...Michael A. Miller Janet Joslin ENC 1101 October 12, 2013 “ The Ways We Lie “ and “ Too Much Pressure” In Stephanie Ericsson’s essay “ The Ways We Lie “, her thesis states “ lying , she finds , may be unavoidable and even sometimes beneficial” (348 ). In Colleen Wenke’s essay “ Too Much Pressure “ her thesis ask the question “ Why do students cheat n school? ( 482 )”. Both of these essays give their strong reasons on why these two things take place. For Ericsson it is situations that we are put in, and for Wenke the excuse is the stresses of life. Both of these essays are thought provoking in the aspect of the general views of the reasons why we do things. These essays discuss in great detail each author’s point of view and tone. The tone in “ The Way We Lie “ is that of it is just the way of the world and for that we really should not be surprised. In this essay when Ericsson states “ We lie, We all do. We exaggerate, we minimize, we avoid confrontation, we spare people’s feelings, we conveniently forget, we keep secrets, we justify lying to the big-guy institutions ( 348 )”. This tone has a what is the big deal feeling. In contrast the essay “ Too Much Pressure “ has a different tone. When the Wenke says “ A main difference between school today and school when my parents were enrolled is that we are now very goal-oriented and will compromise our values to achieve those goals” ( 484 ). Wenke also states “ Students who would not usually cheat get sucked into...
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...how often a lie is told. After a lie, the feeling of telling a lie is so terrible that it might have gotten the other people into trouble for something that did not even occur. In the article, “The Ways We Lie” by Stephanie Ericsson, she talks to us about the different types of lies there are. She explains how lying comes out in a person’s everyday life even when is inevitable. However, “In the Pale Moonlight” from Star Trek: Deep Space Nine shows how one of the main characters, Captain Sisko, felt guilty because of the lies he had made. The lie he makes, cost...
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...Everybody lies at least once in their life. It could be a stranger walking past you to a person that you are close to or fond of. And it could be a big, complex lie or a small, short lie. People can lie anywhere and everywhere. From a private secluded area to a public spacious environment. I admit that I lie many times in my life on multiple occasions. In the article “The Ways We Lie ” by Stephanie Ericsson, the author points out that lies are harmful. First, the author lists various types of lies that people use every day. Second, the author gives examples of each type of lie. Lastly, the author conveys the negative effects about lying to people. I strongly disagree with the author's statement; lying is not always detrimental to others because...
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...There are many reasons why we lie, whether it is to protect ourselves, protect someone we love, to escape an uncomfortable experience, for the thrill of it, or due to a disorder. In every aspect of our lives, and from every angle, deceptive stimuli bombards our nervous system and keeps our brains constantly at work to weed out the information that is correct from the information that is false. Advertisements, our parents, our children, friends, and siblings, those who we have more intimate relationships with, and even ourselves, deceive us, just as we are deceitful to them. There are many degrees to lying, varying from little white lies, to blatant deception and perjury. The motives and desired outcomes of those who lie vary greatly from person to person, as well as the degree to which they lie. Most people would agree that there are times when it is acceptable to tell white lies or even a bigger lie for the greater good, if the truth is not something of importance. I will discuss several facets of deception. To start, I will describe several types of lies and give definitions and examples of them. Then, I will talk about some facts about the frequency at which we are deceptive on an average day, and situations in which we generally increase or decrease how deceptive we are. Next, I will discuss why lies are prevalent in relationships, and how deception creates friction in the workplace. After that, I will talk about how we deceive ourselves, and why, what motivates...
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...Coming up with different types of lies, saying lies, and showing without speaking but still lying. Humans lie in many forms, verbal, on social media, over technology and other ways. ( Stephanie Ericcson “Ways we lie” ) How do we lie? Why would anybody lie? We lie by not telling the truth because we don’t want the truth coming out. People lie to cover up anything bad they did, so they can make themselves look good. Like Stephanie Ericcson said “ We lie. We all do. We exaggerate, we minimize, we avoid confrontation we spare people’s feelings, we keep secrets, we justify lying to the big-guy institutions.” ( Page 472 2nd paragraph ) I’ve finally figured out the reason behind why people lie, so that they want get...
