Sissela Bok's Lying: Moral Choice In Public And Private Life?

Great Essays
In Sissela Bok’s Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life, the author gives and approach to philosophic questions that regard ethical issues, thus making this book favorable to a high degree. Bok considers lying from the perspective of utilitarian philosophers. These philosophers confirm acts more according to the graciousness and malice of their consequences. The topic of both chapters concern lying and whether one should lie or speak honestly depending on the situation. Additionally, it goes further into detail about why people lie, how they rationalize and whether or not the justifications are deemed appropriate. Bok bases her work on whether one should lie or speak honestly and what one should say exactly as well as what should …show more content…
This happens quite often as anyone that is lied to can experience various negative emotion including a lack of trust. Lies also yield longitudinal effects as one may feel that it is difficult to have trust in another individual. The deceived tend to look back at past beliefs and actions when encountered with lies. They are unable to make informed decisions according to the most adequate information available. In the matter of deception, it is the loss of choice that hinders the deceived. One only wishes to be lied to only if it serves some sort of benefit as we may wish to be lied to but prefer to choose when that would happen. Such alternatives should be chosen and not “imposed by lies or other forms of manipulation.” “The perspective of the deceived is shared by all those who feel the consequences of a lie, whether or not they are themselves lied to” (21). Regardless of who is deceived, everyone experiences similar ramifications after being lied to, and when one wish to lie, there should be no negative ulterior motives. Skepticism denies the possibility of knowledge as determinism denies the possibility of freedom, yet both knowledge and freedom are required to act in making a rational choice (21). Being questionable about something prevents one from accepting new ideas; …show more content…
“A liar must trust they can make wise use of the power lies bring. They are confident in their ability to distinguish the times when good reasons support their decision to lie. They would prefer a ‘free-rider status, giving them the benefits of lying without the risks of being lied to” (23). When liars organize their lies in advance, they tend to feel certain in their capability to swindle others. They prefer to lie without being lied to. “It is crucial to see the distinction between the freeloading liar and the liar whose deception is a strategy for survival in a corrupt society” (23). Freeloading liars are rather selfish and only wish to lie for their personal gains, but some other liars may be in a situation where their hands are tied where the best option is to lie whereas telling the truth can do harm. The outlook of the liar tends to disregard harm to themselves and harm to society. A liar breaks his integrity, credibility and respect for his word are both damaged. White lies probably do not harm the liar in the same way that a public lie about an important matter. “The sheer energy the liar has to devote to shoring them up is the energy that honest people can dispose of freely” (25). As liars continue to deceive others, it requires time and thought to cover up previously lies with even more lies; however, the deceived could care less about these efforts from the

Related Documents

  • Improved Essays

    the recent discussions of the intentions of lies, an issue has arisen about the selfishness of lies. On one hand, some argue that lies which are created with the feelings of others in mind are never selfish. On the other hand, others argue that all lies are based on selfish needs. They claim that every lie, no matter how small, is created from the selfish nature of people that want to better themselves. In short, the issue is whether lies can ever assist others.…

    • 2243 Words
    • 9 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In the ways we lie, Ericsson discusses roughly ten lies, but there are much more that can be added to this list. She describes the main ones we continuously use on a regular basis and the reasons for lying. The white lie, Facades, Ignoring the plain facts, Deflecting, Omission, Stereotypes & Clichés, Groupthink, Out & out lies, Dismissal, and Delusion. When reading this essay, you would be surprised at the number of lies there are. For one there are way too many, but you will come to realize that some are not as bad as they sound being categorized by a lie.…

    • 767 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    n “The Ways We Lie,” author Stephanie Ericsson does a great job of explaining how and why everyone lies. Ericsson makes serval points that lying isn’t necessarily bad, however sometimes lies can have severer consequences. For this particular writing the audience is everybody, because she argues that everyone lies. Ericsson’s use of historical events provide logos or logical reasoning. She also apples to pathos by reaching to her audience emotions.…

    • 409 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    In “The Ways We Lie” by Stephanie Ericsson she discusses and breaks down the activity of lying into different kinds of lies. Ericsson goes into great detail of about 10 of them, but there are many more. Some lies are for your peace of mind and maybe still bad for both parties, and some are for the better of someone else’s feelings. Ericsson believes that even if you feel you are perfect, nobody is and still tell lies no matter big or small, we do it and at times are unaware that it is considered a lie. Individuals nowadays get to a point where they are lying and don’t know whether to believe themselves or others.…

    • 856 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Ways We Lie

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages

    Deborah Tannen, in “Sex, Lies, and Conversation,” an essay published in the 1990 The Washington Post, addressed misunderstandings to curb controversies regarding a chapter from Tannen’s 1986 book That’s Not What I Meant!. Tannen, a teacher at Georgetown University provides the public with scholarly research in the battlefield of communication between the sexes; bringing to light the stereotypical debate to whom is at fault in the negative communicational skills that endanger relationships. Stephanie Ericsson, in “The Ways We Lie,” a cover article from a 1993 issue of the Utne Reader, references life experiences, classifications, and quotes to rationalize the human need to lie. Ericsson, a screenwriter, a copywriter, and a recovering addict uses personal experiences to persuade readers that lying is an art form that cannot be lived without sending the assumption that lying is as vital to life as air is to breathing. Ericsson states “Sure I lie, but it doesn’t hurt anything.”…

