...Lying in general is something that is chastised in all societies. No one likes being deceived by false statements. Kant believes that it is our duty to tell the truth no matter the circumstances. He believes that by lying, regardless of any harm done to either person involved, there was harm done to humanity in general, inasmuch as it vitiates the very source of right (Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals 64-65). I unequivocally disagree with Kant’s view on lying. The premise behind Kant’s theory is morally correct, but there are various circumstances where lying is necessary for the betterment of mankind. Kant is also not consistent with his categorical imperatives with regard to intentional deception as opposed to lying. There is a major discrepancy regarding deception and lying with his moral viewpoint. Where is the line drawn in regard to deception versus lying? Certain situations including the case of the “would be murderer” are examples where disagreement becomes evident and Kant’s absolute moral rule on lying is exploited. The first argument against Kant’s view on lying deals with his belief that all lies harm someone or humanity, either directly or indirectly, and everyone has “a right to the truth” (Grounding for the Metaphysics of Morals 64). I disagree with this because in many circumstances small lies are necessary. For example, parents lie to their children about Santa Clause, the Tooth Fairy, and the Easter Bunny, and many other things. Now this may seem a...
Words: 1457 - Pages: 6
...When Lying is Justifiable Lying is an inevitable behavior, although we may all agree lying is not right, we fall into this behavior many times in our lives. Everyone lies; whether it is to protect, obscure, place blame, or manipulate. As children, most individuals were taught that lying was wrong. From hearing parents say common quotes like, “the truth shall set you free”, or from the many consequences received for lying, people were meant to be have honesty enforced their minds. There is no doubt truth actually is enforced in our minds, according to a study by expert of Developmental Science, Dr. Fu Genyue, Ph.D, “Children of all ages categorize lies as lies and truth as truth” (499). Research in the medical field shows that “deception is judged as justified in some contexts involving the prevention of harm” (Freeman 2274). Of course lying is not acceptable when speaking under oath or at confessions with a priest, but lying is definitely justifiable in certain situations were it can be used as a protection factor to protect the feelings, securities, and lives of others. We are all put into very awkward situations at some points of our lives where we may feel lying to spare one's feelings was the best option. One common situation is being asked, “Do I look fine in this outfit?”. If the person does look fine it is okay to say so, but it is when that person may not that we produce what is called a “white lie”. While many people may recognize the words “white lie”, there is...
Words: 352 - Pages: 2
...Lecture #2 Three Strategies to Test Theories: -Descriptive -Correlational -Experimental Descriptive (systematic observation) Three Types: 1) Case Study (oldest descriptive method) -Study one or more individuals in great depth -e.g.Sigmond Freud -studied people with psychological disorders in Vienna -extrapolated on personality in general using info. from these people -Problem: the person or people you select may be so abnormal that data based on them is misleading -Today: case studies are used with brain damage patients -e.g. how strake victims speak provides information on the role of the brain in language - from this we learned that language is mostly in the left hemisphere and there are two separate areas involved, one for speaking and one for understanding 2) The Survey -Asks many people to report their behavior or opinions -e.g. election surveys, sex on campus by the “Times” -can be used to compare cultures -Trying to make a statement about a large group of people -You can’t usually ask all of the people you are interested in (called the target population), so you get a subset of the population -this subset is called a sample -For the results to be reasonable, the sample must be random, meaning that every individual in the population has an equal chance of being picked for the sample -If the sample is not random, you can get erroneous conclusions -e.g. book Women in Love only used the data from...
