Seems to me that in order to be believable a lie must contain at least some element of truth.
An element of truth, combined with a false element, with the intent to deceive, is a lie.
But that's not what I'm taling about. I'm talking about 100% truth, that isn't a lie, even if its selectively presented.
People in court may be asked to swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. That's a little redundant in that if your telling the 2nd and 3rd, your clearly telling the 1st. The elements here are "the whole truth", and "nothing but the truth". If your telling "nothing but the truth", then you aren't lying, even if your not telling "the whole truth".
Which doesn't mean your being honest. If your combining a strong case of selective reporting of the truth, with a reasonable expectation that the whole truth would be provided, and an intent to deceive, then your being dishonest. |