    • 511 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Great Essays

    Lying is something that all humans do. Whether you lie for good or for bad, it is in our human nature to do so. People lie for many reasons, a lie can be big or small. For example in the play, The Crucible, by Arthur Miller, it shows the consequences of lying. The characters, Elizabeth Proctor, Abigail Williams, Samuel Parris, and Thomas Putnam all lie for different reasons.…

    • 1341 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Great Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Most people will say that lying is never the answer, but they don’t always tell why. Lying often ends unethically, not only the can the lier be punished or feel guilty in the process, but it often goes further than anticipated. When looking back there seems to be more consequences on the result of the pretense than what the reward would have been if everything worked out and there was no lying. The Salem Witch Trials, the McCarthy Trials, and the McMartin Trials all proved that it is important to always be honest, regardless of the sacrifice.…

    • 1170 Words
    • 5 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Molly Gaglione UCWR 110 - 012 Professor Jaffe 4 October 2017 The Use of Rhetoric as a Persuasive Device in “The Ways We Lie” In the world today, lying is something that is seemingly unavoidable. Religious leaders lie to hide illegal crimes committed within the church; athletes lie about use of performance enhancing drugs; news stations lie about the credibility of their reports; the President of the United States even lies about the number of people who attended his inauguration; more commonly, however, an average person will commit an untruth over the course of their daily lives, whether it be necessarily known to them or not. These are the kinds of lies that are explored in Stephanie Ericsson’s “The Ways We Lie.” This article dives into…

    • 941 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Nation of Lies Why do we lie to others, but expect others to be honest with us? Today in society, lies have embodied the lives of many to the point where it has become a natural part of our lifestyle. Lying has become a natural habit for us, it has become a factor in how we carry out our lives. Whether we may have lied in consideration of how others may feel, or if it was because we did not want to carry out something we were assigned, lying has become so natural to us that we cannot distinguish it from what the truth really is. Lying has become a cultural cancer, as Stephanie Ericsson states in her essay, “The Ways We Lie”, that we have come to the point where we accepted it into our society.…

    • 1360 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    In the article "The Ways We Lie" the author, Stephanie Ericsson, tells the tale of how frequent individuals lie in our world of today. Hence, she decided then to completely tell the truth for an entire week realizing, lying was somewhat of a natural instinct that many had to do at least once. Furthermore, Stephanie then began to categorize different types of lies in order to justify the reason as to why one would lie in that given type of way. Therefore, she placed lies in categories such as deflecting, white lies, omissions, facades, dismissal, ignoring the plain facts, group think, delusion, and out-and-out lies. In the end, she had gotten fired from her job, added stress to her personal relationship, and hurt others.…

    • 327 Words
    • 2 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    Telling the truth all the time is nearly infeasible. Stephanie Ericsson’s essay titled, “The Ways We Lie” breaks down the activity of lying into subcategories of the different kinds of lies we tell on a daily basis. In addition, Ericsson’s essay manages to point out the elemental role that lying plays in our lives and our culture. We all lie, whether to abstain from confrontation, spare people’s feelings, conveniently forget, keep secrets, or even to justify our own words and actions. By clarifying the extent into which we all lie, Ericsson insinuates a plethora of ways in which we fib, by listing and describing each lie in its natural element.…

    • 639 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Decent Essays

    Telling the truth all the time is nearly infeasible. Stephanie Ericsson’s essay titled, “The Ways We Lie” breaks down the activity of lying into subcategories of the different kinds of lies we tell on a daily basis. In addition, Ericsson’s essay manages to point out the elemental role that lying plays in our lives and our culture. We all lie, whether to abstain from confrontation, spare people’s feelings, conveniently forget, keep secrets, or even to justify our own words and actions. By clarifying the extent into which we all lie, Ericsson begins to insinuate the many, many ways we fib, by listing and describing each lie in it’s natural element.…

    • 135 Words
    • 1 Pages
    Decent Essays
  • Improved Essays

    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.…

    • 1018 Words
    • 4 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Improved Essays

    The Out And Out Lies can cause an argument with anyone and can’t “refashion reality, it tries to refute it” (Ericsson). The Out And Out lies are like watching someone break an expensive item and when you confront then they would lie about breaking that particular item. Third, this lie is known as Dismissal. “Dismissal is perhaps the slipperiest of all lies” *(p. 166).…

    • 501 Words
    • 3 Pages
    Improved Essays
  • Superior Essays

    Why Do People Lie Essay

    • 1453 Words
    • 6 Pages

    In an interview with Robin Roberts, Robert Feldman, someone who has researched the subject of lies and deception for twenty plus years, said “We do it because it’s easy and because we get away with it and because it helps us in life” (Firestone). The human mind often assists in lying by helping the liar believe that by not telling the truth they are protecting someone else or themselves (Firestone). People are able to put their minds at ease when lying by convincing themselves that it is not that bad and that they are not doing anything wrong (Anonymous). It is not uncommon for people to only share information that they deem “safe” to tell and not tell everything; that is still a lie. It is a lie of omission, which at times is the worst kind of lie (Firestone).…

    • 1453 Words
    • 6 Pages
    Superior Essays

Related Topics