When lying is OKAY.

When do you think lying is the right thing to do?

Lying to the police, is a-ok if it keeps you outve jail.
Lying to friends, depends on what the situation is.
parents-everyone has done it..dont lie haha.
teachers-everyone has done it.

what're some things you find yourselves lying about thats completely retarded/funny/didnt need to lie about

example, i wear clown shoes to sleep.

I reckon about 99.99% of people lie in the world. Only probably monks and Tibetan Buddhists, or religious extremists (note religious extremists does not = terrorists) do not lie.

I lie about....hmm....oh yeah, I lie about how many people I hook up with when people ask me. I'd prefer to keep it a secret but saying that only intensifies their interest. I try my best to never lie though, especially with girls.

I think generally and deontologically, one shouldn't lie, but it is acceptable when serious negative consequences could be averted by doing so.

Example, lying to a murderer the location of an innocent victim. You need a utilitarian approach here.

It is never the right thing to do, but everyone does it.

'It is never the right thing to do, but everyone does it.'

That's a naiive thing to say. Read my example given in my previous post.

I lie when work calls and needs me to pull an extra shift, off the top of my head that's all I can think of, when I was a kid, sure I lied, now days it is my honesty that tends to get me in and out of trouble.

"Lying to the police, is a-ok if it keeps you outve jail."

I couldn't disagree more.

I don't think lying is appropriate if you're trying to keep/get your behind out of trouble. Grow up and take responsibility for your actions. I think it's okay to lie when someone's feelings are considered, but only if you know they don't take harsh honesty that well.

The thing I've found myself lying about a lot lately is my reason for not being able to go somewhere that I really didn't want to go. "I'm feeling sick today," (I can pull off a good sick voice) "I have so much homework tonight," (I rarely have homework) and "I got grounded," (I don't get grounded too often) are common reasons I give.

Lying is the equivalent to theft.

One should always speak the truth, no matter what the consequences.

How is lying theft? there are no black and whites in this world, one should just aim for the best outcome for any given situation. if it takes a lie to get there then so be it.

"Lying to the police, is a-ok if it keeps you outve jail."

I couldn't disagree more.

you clearly havnt even got a speeding ticket.

On the real, People lie to save themselves hardships amoung other things.

-edit.

Everyone on here has lied for their own personal gain. No one can say they havnt.

Lying is stealing someone's right to the truth. And yes, one should always aim for the best outcome. But why go about your endeavours in a deceitful manner? Why not openly accept the hardships of whatever the situation and maintain honesty? Ok, so you don't get what you want as a result of telling the truth...but hey, that's just the way it goes.

"You clearly haven't even got a speeding ticket.

On the real, People lie to save themselves hardships among other things.

-edit.

Everyone on here has lied for their own personal gain. No one can say they haven't."

lol well they would not catch me speeding, unless of course it was an emergency. I tend to like being a positive example for my child so I don't want to teach her it is okay to lie to save your butt, if you want to save your butt, don't do something you're going to have to lie about to begin with.

'One should always speak the truth, no matter what the consequences.'

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Jesus man, stop being so religious Esh. OBVIOUSLY there are right times when you should lie, and I will repeat my example for all those who didn't read it -

If a murderer asks for the location of an innocent victim, YOU WOULD NOT TELL THE MURDERER THE TRUTH, WOULD YOU!?!? (A condition of this hypothetical scenario is that if you simply disagree to tell him without lying, he will kill you.)

Some people are so stuffed with societal and religious dogma that they can't even think for themselves. This is NOT a deontological argument.

The scenario I've given is a clichéd and classic one given as a counter example in many ethics lectures taught at university.

I disagree that you are taking away someone's 'right to the truth' as well. You have a right for free speech, but you do NOT have the right to control others' speech. A better way of putting it, is that you have a right to say the truth, it's up to you if you want to or not.

Leave the drama and poetic idealism aside and look at things realistically.

Yeah.

'One should always speak the truth, no matter what the consequences.'

"Jesus man, stop being so religious Esh."

I don't get where this was a religious statement.

I guess lying would be ok for some things but like to start something bad. Like I have seen someone go and lie and it caused that person to go to jail and some would lie just to lie and hurt someone. I would say it is ok in some things...I would have to say I have lied to my parents, teachers and one time the cops but it got me out of trouble. Not one person in this world goes and doesn't lie.

