...their actions, the debate of morality has helped us learn from the mistakes of previous generation and societies, and help us build our society today. Clearly, morality is very important to humans. But why is morality so important to us? Perhaps, one reason why morality is so important is because it discriminates between actions that are seemingly “right”, and actions that are seemingly “wrong”. Not only that, but it also helps us handle a dilemma in the best way possible in order to avoid a potentially disastrous situation. For instance, many people consider a “wrong” action to be immoral. One example of action always considered immoral is lying. In general, many people consider lying, the act of not telling the truth or providing incomplete information, to be immoral. But is it always immoral to lie? Can there be situations where lying can be a moral action to take? At first, I didn’t think so. But after a semester of reading books such as Everything Matters, The White Tiger and Someone Knows My Name along with researching articles on lying and its implications on our society, I’ve found that as long as lying is only used to escape from a dilemma, is not harmful to others, and prevents others from committing an immoral act, it’s not immoral to lie in our modern day society. The White tiger by Aravind Adiga was a resonating book that we read this semester, and it really changed my views and judgments on morality. This book...
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...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 us to lie and then I will give some arguments about the possibility of detecting when someone is lying and if you can distinguish their lies from the truth. Lastly, I will discuss several disorders that may cause one to lie, whether it is purposefully or not, and how that can affect their life and the lives of those close to them. The...
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...we minimize, we avoid confrontation, we spare people’s feelings, we conveniently forget, we keep secrets, we justify lying to the big-guy institutes” (Ericsson Paragraph 3). In today’s world, people lie. I believe that what Ericsson has said about lying and the ways we do it is absolutely true. In the play, “The Crucible,” people lied about witchcraft. In real life, different people lie about different things. In society, like the 2016 Presidential Nominees, they lie about many things so they can get your vote in November. Arthur Miller, author of “The Crucible,” based many of...
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...life experiences. Others also apply their faith to their already instilled ethics and morals. In the paragraphs below I will be defining unqualified absolutism, conflicting absolutism, and graded absolutism and give examples of different scenarios involving all three ethical systems. Then finally I will conclude by identifying which ethical system that I use most often when making ethical decisions. Unqualified absolutism is defined by the book as the view that there are many moral absolutes that never actually conflict; all alleged conflicts are only apparent, but not real. Under unqualified absolutism it states that we are able to avoid doing wrong. Under this system it states that right and wrong is determined by Gods laws and those laws are what we should follow in order to not do wrong. Under this system lying is not permitted because it is wrong. Under no circumstance should you lie to solve any issue that you might incur. The philosophy of this system tells us that there are no true moral conflicts, because God always provides us with the solution to our problem (Geisler, 2010). To me the best example of unqualified absolutism would be a young child. I say this because as a child I could not lie to my Father. I told the truth no matter what it was just who I was and how they raised me. I was always told even if you do something bad you tell the truth, because if you lie you are going to get in more trouble than if you just told that truth. When it...
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...others may identify as the opposite. When the author communicates to another that their work is well-done and compliments them, does he become a liar because someone else holds a differing opinion? There is one Truth, but do any of us know what that truth truly is? Albert Carr (1968) would find that Mr. Frey pursued a brilliant marketing strategy to get his book published, after all business is business, marketing is marketing, and it’s all in how the game is played. While attempting to market his book as fiction more than a dozen publishers rejected Frey’s manuscript. His agent, whose job it is to get the book published, suggested a viable alternative, suggesting that he label it a memoir. Frey had a great product – this is supported by the fact that more than 3.5 million readers purchased the book, and read it. Oprah apparently couldn’t put it down. My bride found it to be riveting. How does one market this product so that it can positively receive a viewing by a publisher, in order to get it into the hands of its audience? Is this any different from the “new and breaking news” that is touted on television stations, even though the reported event is neither news, or new, and has been breaking for several hours? If a book attracts our attention sufficiently to compel us to buy it, and then read it, is that not an indictment that it is worthy of our attention? On the other hand, there is no question that Frey intended to deceive his audience, perhaps not in labeling his...