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...20 February 2015 Results of a lie What is the reason for lying? When is a lie acceptable? Who does a lie hurt most? These questions are answered in Stephanie Ericsson’s essay “The Ways We Lie.” Ericsson begins by dishonestly calling the bank of her deposit check; stating it was in the mail, when it was not written yet. Lies arose, one after another. It started by explaining to a client her tartness due to traffic, hiding the fact that her day was terrible from her husband and denying a lunch invitation from a friend since she was busy (290). Lying provides individuals a way to escape confrontation; only during certain situations are lies tolerable; on the other hand lies can hurt the liar and the victim. It is human nature to lie, but that is not a reason to do such actions. Rather than expressing their true feelings some people believe that lying is easier, and most of the time it is the first choice. Ericsson emphasizes, “We lie. We all do. We exaggerate, we minimize, we avoid confrontation, we spare peoples feelings” (290). A lie becomes second nature to many; it is the go to option when wanting to dodge certain individuals. Trying to save the feelings of victims of a lie, people run to a dishonest face only fantasizing that the lie will protect the victim’s feelings. Even the small lies counts, when asked how their day was people tend to respond with “good” hiding the fact it was the worst day ever. It is simpler to lie than to explain why their day was terrible. Taking...
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...“Let's tell the truth to people. When people ask, 'How are you?' have the nerve sometimes to answer truthfully. You must know, however, that people will start avoiding you because, they, too, have knees that pain them and heads that hurt and they don't want to know about yours. But think of it this way: If people avoid you, you will have more time to meditate and do fine research on a cure for whatever truly afflicts you.” ( Maya Angelou, Letter to My Daughter). This paper will talk about whether honesty is always the best policy. Honesty is always the best policy unless in certain situations like when someone else's feelings are at stake, personal protection, and self preservation. “ I have three children - how may I teach them to walk...
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...Invention of Lying is set in a world in which human beings never evolved the ability to lie. Not only can they not lie, they feel themselves compelled to share their thoughts and feelings with often brutal honesty. They must reveal themselves; the filters of social convention simply do not exist. This movie is an excellent representation of the idea of deceptive communication. Considered the least successful screenwriter at Lecture Films, Mark Bellison is a self-described “chubby little loser.” He’s at the bottom rung of society, picked on, humiliated, and about to be fired from his job at any moment. On a date with Anna McDoogles, a well off executive who only agreed to go as a favor to a friend, he is ultimately rejected as a suitable partner because Anna doesn’t want her future children to carry Mark’s “snub-nosed” genetic material. Rejected by Anna, out of a job, and in danger of being evicted from his apartment, something changes within him. Some as yet untapped region of his brain suddenly fires and he gains the ability to lie. From here, the film follows Mark as he tries to turn his life around with lies and win the affection of Anna. Through the discovery of lying, we are able to see the concepts in chapter eleven brought to comedic life. The movie causes the audience to reflect on our own society and the reasons why people lie. This chapter in the book covers deceptive acts and why they occur. One explanation is that some lies help you avoid punishment. In the case...
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...Title of Your Report Elie Wiesel’s novel Night, he lies to his cousin Stein and tells his family is alive when they really are not. Elie goes through a sad time and does not want his cousin to be any sadder. Although he made the choice to lie to Stein, it is never okay to lie because a person can get in trouble, it is not nice, and it makes people not trust that person anymore. The first reason someone should not lie is because they can get in trouble. A person can get in trouble for lying at home and at school. A person can also get in trouble at work. It is important to not get in trouble because a person wants another person to be able to trust them. Another reason a person should not lie is because a person knows when another person...
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...scrutinised by their constituents, peers, the press and the nation as a whole. The recent expenses scandal provides an example as to why national and global societies have suspicious feelings toward the intentions of politicians. This essay will highlight the fact that the role of a professional politician, where instant decisive and important decisions need to be made, and the context sometimes require democratically elected politicians, engaged in a social contract with the electorate, to lie to safeguard the greater good of national and global citizens. Due to the volume of theory and discourse related to this topic, it would not be practical to analyse all aspects to this question. However, this essay will examine the following: first, it will look at the unique nature of the role of a politician, followed by an overview of the social contract theory and the contributions made to it by Thomas Hobbes, John Locke, Jean-Jacques Rousseau and John Rawls. Then, the work of Niccolo Machiavelli and the notion of Reason of State will be examined, followed, in turn, by Utilitarianism, commenting on the contributions of Jeremy Bentham and John Stuart Mill. This will be done before going onto balance the essay by introducing a counterargument offered by Idealism. Finally, to contextualise the thesis, there will be a contemporary example given of a world leader having to lie for the greater good of global citizens for possible prevention of future harm. Politicians work in a difficult profession...
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...except where such collaboration has been authorised by the lecturer concerned. ● I hold a copy of this assignment which I can produce if the original is lost or damaged. Signature: _________________________________ Date: ___________________ ● NB: A lecturer or tutor has, and may exercise, the right not to mark this assignment if the above declaration has not been signed. ● If the above declaration is found to be false, appropriate action will be taken. . Little White Lies – Honesty or Dishonesty? Or just an easy way to avoid the painful truth? Lukas Cavalcante Baier Zhejiang University of Science and Technology Abstract Everyone lies. But why do we lie? An often trivial, diplomatic or well-intended untruth, a minor or unimportant lie uttered in the interest to remain polite? Though it is frequently judged, lie-telling is a common and frequent activity in social relations, with ostensible social risks and benefits. Yet, insincerity can become a problem behavior with frequent or inappropriate use over time. The goal of this essay...