Words: 512 - Pages: 3
...When Lying is Justifiable Lying is an inevitable behavior, although we may all agree lying is not right, we fall into this behavior many times in our lives. Everyone lies; whether it is to protect, obscure, place blame, or manipulate. As children, most individuals were taught that lying was wrong. From hearing parents say common quotes like, “the truth shall set you free”, or from the many consequences received for lying, people were meant to be have honesty enforced their minds. There is no doubt truth actually is enforced in our minds, according to a study by expert of Developmental Science, Dr. Fu Genyue, Ph.D, “Children of all ages categorize lies as lies and truth as truth” (499). Research in the medical field shows that “deception is judged as justified in some contexts involving the prevention of harm” (Freeman 2274). Of course lying is not acceptable when speaking under oath or at confessions with a priest, but lying is definitely justifiable in certain situations were it can be used as a protection factor to protect the feelings, securities, and lives of others. We are all put into very awkward situations at some points of our lives where we may feel lying to spare one's feelings was the best option. One common situation is being asked, “Do I look fine in this outfit?”. If the person does look fine it is okay to say so, but it is when that person may not that we produce what is called a “white lie”. While many people may recognize the words “white lie”, there...
Words: 1652 - Pages: 7
...Guidance In today’s society many children have grown up to become emotionally stable and successful whether they had one or two parents to show them to get through the unsteady difficulties life brings to all human beings. The problem is that none of these children are being raised right nor given good advice that will help them succeed in life. Countless people believe that if a child grows up in an unstructured household, then he or she will not be instilled with the right morals, ethics, and values, which is untrue. But, today, the youth in our society is being inspired by the ignorance we see on social media and it is not heading in the direction of righteousness. In the essay “Advice to Youth” by Mark Twain, he offers some seemly good advice to the young people. The advice he offers is that “all young people are given rules or advice to guide them as they grow up and to keep them on the right path to live a good life”. Mark Twain states “Always obey your parents, when they are present”. Yes, you should obey your parents, but if they are not present, you cannot solely rely on their standing orders to make the best decision. Of course you should be respectful to your superiors, but if those same people are not respectful to you then you cannot be expected to continue the gesture of being respectful towards them. With a statement like that, society presumes children are more likely to have behavior problems because they would not believe in showing respect toward their...
Words: 873 - Pages: 4
...development to be age appropriate. There are some pieces of advice that are common enough to convey to a person that the majority of individuals are presented with the advice at one point or another in their life; however, it is the manner in which the advice is expressed that makes it beneficial and wholesome. In Mark Twain’s speech, “Advice to Youth,” the author provided youth with advice regarding some of the important matters that are commonly instilled in children at a young age: obey your parents, be respectful to your elders, do not lie, wake up early, be careful with guns, and read books. With each piece of advice, Mark Twain also provided reasons as to why and how the advice should be taken; however, the reasons expressed were unconventional in their nature. Twain expressed his advice in terms of acknowledging that these things are important to follow in life, but he also conveyed them in a way that was most beneficial to the person following the advice, rather than respectful. Twain discussed that, yes, children should obey their parents, but instead of putting a positive spin on the reason why, he discussed it as doing so in order to humor the parents. Additionally, Twain discussed the importance of being respectful to superiors and strangers but to only do so when they are looking,...
Words: 671 - Pages: 3
...I believe that lying is acceptable, but only sometimes. It isn’t bad when it will protect someone and their feelings and it won’t cause anyone harm. But lying for your own benefit or to harm someone is never tolerated and there are sometimes after-effects. Sometimes, we don’t want to tell the truth if it will cause another person to feel bad, so we lie out of kindness to preserve their feelings. Say someone gives you a gift but you don’t like it, most people would rather lie and say they love it instead of how they really feel because it’s not worth hurting someone’s feelings over. But as said on and excerpt from “The U.S. Political Campaign: Lies, Lies, Lies”, “On rare occasions, lying to protect others can literally be a matter of life or death. Anne Frank survived as long as she did because those sheltering her and her family lied to the Nazis.” I think that this is a perfect example of when lying is completely justified since people’s lives were saved....
