Tweet
A lie is type of deception in the form of an untruthful statement made to someone else with the intention to deceive. To lie is to state something one believes to be false with the intention that it be taken for the truth by someone else.
A liar is a person who is lying, who has lied or who lies repeatedly.
Intentional deceit involving natural signs, such as wearing a wig, shamming a limp, or wearing a fake arm cast, is not usually classed as "lying", but as deception in general, though the underlying intent may be the same. A "lie" type of deception usually involves use of conventional truthbearers and not natural signs.
An objectively true statement may be a lie if the person who makes the true statement genuinely believes it to be false, and makes the statement with the intent of deceiving his audience into believing it to be true. That is, a person lies by being intentionally untruthful, irrespective of whether his statement later on happens to be proved true.
Lying by misleading occurs when a person tells a true statement, but with the intent of making someone believe an untruth. An example would be a person who knocks over a vase, and, when asked "Did you do this?", replies "The cat was playing around on the shelves."
The cat, indeed, was doing so, but was not the cause of the accident. Note that the reply did not answer the direct question. Direct questions of this type demand only "yes" or "no" responses.
Lying by omission is where a person omits an important fact, deliberately leaving another person with a misconception. This includes failures to correct pre-existing misconceptions.
Listed in order of severity:
Lies in religious teaching.
Lies that harm others and help no one.
Lies that harm others and help someone.
Lies told for the pleasure of lying.
Lies told to "please others in smooth discourse".
Lies that harm no one and that help someone.
Lies that harm no one and that save someone's life.
Lies that harm no one and that save someone's "purity".
Importantly, Augustine held that "jocose lies" are not, in fact, lies.
A liar is a person who is lying, who has lied or who lies repeatedly.
Intentional deceit involving natural signs, such as wearing a wig, shamming a limp, or wearing a fake arm cast, is not usually classed as "lying", but as deception in general, though the underlying intent may be the same. A "lie" type of deception usually involves use of conventional truthbearers and not natural signs.
An objectively true statement may be a lie if the person who makes the true statement genuinely believes it to be false, and makes the statement with the intent of deceiving his audience into believing it to be true. That is, a person lies by being intentionally untruthful, irrespective of whether his statement later on happens to be proved true.
Lying by misleading occurs when a person tells a true statement, but with the intent of making someone believe an untruth. An example would be a person who knocks over a vase, and, when asked "Did you do this?", replies "The cat was playing around on the shelves."
The cat, indeed, was doing so, but was not the cause of the accident. Note that the reply did not answer the direct question. Direct questions of this type demand only "yes" or "no" responses.
Lying by omission is where a person omits an important fact, deliberately leaving another person with a misconception. This includes failures to correct pre-existing misconceptions.
Listed in order of severity:
Lies in religious teaching.
Lies that harm others and help no one.
Lies that harm others and help someone.
Lies told for the pleasure of lying.
Lies told to "please others in smooth discourse".
Lies that harm no one and that help someone.
Lies that harm no one and that save someone's life.
Lies that harm no one and that save someone's "purity".
Importantly, Augustine held that "jocose lies" are not, in fact, lies.
.
Comment