Confession: When I'm mad at someone and they ask me if I am, I lie and tell them I'm not. I don't like confrontation.

Is that an 'okay lie'? ;)

Say it was your ex making you mad?

That's how I feel, like it doesn't matter ;)

For one thing it isn't always religion that tells people not to lie, it is their conscious too.

The example of the murder and victim is an exaggeration, you could simply not answer him, lying is never needed, you can work around the way of a lie.

Also, I am not religious so that has nothing to do with my opinion. People always believe religion to be the cause of opinions, which in some cases may be true, but in many it is not.

'The example of the murder and victim is an exaggeration, you could simply not answer him, lying is never needed, you can work around the way of a lie.'

If you had read my example properly, I said that as a condition of this scenario, not answering him means that he will kill you. Well done Einstein!

The religious thing was more of an inside joke with Fluffy who I know anyway, so I wasn't referring to the other people.

The more realistic scenario that Chyna gave was interesting. How about this one -

A shy and sensitive girl asks you if her hair looks alright and it clearly doesn't. Do you hurt her and be honest or lie and make her feel better?

(NOTE TO ALL THE RETARDS: A CONDITION OF THIS HYPOTHETICAL SCENARIO IS THAT SAYING NOTHING OR DODGING THE QUESTION MEANS YOU'RE STILL HURTING HER.)

"RETARDS"
The usage of that one word destroys any point you were trying to make, in my opinion.

'Are you stupid?'

Yeah, of course. Why did you think I was god? :). Unless I was omniscient, by definition I'm stupid.

Although having said that, if I may digress, my belief is that we are all part of 'god', therefore I suppose I am god. I don't seem to be all-knowing though. Oh well, win some ya lose some!

'"RETARDS"
The usage of that one word destroys any point you were trying to make, in my opinion.'

The unnecessary USE of the word 'usage' destroys any point you were trying to make, in my opinion. So there. Ner ner!

-giggles-

Lying is never ok end of story

A shy and sensitive girl asks you if her hair looks alright and it clearly doesn't. Do you hurt her and be honest or lie and make her feel better?

Well my mentally inadequate friend lol I would answer her question honestly and help her fix it, obviously she isn't asking me so I will lie to her and if she is, she should have asked someone else.

Haha, nice answers there, I guess I would do the same.

Kinda frustrates me when I hear such ignorant and hypocritical comments like this though:

'Lying is never ok end of story'.

Don't really know why I care for such stupidity. Oh wellies.

You can't say that you have never lied before, that would be a lie in itself.

If you're going to say that lying is wrong, you can at least go into more detail of why you think its wrong instead of stating a boring comment. You might as well not have even said anything.

Apologies for the late reply. My internet chooses to fail me at the worst of times.

"One shouldn't lie, but it is acceptable when serious negative consequences could be averted by doing so...Example, lying to a murderer the location of an innocent victim. You need a utilitarian approach here."

I missed this. There are better ways I could've expressed my point (to be fair, I was lacking time), although I'm sure you knew what I meant, Matthew. Your example is pretty simple, and yeah, you're right - I probably wouldn't tell a murderer the truth about where you live. But then in your case, I might just have to think about it...(:

Britt and Porcelain Heart are also correct;

"if you can be honest about the little things that could otherwise be got away with, then it's more likely you'll be honest when serious issues come up"
-
"I think that sometimes lying is necessary...however lying constantly to save your butt is wrong - obviously there are things that must change behind the scenes so you wont be consistently lying"

And:
"Jesus man, stop being so religious Esh."

Haha. Surprisingly enough, my comment didn't have a religious orientation. It's a personal belief. I don't believe in lying to popularise yourself, gain sympathy, win someone over, or any of that kind of bull, and that was what I actually meant.

"Leave the drama and poetic idealism aside and look at things realistically."

I do. However, why should speaking the truth be an idealised concept? I'm sure we would all agree that honesty is (often) the key and a better way around a problem/situation (and your 'hypothetical' example is exempt in this case, Matthew), so should we treat it as something unattainable?

