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Pastimes : Ethics 101
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To: Cush who wrote ()3/31/2009 5:42:16 PM
From: one_less  Read Replies (1) of 75
 
Lying among sane persons is usually to safeguard honor and status, avoid shame, and at all times to exploit possibilities, for those with the wits for it. Lying deftly and expeditiously to convert shame into honor on their own account and vice versa for their opponents. But is it ever justifiable?

If it is never justifiable, an honorable man would go to his death rather than utter a falsehood; and many have when put to the test. But what if the situation involves not death but torture? What if the information would bring unspeakable harm to your loved one's? Your torturer wants the information from you and will use any means of extracting it. Is it justifiable to deceive a torturer who has heinous motives? This may be the lone exception.

We can make it more complicated if the circumstances call for it. For example if someone on stage is performing magic acts is that person a liar? Of course not because the audience of reasonably affluent individuals understands a priori that the tricks are illusions. Such tricks would only rise to the level of a ‘lie’ if the performer was attempting to convince an audience of less affluency that he has super natural powers and is threatening to use those powers against the audience unless they comply with his demands (extortion). In fact people can be very clever in how they accomplish a dishonest task so it is not always easy to conclude that a falsehood has been committed.

There is a great deal of bantering that goes forth and back and forth again on these political threads. Mixed into this may be all kinds of leg pulling, chain yanking, and needling. This hardly rises to the level of dishonesty that qualifies as a lie, since the participants are affluent enough to separate the confrontational flaming from the content of debate. Name calling falls under this umbrella.

Jokes whether in poor taste or not, do not usually rise to the level of dishonesty that qualifies as a lie.

So, we are left with very little that does qualify. Deliberate misrepresentation of substantive facts in content discussion is of course lying. Knowingly promoting false allegations about an individual is without question lying.
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