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...and a dream that one day they will have some land of their own and no longer have to wander round the country in search of work. The direction in which the story is heading becomes clear as it draws to a close. When George kills Lennie because he believes he must take responsibility for him. “And George raised the gun and steadied it, and he brought the muzzle of it close to the back of Lennie’s head. The hand shook violently, but his face set and his hand steadied, he pulled the trigger.” George realizes that he must be the one that kills Lennie and not the other ranch men. In the same way that Candy should have taken the responsibility for his dog, George believes that he must take responsibility for Lennie. He must have realized that even if they were to run away again, Lennie would get into trouble and they would have to run away again. It really must have killed George inside when he saw Lennie lying dead at his feet. He and Lennie were portrayed as having been together a long time. Now George is on his own and no different from any of the other ranch men , he no longer dreamed of having a house of his own, that dream died when Curley’s wife was found lying in the hay. George tells Lennie how different they are compared to the other ranchers. “Guys like us that work on ranches, are the loneliest guys in the world. They got no family, they don’t belong no place...with us it ain’t like that. We got a future. We got somebody to talk too that gives a damn about us. We don’t have...
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... The book of Proverbs consists of many small bits and pieces of wisdom passed down from King Solomon to his people during his reign. Proverbs was written in a way that the interpretation for each little piece could be taken in a different way depending on the circumstances which has allowed these bits of wisdom to stand the test of time and still be viable today. The whole book doesn’t flow well together but should rather be read in small pieces at a time. Proverbs 12:16-22 don’t flow perfectly well together but are some of the verses I try to keep in mind throughout the day. Proverb 12:16-22 holds a main theme of dealing with the dishonest. It says: 16 The vexation of a fool is known at once, but the prudent ignores an insult. 17 Whoever speaks the truth gives honest evidence, but a false witness utters deceit. 18 There is one whose rash words are like sword thrusts, but the tongue of the wise brings healing 19 Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment. 20 Deceit is in the heart of those who devise evil, but those who plan peace have joy. 21 No ill befalls the righteous, but the wicked are filled with trouble. 22 Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight. The author of Proverbs was very good at using literary devices to make a mental picture for the reader. He uses terms such as “lips” instead of mouth to make his point clearer and more impactful. The rough point of these verses is that lying is bad...
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...intentionally lying under oath to mislead the court, and assures the defendant did not commit the crime accused. Thus, without enough evidence, the real criminal is set free while an innocent man, with prior criminal conviction, goes to jail for somebody else’s felony. His sentence is sent to be punishable...
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...A class that could benefit from reading The Maltese Falcon would be a Phycology class and its students. Psychology teaches you about how your brain works and why we do the things we do. In The Maltese Falcon the characters like to lie, steal, and be greedy so for a Psychology class you can do research on how continuous lying can affect your actions in the future. You can also talk about how greed affects ones emotions. The characters have different personalities which you can analyze and see if they might have a problem or disorder perhaps. There is a lot going on in this novel that has to do with the way the characters think and why they do the things they do. The Maltese Falcon revolves around lies, deception, and being greedy. Most of the characters in the book deceive other characters to get what they want. For example Brigid lies about having a sister early on in the novel in order to get Spade to help her find what ends up being the falcon. She lied about not knowing where the falcon was and who had it. Brigid O’Shaughnessy is so used to this routine that when she lies she sees nothing...
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...7,11 Conclusion, Augustine, Aquinas & Kant Lying to protect the anonymity of Alcoholics Anonymous members and their families helps them join the group, recover and chart a new course for their lives. The few occasional lies necessary to keep their affiliation with the group private are morally acceptable, because society is safer if these people are in AA than if they are not in AA. Alcoholics have very little chance of staying sober without AA, and they often do terrible things to anyone in their path when they are drunk. Anonymity encourages participation in AA for both new and continuing members, and fewer would join and stay sober if they had to bear the burden of public knowledge of their condition. As a matter of public policy, our communities are generally strong supporters of AA, providing meeting rooms, considerable goodwill and privacy for over fifty years now. AA and the public both benefit by every alcoholic who quits drinking, because a sober drunk is a safer drunk. When we look to the individual level, what's in the best interest of the public and what’s best for the sober alcoholic are often diametrically opposed. The legal, social and economic repercussions for having identified oneself as an alcoholic could be devastating to a sober alcoholic person if this information became available to people who are afraid of us, those who might profit from the knowledge and those who’d like to use it against us. Some examples: We have plenty of sober members...