Words: 618 - Pages: 3
...As children we are taught to always tell the truth in every situation. Catchy clichés such as "the truth will set you free" are used to reinforce honesty in our minds. However, is it possible that lying can further your success in life, more so than honesty? Literary evidence seems to support this. Even the Bible offers stories of lying and cheating without consequence. Three literary works–the book of Genesis, William Shakespeare’s Othello, and Sir Walter Ralegh’s poem The Lie–offer support that, perhaps, the truth is not always what it’s cracked up to be. Sir Walter Ralegh discusses lying versus telling the truth in depth in his poem The Lie. In this poem, it appears that a member of the court is telling his servant (the servant being the "Soul," or perhaps the poem itself) to visit various genres of upper-class people and expose to them the uncomfortable truths of their existence. If they begin to deny these truths, the servant is commanded to "give them the lie," and publicly accuse them of being untruthful. Ralegh is claiming that these higher members of society are living lies and should be aware of them. He says, "Say to the church, it shows / What’s good and doth no good." During Ralegh’s time, clergymen were of the most powerful men in society, and they were also considered among, if not the, most corrupt. Ralegh’s intent with these lines is to expose that the church was not practicing the goodness that they were preaching about, thus harming the congregation...
Words: 1134 - Pages: 5
...in Health and Social Care P1 – Explain potential hazards and the harm that may arise from each in a health or social care setting. Introduction: For P1, I am an employer, working for the local authority. My role is to check health, safety and security in different care settings. I will be looking for loose wires or toys lying around the floor as these are risks to injuries in the care setting. Key Terms: * Hazards: Anything that may cause any harm, such as loose wires trailing along the floor. Somebody may trip over them. * Risk: Risk is the chance that someone may be harmed, high or low risk, such as falling down the staircase. * Health hazards: These include incidents leading to an illness, such as visiting a patient in a hospital, and catching the norovirus. * Safety hazards: Incidents that lead to a personal injury or damage to equipment or buildings, such as using heavy or dangerous machinery with no license. * Security hazards: This includes intruders, theft of property or information and individuals either being abducted or leaving without consent. Such as having safety locks on doors at nurseries for young children to ensure that they cannot escape. * Reference. PPT. Level 3 Hazards in a health or social care setting, with examples. Hazards in a physical environment The physical environment includes everything that surrounds us, such as; objects, people, pets etc… These can have an impact on the well-being of staff and...
Words: 2111 - Pages: 9
...Goedjen 1 Jackson Goedjen Mrs. Zinsitz English II GT - 3 22 September 2014 Lying Saints Throughout history and across the world lies have been told, whether it be a simple “white” lie, or the largest lie ever told. Some philosophers even say it’s impossible for humans not to lie. A lie is a false statement made to deliberately deceive the person, or persons to which it is told. Lies and deception take common place in today’s society; An everyday necessity in order to keep society functioning at it’s fullest potential, yet people insist the benefits of lying such as protecting yourself, the nation, or a large number of people the cannot rectify immorality of the lie itself. We as a society lie or deceive generally to protect ourselves from a perceived threat. Oddly though, all of my life, I have been told “Lying is always wrong.” or “There is a never a right time to lie.” yet everybody still seems to participate in this social voodoo. Now of course, I do too, albeit with good intentions of course. For example, when I was much younger, a salesman came to my door. Being young and naive, I answered the door without thinking too much about it. I was home alone at the time and when the salesman asked if my parents were home I said yes, but were on the phone and couldn’t talk. The man looked shocked, and hurriedly left. I didn’t think much of it at the time, but I now realize what consequences telling the truth could have held. I had to lie in that moment as it was for my own safety...
Words: 878 - Pages: 4
...If you have spent time around young children, then you understand the saying, “children say the darndest things.” They can either be brutally honest, or the wildest story tellers you have ever met. If you find yourself on the listening end of these wild stories, or lies, should you be concerned and wonder if the child may potentially turn into a pathological liar? The answer is no. Children lie for many reasons, and their ability to do so effectively, is an indication of healthy mental development (Lee, 2016, TED). According to Kang Lee, a developmental psychologist that has been studying lying in children for more than 20 years (Moyer, 2014, par. 3), there are 3 common misconceptions regarding children and lying (Lee, 2016, TED). These misconceptions are that children only lie after entering elementary school, children are poor liars and adults can easily detect their lies, finally, if children lie at a young age there must be character...
