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cthulu2016

(10,960 posts)
Thu Aug 30, 2012, 01:48 PM Aug 2012

What "Lying" is, in sensible terms

This post is not offered to argue with what a dictionary might say. It is an examination of the concept of Lying. If we had an equally emotionally loaded term for all acts of willful deception that would be fine, but we don't So what should the word we do have, "lying," mean?


Like most human misdeeds other than parking at an expired meter, lying involves intent.

A false statement made in the belief that it is true is an error.

Making a false statement made with the intent to deceive is lying.

Making a true statement with the intent to deceive is also lying, if the term has ethical meaning. It is not perjury. It is merely lying. Omission, making incomplete statements with the intent to deceive is also lying. Taking something out of context for the purpose of deception is lying.

Lying is not a crime. Perjury is a crime. Filing a false police report is a crime. Criminal offenses are narrowly defined.

Lying, however, should not narrowly defined. It means that you open your mouth and your brain sends a particular series of motor impulses to your mouth to accomplish the deception of another human being.

If someone does not think that all willful deception constitutes lying then why do they think lying is a meaningful category?

Seriously... what distinction is being drawn? What is special about a sub-set of willful deception? Is one sub-set more wicked? The significance of the category of a lie is not that it is a false statement. The world is full of false statements that are not lies. The significance is that it is intended to deceive a human being.

Lying is a moral/ethical concept, not an information theory concept.

The knowing use of communication to deceive a human being has to be considered lying, in any sensible human ethical meaning of the term.
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