In The Truth About Our Little White Lies, Karen S. Paterson quotes psychologists Jerald Jellison of the University of South Carolina in Los Angeles, B. L. Kintz at Western Washington University in Bellingham, and Dr. Irving Baran of the USC San Diego Medical School, in regards to the amount of small fibs we say on a daily basis. Paterson states, “We lie so often, with such regularity and fluency, so automatically and glibly that we’re not even aware we’re doing it.” In making this comment, Paterson argues that we lie constantly and effortlessly. So much so, that we do not recognize we are doing it. In a way, we become unconscious to those fifty plus lies we tell a day.
Paterson also argues that we usually justify our lies to escape punishment, avoid disapproval, or to spare someone’s feelings. At the same time that I believe it is acceptable to lie to spare someone’s feelings, I agree that those small fibs help society function. According to Paterson, “white lies are the oil for the machinery of daily life.” In other words, those little white lies comfort us. White lies are reassuring and make us feel secure, so we accept them.
Although Paterson does not say so directly, she apparently acknowledges that for the right reason, white lies are fine. Paterson surely is right that trying
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On one hand, I agree that telling a white lie is fine when no harm is caused to the individuals involved. Whether it is to spare their feelings, avoid conflicts, or to simply maintain the harmony of a relationship, white lying is tolerable to an extent. On the other hand, I am not sure if everyone knows how to distinguish the borderline between an honest fib and a purposefully deceiving lie. Just as Paterson noted, we only get offended when someone tells us a lie. Only then do those tiny lies discomfort us, yet we all continue to do