Words: 584 - Pages: 3
...A recent interview has shown that “More than 80 percent of women advocate beneficial lying- - meaning that the lie is more important than the truth” (Barash 1). This statistic shows that women are more compassionate when faced with others’ feelings. Women feel the need to lie to avoid confrontation if they told the truth, when approached with a touchy subject. The same interview concludes that “More than 75 percent of women feel justified in their lie” (Barash 1). This means that, women lie to please others and to protect their reputation amongst others. Many people use a lie to spare someone’s feelings; however lying should be used as a form of deception. Women are more likely to lie to spare someone’s feelings, while other women and men use...
Words: 1717 - Pages: 7
...In “A Barred Owl” by Richard Wilbur and “The History Teacher” by Billy Collins, adults attempt to explain the unknown to children by lying. In both poems, literary devices are used to convey exactly how the adults manipulate the children to believe everything other than the truth, mainly to keep them in a state of calm and ignorance. Devices such as rhyme scheme and juxtaposition are used in Wilbur’s poem to demonstrate the effectiveness of lying to calm one’s fears while other devices such as tone and metaphors are used in Collins’ to show the effects of misinformation on the actions of the youth, as well as the ignorance of the individuals who spread it. Wilbur utilizes the rhyming scheme (couplets) in “A Barred Owl” to develop the little girl’s fear of the owl into her acceptance that it is not a threat. For example, the first two lines is a couplet, and it serves to introduce the frightening scene to the little girl: “The warping night-air having brought the boom of an owl’s voice into her darkened room…” Throughout the rest of the poem the couplets are utilized to progress the poem’s mood from frightening to one of peace. Especially with the last 3 couplets, the rhymes contribute to the child finally accepting the speaker’s lies with regards to the owl. The first 6 lines and the last 6 lines can also be seen as juxtaposition, as there is a great contrast between them. When the dark setting with the owl’s “voice” is first introduced, it instills fear into the child. However...
Words: 583 - Pages: 3
...I.- Why do people lie? Everybody lies. It may only be “white” lies, but everyone tells lies or “omits the truth” sometimes. We start lying at around age 4 to 5 when children gain an awareness of the use and power of language. This first lying is not malicious, but rather to find out, or test, what can manipulated in a child’s environment. Eventually children begin to use lying to get out of trouble or get something they want. White lies, those concocted to protect someone’s feelings, are not a big deal at all. The person, however, who seems to feel compelled to lie about both the small and large stuff has a problem. We often call these folks pathological liars (which is a description, not a diagnosis). They lie to protect themselves, look good, gain financially or socially and avoid punishment. Quite often the person who has been deceived knows that this type of liar has to a certain extent deluded him or herself and is therefore to be somewhat pitied.A much more troubling group is those who lie a lot — and knowingly — for personal gain. These people may have a diagnosis called antisocial personality disorder, also known as being a sociopath, and often get into scrapes with the law. Lying often gets worse with the passage of time. When you get away with a lie it often impels you to continue your deceptions. Also, liars often find themselves perpetrating more untruths to cover themselves. We hold different people to different standards when it comes to telling the truth. We expect...
Words: 345 - Pages: 2
...With the holidays approaching so quickly, I decided to look at an article that relates to the holiday season and it is a big question for many families with young children on whether or not should parents lie to their kids about Santa”? Most of us as children can remember from a young age believing in Santa and would wake up on Christmas day just so grateful for all the gifts that Santa brought. According to psychologist Christopher Boyle and mental health researcher Kathy McKay, the lie of Santa existence is damaging a child because children trust the opinion of their parents and by parenting lying to them it makes children eventually undermined anything their parents say to them. Even though many parents want to give their children and joyful...
Words: 294 - Pages: 2
