Lying and deception: motivations, detection, and moral justification

¶ … lying and deceit and questions its acceptability in society. Lying is something which stands at a different perspective for everyone. Every form of lying is because an individual is trying to gain or achieve something, most of people's actions are meant to deceive in some way for personal gain, and this goes on underlying, since people are so used to doing it. There is, however a possibility to change someone's patterns of duplicity. The detection of this duplicity is what may be difficult.

These patterns of duplicity are difficult to detect since they are already embedded within the person. This does not mean, though, that the person is of ill will. There are needs for this deception, justifiable or not, which arise through certain stressors in one's life. These types of stressors present themselves as challenges or types of competition in an individual's life. The drive for success or material gain rises, and this pushes a person to deceive in order to get his or her will.

2. Dishonesty is something which is dynamic in people's eyes. The perspectives on lying are different depending on the person lying and the person being lied to. People lie to each other yet are still surprised when an individual is not being honest with him or her. There are questions of motivations which are brought about by different emotions, the author regards to this as troublesome. There are various interpretive theories which are applicable to dishonesty; however it is still not clear of how to make connections between them.

Everyone has the power, along with the motivation to be dishonest, and to conceal some truths. Talking is simply the communication between individuals when one person is trying to tell the other what is on his or her mind. This can be easily manipulated by dishonesty. People can modify certain situations to their liking through their speech and actions. This creates grounds for people to lie about their motivations, their actions and even their speech.

3. The truth is something which does set us free, however it is not what we want and it ultimately makes us miserable. Everyone at one point does not measure themselves up to their own ethical standards; the standards regarding the truth. The scriptures say a lot about the act of lying, it claims that many people do this. We are described as representatives of the government before God. This lying hinders us from doing God's duty, and God being ruler of all, is not capable of lying.

It is all within our moral choices; to lie or not. However, most cannot justify their lies as to a life or death situation. There are certain circumstances in which we feel that we should lie, however most of the time this lying is not something which can be justified. Some people try to justify their lies in regards to their feelings, claiming that there are instances which call for it. However, the big question is that if it is ever right to tell a lie. This is a personal thought which can only be answered by an individual's ethics.

4. Opinions are now expressed so loosely, even though one of the most popular mottos to date is that "the truth will set you free." The truth is supposedly an objective thing, and it is supposedly only known in the mind of the individual who knows that truth. There is a certain crisis today which we are facing, regarding the importance of truth in our culture. This is in connection with postmodernism and the assaults truth is undergoing.

The concerns of truth are not only to be seen as theoretical and analytical, it is something which should be practical and positive. There are certain postmodernist views on truth which are created to make society seem so cynical. Truth and virtue can be traced back from intentions; these intentions include truth and bias. The issues on truth have far deeper meaning, and cannot simply be explained through the politics we compare it with. Throughout history, there seems to be justification of lies which are permissible, and the truth is something seen as subjective.

II. The Point

The overall point of the readings was an attempt to define lying in the human context. There are different motives and intentions which may dictate people in their actions and cause them to lie. Stirring away from the truth is not something which is uncommon today, and it is very prevalent especially in terms of politics and news. People have these intentions for personal gain and achievement that they manipulate their words, actions and speech patterns so that they are able to deceive others. Lying is something which can be determined under a number of theories and explanations; however why people lie is still something that puzzles a lot of people.

The example of The Lottery was given in comparison to humans and humanity. It seems unthinkable if taken literally, that a whole village can be so cruel as to do that to a person. However, it can be compared to people and their lies. There is a certain need for it in society, and it comes from intentions and their views on morale. People who are close to you and people who you love in one point will hurt you and lie to you. They can do this without flinching or even thinking twice. You would be surprised at who can lie to you and cause you damage.

Numerous other examples of lying, deceit and dishonesty were given in terms of politics. However, this does not only go on in the government or in the workplace. Lying is extensive and can be from small too big. No one can really measure a lie, just the impact or damage it can do. The damage can be literal damage, but the worst is the emotional damage it does to the one being lied to.

IV. Implications

1. Before I am tempted to commit a lie, a reason should be looked into. The readings state that a lie is due to personal gain and a drive for success. A lie is because an individual is presented with a situation where he or she is forced to tell a lie. This situation causes them to try to justify why the lie is needed, and sometimes the truth is not seen as something important. Self-interest is the most important thing when this lie emerges, or the need for the lie.

Therefore, before the lie is committed, I should look into the source of where this temptation is coming from. The situation should be evaluated and the desire for telling the lie should be first suppressed. It is easy for someone to commit a lie or any act of dishonesty when things are not laid down and thought of beforehand. One can easily stray from the truth when they refuse to evaluate the situation. By looking in to the situation and the genesis for the need of the lie, it can be evaluated and a better solution can be established. This way, the lie can be avoided, even if this means being miserable in the truth as the articles claim. However, this would be better than dishonesty.

2. When a lie is committed, one should be able to admit his or her mistake before things get grave. When the truth is disfigured or corrupted, and individual goes through a snow-ball effect where the lies keep rolling in and the truth can no longer be seen. Since the truth, in this case, has become subjective, it is therefore within the person who committed the lie to admit the truth, even if this means giving up personal gain.

The recognition of one's mistake is important in lying. When someone commits a lie, it is difficult to stem out the truth because some things may still be left out, if one is not willing to admit it. However, when the person who had committed the lie comes to admit his lie or dishonesty, it will make it easier for things to clear up, and everyone would benefit from the truth. Also, as the old saying goes "the truth will set you free"; one would be free from guilt.

3. Apologizing for the lie, deceit or dishonesty is important. Admitting to a mistake, whether it was on purpose or not, is important for all parties involved. This is because the person who is admitting his fault and apologizing is looking for forgiveness and is seeking to repent. This means that the lie is acknowledged, and responsibility for the action is taken. This is seen as something which is completely opposite from the bases for a lie, which is for personal reasons.

People may not be quick to forgive, yet apologizing for a mistake opens up a door for a restored relationship between the person who had committed the lie and the person who had been lied to. The readings state that a lie causes separation from people and it is important that people are brought back together, not only by the truth but the responsibility the one who has lied to take it up on his or herself to admit to the mistake.