6 Slide-: When Is It OK To Lie?

1st slide - Have you ever lied?
 Suppression of correct information-

refers to the process of withholding or
Lying is probably one of the most common
removing selected information—most
wrong acts that we carry out (one researcher
commonly in public reports and
has said 'lying is an unavoidable part of human
datasets—to protect the identities,
nature'), so it's worth spending time thinking
about it. privacy, and personal information of
individual students, teachers, or
Most people would say that lying is always administrators
wrong, except when there's a good reason for it
- which means that it's not always wrong!
4th side- Two odd cases of lying:
But even people who think lying is always
wrong have a problem... Consider the case  the case where someone inadvertently gives
where telling a lie would mean that 10 other true information while believing that they're
lies would not be told. If 10 lies are worse than telling a lie
1 lie then it would seem to be a good thing to
tell the first lie, but if lying is always wrong then  I want the last helping of pie for
it's wrong to tell the first lie... myself, so I lie to you that there is
a worm in it. When I later eat that
nd
2 slide- What is a lying- act of making others piece of pie I discover that there
believe something that they, themselves, do really is a worm in it
not believe.
 the case where nobody is deceived by me
Lying is a form of deception, but not all forms of because they know that I always tell lies.
deception are lies. It aims to make an
intentionally false statement. Lying is giving
some information while believing it to be 5th slide- According to Catholic Moral Theology,
untrue, intending to deceive by doing so. Lies lying becomes sinful when;
that don't deceive are not sinful lies.
1. It leads the neighbour to error
3rd slide-TYPES OF LYING
2. It breaches a promise
 Use of ambigious words- A lie
communicates some information by 3. It violates the nature of speech
(when the meaning of a word, phrase,
or sentence is uncertain. There could be
6th slide- When is it OK to lie?
more than one meaning) Lying can be morally justified when it is;
 Use of false statements.-The liar 1. Used to protect innocent people

intends to deceive or mislead
 Lying through action- the liar must 2. Used to protect national security secrets
actually speak or write or gesture.
3. Use in the name of self defense
4. Used in the protection of bodily integrity  the person being lied to is deprived of
information that they might find
White lies or mercy lies - where it may
useful even if they found it unpleasant
be OK to tell lies.
 the person telling the lies may find it
White lies easier to lie in future and they may
A white lie is a lie that is not come to blur the boundary between
intended to harm the person being white lies and more blameworthy lies
lied to - indeed it's often intended to White lies weaken the general
benefit them by making them feel presumption that lying is wrong and
good, or preventing their feelings may make it easier for a person to tell
being hurt. lies that are intended to harm someone,
or may make it easier to avoid telling
For example, I go to a dinner party and truths that need to be told - for
my hostess asks how I like the dish example, when giving a performance
she's prepared. The true answer evaluation it is more comfortable not to
happens to be 'I think it tastes horrible' tell someone that their work is sub-
but if I say 'it's delicious' that's a white standard.
lie. Most people would approve of that
white lie and would regard telling the 7th slide- Business Practices involving
truth as a bad thing to do. (But this lie Misrepresentation and Lying
does do some harm - the hostess may
 Direct misrepresentation
feel encouraged to make that dish
 Indirect Misrepresentation
again, and so future guests will have to
suffer from it.)
What harm do lies do?
White lies usually include most of
these features:  He has to remember the lies he's
told
 they are not intended to harm the
person lied to  His long-term credibility is at risk
 His own view of his integrity is
 they are not intended to harm
damaged
anyone else
 He may find it easier to lie again
 they don't actually harm anyone or to do other wrongs
(or only do trivial harm)
NOTE: Those who tell 'good lies' don't
 the lie is about something morally generally suffer these consequences -
trivial although they may do so on some
 they aren't told so often that they occasions.
devalue what you say

8th slide- Utilitarianism assess the
White lies are not a totally good thing: rightness or wrongness of doing
something by looking at the because it's using speech to do the
consequences caused by that act. opposite of what God intended
“If telling a particular lie produces a  The true sin of lying is contained in
better result than not telling it, then the desire to deceive
telling it would be a good thing to
do. And if telling a particular lie  Augustine believed that some lies
produces a worse result than not could be pardoned, and that there
telling it, telling it would be a bad were in fact occasions when lying
thing to do”. would be the right thing to do.
“Every liar says the opposite of what

he thinks in his heart, with purpose
to deceive”
-St Augustine, The Enchiridon
9th slide- PHILOSOPHERS ON LYING
3. Thomas Aquinas
Thomas Aquinas also thought that all
lies were wrong, but that there was a
hierarchy of lies and those at the
bottom could be forgiven. His list was:
 Malicious lies: lies told to do harm

1. Some philosophers, most  Malicious lies are mortal sins
famously the German Immanuel
 'Jocose lies': lies told in fun
Kant (1724-1804), believed that
that lying was always wrong.  These are pardonable
 'Officious' or helpful lies
2. Christian theologian St.
Augustine (354-430) taught that  These are pardonable
lying was always wrong, but
accepted that this would be very
difficult to live up to and that in real
life people needed a get-out clause.
St Augustine said that:
 God gave human beings speech so

that they could make their thoughts
known to each other; therefore using
speech to deceive people is a sin,

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1st slide - Have you ever lied?

 Suppression of correct information-

 Use of false statements.-The liar 1. Used to protect innocent people

devalue what you say

“Every liar says the opposite of what

 Malicious lies: lies told to do harm

St Augustine said that:

 God gave human beings speech so

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