Everybody has certain skills that they are strong on, some they are weak on. For example, I have a skill of entertaining others, and some have the skill of tricking others ,also known as the skill of artifice. In this passage, Chris Hedges, talks about the skill of artifice and two examples of groups that uses the certain skill. Chris hedges criticized those two groups, politicians and the consumer culture for tricking the people. If I had to chose between being artifice or being truthful, I would rather be truthful.
Ericsson’s essay says this, “We lie. We all do. We exaggerate, we minimize, we avoid confrontation, we spare people's feelings, we conveniently forget, we keep secrets, we justify lying to the big-guy institutions.” Even though lying is not a big deal for some people in today’s society, it is still a “cultural cancer”. Also, it is a big deal to some other
Many people would not think about artifice as being an important skill to have. The passage given from “Empire of Illusion” by Chris Hedges argues that the most essential skill would have to be artifice. He explains in the passages that the political theater and the consumer has artifice included. For example, there are political leaders that create some news about them, that may be fake. Since some of the new is fake, people are clueless and unaware about whether the truth is shown or not.
Ericsson states, “It is an act of subtle arrogance for anyone to decide what is best for someone else” (Ericsson, 2004, p 121). Good intentions mask the reality of lying. While an individual may mean no harm in their deceit and may even reason that the receiver does not desire the truth, a lie still remains a lie. A continuous vicious cycle results from one small falsehood. Individuals see it all the time; one little white lie results in a larger lie, then ends in a destructive lie.
“People think that a liar gains a victory over his victim. What I’ve learned is that a lie is an act of self-abdication, because one surrenders one’s reality to the person to whom one lies, making that person one’s master, condemning oneself from then on to faking the sort of reality that person’s view requires to be faked… The man who lies to the world, is the world’s slave from then on… There are no white lies, there is only the blackest of destruction, and a white lie is the blackest of all.” ~
In The Way We Lie by Stephanie Ericsson telling such little white lies is done in order to save someone's feelings from being hurt. Though it could also be argued the person themselves have alternative motives, such as not wanting to be seen as a bad friend or person. While these actions are more or less admirable, it is still nevertheless lying. While Donald Trump's motive for using artifice, is simple, he wants the population to like him and believe he is a good president. His motive are more narcissistic than most, wanting only to be liked, makes him a manipulative liar.
Deception is a powerful tool in seeking a certain motive; therefore,
According to Chris Hedges in his excerpt “Empire of Illusion,” “The most essential skill in political theater and a consumer culture is artifice” (Hedges 1). Chris Hedges wrote this book to persuade the audience that the most essential skill a person can have is artifice, the skill of deception. Throughout the excerpt, Hedges covered the important of artifice by detailing the importance of personal narratives, where the reality is irrelevant (prompt). This topic is broadly known as controversial due to the fact that some people believe artifice is necessary to be successful in life. However, others believe there are various other skills one can possess while being just as successful.
As one sits in a theater watching and listening to the performance, many thought come about. One tries to reach the conclusion before it is revealed and is thus given a sense of accomplishment when they are able to. Creators strive to create deception in their pieces as audiences love a challenge. Chris Hedges highlights this in, “Empire of Illusion”. That empire is built on artifice.
A lie is an untrue statement made with the intent to deceive someone or something. How do these correlate with each other? Bullshit is a misrepresentation of something, that stems from the intention to lead someone in another direction other than the truth, while truth is not a misrepresentation of something, it is a statement made with the purpose to hide the truth. The presence of the word “bullshit” is dwelled upon in Harry G. Frankfurt’s philosophy book “On Bullshit”, he states that there are many uses of the word bullshit and that it has become a great part of our lives. In this essay, I will argue that the shadows in the cave and the puppets were indeed bullshit, and I will do this by discussing the difference between bullshit and lying, the uses of the word bullshit, and analyzing why we use this word and our intent behind
and Mrs. Trump view “themselves as high-minded and well-bred… and superior to those who they deceive.” Plato used the expression noble lie in order to persuade people to accept certain laws or ideas. Deceit is often used by politicians for the sake of convincing people to think a certain way. In many public situations, “deception takes place when the government regards the public as frightened, hostile, or volatile.” Government leaders have the most power since they have the freedom to manipulate and distort facts without the public knowing.
In the excerpt, The Empire of Illusion, by Chris Hedges, artifice is the most essential tool today. In the age of digital media and technology, entertainment is everywhere for you to watch and enjoy. A multitude capture the viewer's attention almost instantaneously. Others take to apprehend it. The ability of artifice is everywhere and impacts the way you live today.
Deception plays a significant role in this
The use of lying and deception in politics is moral, because they are essential tools utilized by politicians to maintain the overall wellbeing of the society. There are numerous examples of politicians lying and deceiving to maintain the well-being of the public. For example, Abraham Lincoln, a president beloved by the American people, stated to the public that he “didn't believe in political equality for slaves because he didn't want to get too far ahead of public opinion.” Although he despised slavery, it was necessary for him, as the leader of the Union, to lie in order to maintain the support of the four
Deception comes in many forms and can be seen in all kind of ways but mainly when someone purposely causes someone to believe something that isn 't true to gain a personal advantage. Many authors use this tactic in their plays books and other literary work like in the play Hamlet by William Shakespeare, the author uses the technique of deception to mislead Claudius, Gertrude, himself, Ophelia and his friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern to spare their feelings and to carry out a crime. Hamlet uses deception throughout the novel, but one way is to distract everyone from his true intention which is to gather information against Claudius to prove he killed his father. Shakespeare contributes all this back into his work by making each character in the play enact on some form of deceit to uncover the obscure truth.
