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Long story short, “Lying” is about the concept of how lying is never acceptable in an given situation. No matter how large or small the lie may be, it is never okay to lie.
It happens way too often when we decide to choose actions or behaviours that ultimately cause our unhappiness. Among these actions, nothing is more common than the lies the occur between our interactions with others. Whether its avoiding embarrassment, guilt or shame, the act of LYING is NEVER is the answer.
In our everyday lives, lying is seen as the way to either form an illustration or mask our inner insecurities.
Ironically in order to end the constant suffering and feeling of embarrassment, the easiest solution is to tell the truth.
Harris dives into:
- The Definition of a Lie
- The Worst kind of Lies
- The Biggest kind of Lies
- The Curse of Lying
For those who don’t know
Sam Harris is a neuroscientist, philosopher and accomplished author. Harris is devoted to the understanding of how we can connect our inner selves and emotional senses with the world around us through science.
Harris dives into the observations of the psychology behind lying, and how it is the root of most of our problems.
Definition of a Lie:
Generally speaking, the definition of Lying is:
to intentionally mislead others when they expect honest communication.
Despite how the act of lying is widely viewed as unacceptable, there are various reasons as to why people choose to lie:
- Avoiding guilt or shame
- Stretching their accomplishments
- Masking inner insecurities or bad deeds
The WORST kind of Lies:
While it is commonly seen as the act of dishonest communication, there are various types of ways someone can lie. Lies are generally seen as ethical transgressions where it is either harm done due to the bad intent of action or the lack of doing good intention to enable such action.
These principles would form the basis of the different types of lies. Harris would refer to these as the acts of commission vs. the acts of omission:
Acts of Commission: The bad intent of action
- Direct: When people think of lying, people generally think of the direct form of lying where an individual would speak with dishonest intent
Acts of Omission: The lack of doing good intention to enable such action
- White lies: Perhaps, the most common form of lying as it is the denial of what is true. Some everyday examples include saying yes to “Do I look fat in this dress” or “Is my idea really good?”
- Faint Praise: Similar to white lies, where one would state positive comments to avoid criticism or negative feedback.
The BIGGEST kind of Lies:
The elephant in the room tends to BIGGEST kind of lies that loom in our world.
Sometimes that elephant takes form as the government, large corporations and public institutions that maintain strong positions of authority. As these large authority groups tend to be exposed through scandals and corruptions, our trust in these groups tend to fade over time.
Lies surrounding financial management, power abuse and manipulation of products & services have cause irreparable relationships between these groups and its individuals. Some of these events caused by lying would include the “Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme”, the “Facebook Cambridge Analytica scandal” and the salt, sugar & fat in our food. (Insert link to Salt, Sugar, Fat)
Lying is the root of all evil.
The CURSE of lying:
The curse of all this lying is the burden of keeping track of them.
If one were to lie more and more, you must constantly keep up a public persona revolved around those false illusions. With each new individual or group you meet, the more pressure it will be to disclose the previous lies. Eventually, if the lies were getting excessive, it will get to a point where your image will fall down like a house of cards.
The more you lie, the more you must keep your story consistent.
What can WE do from here?
“The truth will set you free.”
As Harris mentions, the world’s largest and smallest problems arise from the act of lying.
The moral of the story is that no matter how embarrassing, guilty, or insecure, when given the choice, ALWAYS tell the TRUTH and AVOID LYING.
If you would like to give Sam Harris’ Lying a read while supporting the blog feel free to click below:
Sources for this post:
#1: “About Sam Harris.” Sam Harris, samharris.org/about/.
#2: Harris, Sam. Lying. Four Elephants Press, 2013.
#3: “What Is a Ponzi Scheme – Bernie Madoff Ponzi Scheme Explained.” Money Crashers, 10 Dec. 2018, www.moneycrashers.com/bernie-madoff-ponzi-scheme-explained/.
#4: “Facebook Cambridge Analytica Scandal: Here’s What Happened.” Fortune, Fortune, fortune.com/2018/04/10/facebook-cambridge-analytica-what-happened/.
#5: YourDictionary. “Who Said ‘And the Truth Shall Set You Free’?” YourDictionary, 14 Feb. 2017, quotes.yourdictionary.com/articles/who-said-and-the-truth-shall-set-you-free.html.