And in response to that comment about the shy girl's hair:

I was in a very similar situation myself. A girl I used to speak to (she is an idiot, now) has ridiculously bad body odour. My head of year actually said to her "Look, I've been receiving complaints about you from some of the other girls. The truth is, Sonia, you smell. Maybe you should try some stronger deodorant?"

I was the first person to be told about her meeting with our teacher, and she asked me, "Do I really smell? Do you think so?" Because I considered her a 'friend', I told her the truth. "I'll be honest with you, Sonia. You do. But don't worry, there are ways we can go about this..."

She never spoke to me again. (:

Kinda frustrates me when I hear such ignorant and hypocritical comments like this though:

'Lying is never ok end of story'.

I can agree on this, we all lie sometimes, I think what matters is the degree to which one goes. Will I lie if work calls and wants me to go in? Yes. When a friend asks me a question? No, generally they come to me because they know I am going to be honest. Personally I thought your example of someone saying, tell me where they live or I will kill you, a little simple, do you really think they are going to take you on your word that, that is where they are? lol Obviously they would want confirmation, they're not just going to let you go and take your word for it, unless of course they are complete morons.

I DONT AGREE...

Lying is not ok in any situation. Lying has always made things worse NOT BETTER. If you lie to keep yourself out of jail eventually it will come back on you 10 times worse then it would have.

BOTTOM LINE: It is NOT ok to lie to anyone about ANYTHING!!!

When it's the right time is when it will keep you out of serious trouble and when it can't be discovered. But although I think that way and although I lie about other things for other reasons I think it is necessary and respective to tell the truth, even if it's going to get you in trouble or hurt someones feelings, because in the end a lie is a lie and usually the truth turns up in the end so why not respect yourself and reveal it in the first place?
Ummm.... I had a habit in lying to my friends about things in my personality, because I used to think that friends had to have something in common and that if you don't you wouldn't bond, but that got me into problems when the whole gang gets together so I don't do that anymore.

My mother always told me that if there was going to be a party with drugs or alcohol, I could always lie to my friend and blame the reason for why I can't go on my mother.

Wow, I haven't thought about that, Britt. You're absolutely right, we lie to children all the time. Whether it's so we won't rob them of their fantasies, or so they will keep their innocence, we do it all the time.

My parents never gave a damn about Santy Clause or his tooth fairy mate either. Actually, I believed in the tooth fairy up until the age of five, when mother finally told me to get a grip. Mind you, I didn't hate her for it. I just saw things a whole lot realistically.

Going back to my previous example about Sonia and her stink; she ASKED for my opinion. That wasn't an opportunity for me to say what I liked or be needlessly horrible to her - I spoke honestly because I didn't want her hearing it indirectly from others. If I'd lied, she'd have been stinking it up even more in the corridors. It's sad, really; her not wanting to speak to me after that incident only went to show that she couldn't handle the truth, despite seeking my opinion.

The only time I usually lie is when there's a good excuse for it. Like little white lies. Once my friend came up to me all happy about her new haircut/color and was totally in love with it, I could feel the confidence radiating off of her. She asked me for my opinion, and I didn't like it. So instead of telling her oh I hate it and totally lowering her self esteem, I said that it was different, and if she was happy I'm happy. Like stretch the truth instead of saying. Oh it's amazing keep it like that forever.

I lied many many many times.. countless times.
some reason to avoid getting into trouble
to avoid hurting my parents
to avoid arguments
and to avoid being in the situation where i get and look stupid.
i may have a lot of reasons but it concludes one... lying is stil not OKAY

There are countless things that human beings do that others find wrong, lying is just one of them.

I only tell white lies.
I just can't help it sometimes.
But even then I try to keep them to a minimum.

I hate lying but working at wal-mart i have to lie alot and i hate it.. im such a horrible liar to...

i hardly ever really lie unless im getting paid to do it lol... i dont lie to friends cuz i believe if there true friends they can take the truth and if they cant oh well i guess they werent all that good of a friend then.. i dont lie to my family anymore but thats cuz in high school all i ever did was lie to them and i dont want to b that kind of person anymore.. i dont think i ever lied to the police either cuz i believe if i messed up i need to fix it.. hmmm.. so i guess i would say the only time i lie is at work...

Yeah., white lies are okay I guess. Or to keep someones feelings from getting hurt, though its not exactly completely condonable all the time.