Wait a second!
More handpicked essays just for you.
More handpicked essays just for you.
Why is lying sometimes justified
Cause and effects of telling lies
Importance of not lying
Don’t take our word for it - see why 10 million students trust us with their essay needs.
The Ways We Lie by Stephanie Ericsson explains how everyone lies in this world, one way or another. Ericsson expresses the many ways people lie and why they do so. She educates her audience by describing the different types of lies told daily by sharing personal stories, asking rhetorical questions and creates hypothetical situations to support her statements. She begins with the white lie, which is a harmless lie instead of the truth, if the truth was bad news. Then she continues to explain a façade, changing your personality making people believe something you are not.
In the essay "The Way We Lie," Stephanie Ericsson explains a few of the many reasons why we lie, "We avoid confrontation, we spare people's feelings, we conveniently forget, we keep secrets" (1992, p. 159). We want to avoid a big argument or fight that might make matters worse. We lie to protect another from the truth because it might be unbearable. A lie can come out of our mouth without much thought.
Throughout adolescence we are taught that lying is not good, not even a little white lie. But what if this is not true? What if we can benefit from these lies? “A lie told often enough becomes the truth” (Lenin Brainyquote). We see white lies in our everyday lives, but some people use it for the benefit of themselves, rather than others who lie to benefit the people they care about.
Lies are mentioned for bountiful reasons; lies can be invaluable to others or used for a greedy, egoistical reason. No matter the motive, lies are frequently told everyday. Even in the concentration camps of World War II, there were no exceptions. In the novel Night, Elie Wiesel is caught naturally lying to mislead his relative, Stein even though Wiesel has a chance to tell the truth, he decides against it. Even though he lied, I believe that Wiesel's lie was morally right.
Lying diminishes trust between human beings. If people generally did not tell the truth, life would become very difficult, as nobody could be trusted and nothing a person heard or read could be trusted Everyone would have to find everything out for himself. Lying is bad because it treats those who are lied to as a means to achieve the liar’s purpose, rather than as a valuable end in themselves. Lies are bad for a person's health also, It can cause a person's brain to get used to lying about things and to get in a habit that is not one that a person needs to get
This quote says that lying happens frequently; no one can resist it. It also says lying is deadly, which is also shown in the Bible within the story of Adam and Eve, when the serpent lies to Eve, convincing her to consume the sacred fruit. In modern society, lying is a common practice. A person may lie protect themselves, or to gain something wanted. This may be due to religious diversity or the decay of respect in society.
Everyone knows that lying is not a good action that someone must do. It also not have a good valuable even though children in age four years old knows that lying is are something that cannot be consider as an ethical actions. But not everyone lies because of selfish or wants to do something that can be harm to other people life. People who was lie have
Have you ever felt bad or good about a lie you told your friends or family members? Well in the article “It 's the truth: Americans Conflicted About Lying”, the author NBC News mentions that Americans say that lying is ok but It has to be a white lie. The topic sentence here is that It 's ok to lie, but It could only be a minor lie.
In the Ted Talk “How to Spot a Liar” By Pamela Meyer, She spoke about the tells of a liar and why people lie. Meyers had two truths, Truth #1 lying is a cooperative act. The lie has no power until the receiver believes the lie. Everyone who has been lied to has agreed to be lied too, for example when a lady asks her husband if she looks fat in a certain clothing item. Both he
Ericsson cites several examples of different types of lies, such as “the little white lie”, “Group-Thinking”, and “Dismissal”. Through these examples, the author illustrates the different motives behind why people lie and the effects that it has on individuals and society. The author claims that society’s acceptance of lying has led to a lack of trust in personal relationships, institutions and even the government. Ericsson also argues that lying is not only a moral issue, but it is also a psychological issue as it can lead to guilt and fear of being caught. The author believes that the use of lies creates an environment where individuals are not able to rely on the truth, and it creates a culture of
People use deception in “good” ways and bad ways. In other words, people think “little white lies” are a form of lie that is accepted because it’s “not hurting anybody”. Psychology Today created a project about deception, to try to explore the main reasons people lie. Allison Kornet, an author for Psychology Today, wrote about their results, explaining, “...one in every four of the participants’ lies were told solely for the benefit of another person” (The Truth About Lying). These are the “little white lies” that we tell; things like “No, that dress doesn’t make you look fat!”
Stephanie Ericsson begins her explorative essay, “The Ways We Lie,” with a personal anecdote of all the lies she fabricated in one day. She told her bank that a deposit was in the mail when it was not, told a client that the traffic had been bad when she was late for other reasons, told her partner that her day was fine when it was really exhausting, and told her friend she was too busy for lunch when she just was not hungry, all in the course of a day. She shifts from talking about herself to talking about everyone, claiming that all people lie, exaggerate, minimize, keep secrets, and tell other lies. But, like herself, most still consider themselves honest people. She describes a week in which she tried to never tell a lie; it was debilitating, she claims.
Stephanie Ericsson justifies the habits of lying in “The Ways We Lie” using firsthand experiences and solid metaphors. Essentially, Take into consideration before you lie, because it could be at someone else's
On the one hand, I think lying is not always the answer; I personally avoid telling a lie because if you are going to lie you have to be carefully thinking about the consequences that those bring. I know that big lies can be a problem. For example, hiding your relationship with someone saying that you are single when you are not. That would bring so many consequences for yourself and for others too. That is why it is better to not tell big lies because that would affect you and other people negatively.
Some parents may lie to their children because they look up to them, and they see it as disappointing their children if they know the truth (Bronson, 2008). With lying, they are not exposed to losing the trust of their children, and they see this as an easy route since