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...Argumentative Essay Should we always tell the truth? Do you always tell the truth or lies? You are not likely to reply immediately because this question is very extreme. While we live, we cannot always tell the truth, and we also cannot always tell lies. May be, it will depend on the situation that you encountered. There are innumerable reasons why most people tell lies to others. Usually, we tell lies to hide own fault or show off ourselves. There are a little bit different lies, of course, these are white lies. White lies are also lies, but these can be understood by people because it does not have ill will. Except white lies, we should try to tell the truth. It is difficult, but it is important for us to be truthful with other people because by being honest, we can keep the relationship between people with faith, we show what is morally right, and we do not become a liar. Firstly, we can keep the relationship between people with faith by telling the truth. It means that there is trust between people to keep the relationship each other. Because of telling lies, however, they can loss mutual trust, so they cannot believe each other anymore. For example, when I was 14 years old, I made a friend who was very funny and active in middle school. We were best friend each other at that time. My thought and her thought were same, but the more I knew her deeply, the more I was disappointed. She usually told lies to me every day, so I was losing some trust about her gradually...
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...Dedicated to the School Boards decision on letting this book be read to students, The book “And Then There Were None” by Agatha Christie is a masterful murder mystery that takes a dark view of justice. It tells of ten guests who visit Soldier Island and how a murderer uses a nursery rhyme to plan the visitors' deaths one by one each different ways, including shooting, drowning, poisoning, and hanging. Even with it being a murder novel there are key points in the book that will be beneficial to read. One of the ideas the author gives is the effects of guilt. And that you can’t run away from your past. With all of the victims being criminals, they each had their own personal story that they were trying to keep hidden. She also explores...
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...autonomic reactions and are considered unreliable. They warn readers that detecting deception is an inexact science, but note an association between lying and increased pupil size, an indicator of tension and concentration. Second, they find that people listening to liars think they seem more nervous than truth-tellers, perhaps because their voices are pitched higher. And liars are more likely than truth-tellers to press their lips together. On the other hand, they note, liars don't appear to be more fidgety, nor do they blink more or have less-relaxed posture. According to DePaulo and Morris, only when liars are more highly motivated--when the stakes are higher--do they seem unusually still and make notably less eye contact with listeners. the Facial Action Coding System (FACS), which, when combined with voice and speech measures, reaches detection accuracy rates of up to 90 percent, Ekman claims. Ekman, through close study, learned that "micro-expressions" lasting less than one-fifth of a second may leak emotions someone wants to conceal, such as anger or guilt. DePaulo and Morris say that liars take longer to start answering questions than truth-tellers--but when they have time to plan, liars actually start their answers more quickly than truth-tellers. Liars are more likely to repeat words and phrases, they add. Psychology of lying Dr Mark Parkinson is a professional Business Psychologist specializing in executive assessment & selection, and the identification of individual...
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...Throughout the poetic books of the Bible, the theme of diligence versus laziness and wisdom versus folly appears. Oddly enough, diligence, laziness, wisdom, and folly go together hand in hand. As Hindson says, “The diligent person is wise while the sluggard is a fool…” (Hindson 2012, 263). Another comparison The Essence of the Old Testament: A Survey makes between wisdom and folly is righteousness and wickedness. From the book of Genesis to the book of Revelation, we see that characters possess, at one time or another, all of these traits. For example, in Genesis, the first man and woman turned their righteousness into wickedness by eating the forbidden fruit. Since then, no one but Jesus has been a stranger to sin. Diligence is when a person makes an effort to accomplish something. Laziness is the opposite of this. In the book of Proverbs, we see several statements comparing diligence and laziness. “Lazy behavior results in poverty while diligence results in wealth” (Hindson 2012, 266). Throughout history, from Biblical times to modern times, people have shown diligence in working for what they want out of life. Many of the Hebrew people were diligent in both their work and worship. As with any group of people, however, some of the Hebrews struggled with the idea that you should draw strength from God, instead of getting angry at Him when things aren’t going the way you’d hoped. Job lost everything, but he praised God and in the end, God doubly blessed him. “The Lord...
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...What if you are against lying but, under some circumstances, it might be the only thing left to do. Lying is not always the best thing to do because it will affect others depending on 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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