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...bringing in any personal opinions or bias, so the rules that I work out are rules that anybody else would rationally come up with. We may come to work out these rules by use of reason and so any rational human being would be able to use his/her reason to come up with the same set of rules. For example, I may, using reason, work out that it is wrong to lie. An absolutist would think that it is therefore always wrong to lie, in any situation and in any culture. So it is just as wrong for me to lie about cheating on my boyfriend as it is to lie about the fact that Santa isn't real. And I can never think it is right to lie, even, to use Kant's famous example, if there was a murder at my door enquiring as to the whereabouts of my friend. If I knew my friend was hiding in my house, I would have to tell this to the murderer. In this situation, Kant would say that if I had lied to the murdered, and then in some strange coincidence my friend had left my house and was met in the street by the murder who then killed him, I would be held morally accountable, since I had lied. Relative morality refers to the opposite theory. Whereas absolute means unchanging and universal, relative means your theory of morality can change. Relative morality means that different cultures can believe different things, and people across different time periods may also believe...
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...not bringing in any personal opinions or bias, so the rules that I work out are rules that anybody else would rationally come up with. We may come to work out these rules by use of reason and so any rational human being would be able to use his/her reason to come up with the same set of rules. For example, I may, using reason, work out that it is wrong to lie. An absolutist would think that it is therefore always wrong to lie, in any situation and in any culture. So it is just as wrong for me to lie about cheating on my boyfriend as it is to lie about the fact that Santa isn't real. And I can never think it is right to lie, even, to use Kant's famous example, if there was a murder at my door enquiring as to the whereabouts of my friend. If I knew my friend was hiding in my house, I would have to tell this to the murderer. In this situation, Kant would say that if I had lied to the murdered, and then in some strange coincidence my friend had left my house and was met in the street by the murder who then killed him, I would be held morally accountable, since I had lied. Relative morality refers to the opposite theory. Whereas absolute means unchanging and universal, relative means your theory of morality can change. Relative morality means that different cultures can believe different things, and people across different time periods may also believe...
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...Why or Why not is it acceptable to lie to children? By Gregory Bryant Most people when asked is it ok to lie to children would say, “of course, they don’t know the difference” and then leave it there. Think back to when you were a child and your parents told you that a man in a red suit named Santa Clause came down your chimney on Christmas and brought you presents if you were good. The agenda behind this lie was so that you would be good. Adults use lies for various reasons. Sometimes it’s so you don’t have to face consequences. Other times it’s to invoke a specific behavior. In the case of “Salvation” by Langston Hughes, lying to the children by telling “them they would see a light and something would happen to them inside wasn’t meant to be literal but was meant to evoke a response of willingness to come to God. Some parents feel that it’s not ok to lie to children. They believe a child should know truth as soon as they can distinguish right from wrong, good from bad, and fantasy from reality. This would bring the child into adulthood sooner and gives them a more realistic view of the world. In the case of Santa Clause, parents will tell their children that there is no Santa Clause, that its mommy and daddy who bring presents to you and that Christmas is not really about gifts as much as it is about the birth of Christ. Parents will save the child from seeing the holiday as a financial endeavor and see the holiday as a religious or spiritual holiday thus detaching the...
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...Ever since the early age, we have taught that lying is wrong and hurts people including ourselves. Moreover, we also have educated that it is better to accept the consequences of my actions than to lie. However, the more we grow up, the more we know about using of lying because telling the truth cannot always solve the problem. From my point of view, some lying is acceptable, some is not. It depends upon what purposes that make people tell lies. A white lie is allegedly one which is done for someone's good and which harms no one. There’s no such thing. The philosophical view that allows people to think that lies can be harmless is one which counts the self as nothing morally interesting. The first point to note is that although telling lie is easy to get things in the short period of time, it will create a bad impression on the next generation as well as it does not give any benefit on long way. For example, if you tell some lies to the children such as smoking doesn't effect on everyone around, what will they learn in their future? It is dangerous for us to aware of wrong way because of adult. Another point I would like to mention is that if we always cheat others many times, one day our lie will befall upon us and will lose prestige in our relationships. The story telling about a shepherd rearing his sheep is typical example. He cheats villagers many times that there was wolf on the hill. When they ran to save him but found no wolf, they became angry with him. And then when...
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