lies that people tell to protect the feelings of others are widely referred to as white lies. Think what would happen if everyone on earth spoke their mind freely, and had no regard for the impact their statements made on the people around them. Some of the more obvious impacts are that everyone’s feelings would be hurt and relationships would quickly collapse. These types of lies are widely considered acceptable because they are done in good faith instead of malice, and are beneficial to society as a whole. Another example of a white lie is how most parents lead their children to believe in fictional characters, such as Santa Clause, the Easter bunny, and the tooth fairy. The belief in these characters is meant to enhance a child’s life, and while there is no harm in believing in such characters, they are still based on a