Lies Surround Us and Hurt Everyone - Essay Example

Lies surround us and hurt everyone Lying is a habit that possesses in human nature under various circumstances in order to hide a situation or self-ability to show one superior to other. It is human tendency to lie in order to hide the truth which can cause trouble in someone’s life. There are rare people who do-not lie at all. Most of the human population has this habit which is a psychological factor that affects the cultural and social values of a society (Bandura 4). The degree of a lie can-not be judged unless the reason behind it is known. Lying gives a false impression that can be painful for someone. We should avoid telling lies of deflecting, delusion, and white lies, because they all hurt someone in different ways. There are various circumstances under which different people lie. Lying has many reasons behind it, a lie can make some-one happy for sometime but in a long run it becomes a threat as it can hurt someone mentally or physically. The degree of lying is very vulnerable as it changes under different circumstances. For one person a lie can be favorable however for someone else it can be heart-breaking. Hence people should be very cautious while selecting words. According to Stephanie Ericsson there are many types of lies that people use in every-day life. One of them is “Deflecting”. This is a type of lying where people do not commit any false statement but they try to deflect the attention from a question being asked that they do-not want to answer. Liars are often worried of being caught hence they have a tendency to speak in high pitch voice which can hurt the interrogator hence lying gives a false impression that can be painful for someone as les hurts everyone (Ericsson 1b). This is a type of lie because it shows a lack of socialism to the person who wants to know an unanswered truth. It can reduce the moral value of the person who is trying to avoid the topic in order to reduce attention so that the truth does not go against the person. If the liar is an aggressive person then he or she might scream at the person who wants to know the truth that can be feelings of the person. There is another form of lie known as “The White Lie”. A white lie is mostly used by people to hide a real fact which can hurt a person. A very common example is if a girl asks a guy, if she is beautiful. “The guy answers positively saying that she is beautiful, though she may be very ugly” (Bandura 7a). This lie can save the emotions of the girl up-to a certain time till she realizes the real fact. According to Bergen Evans, “an individual who does not lie to ladies has very limited consideration for her emotions and feelings” (Ericsson 1b). Ericsson wrote about The White Lie which is a form of lie. “A white lie can save a person from being hurt but after the truth reveals it can cause adverse effects instead of any good” (Ericsson 1c). Hence it is always recommended to speak truth despite of knowing the outcomes because lying can give a false impression that can be painful and hurt others. A lie does not have the power to hide a truth from being revealed. According to Ericsson it is unfair for someone to decide the best for someone else using a false statement because it can in-terms be very dangerous. “Delusion” is another type of lying which is a tendency to see excuses as an alternative of truth. According to Eric Hoffer, “We generally lie loudest when we used to lie ourselves” (Ericsson 3d). It is one of the most powerful ways of lying. Delusion affects on the ability of mind in order to create a perception of truth which might not be the real fact. Delusion make people believe what they think it to be. For an example “An individual thinks he has achieved greater success than reality and conveys the same to other people” (Ericsson 3e). This lie creates a person to believe in his own lie and it is known as Grandiose. Delusion has the ability to hurt someone in a very inappropriate way. It can be possible that someone might never ever believe in someone because the truth is already known by both parties still a fake attempt is made to hide the real fact and create a fake imagination which reduces the faith in both parties. Though these are some of the lies that are inter-related there are other types of lies as well. The Delusion, deflecting and white lies are used by a person under same circumstances and the purpose of these types of lies is almost similar. An individual using these three methodical ways has a common motive to hide the truth that, the truth can be dangerous for the liar, as per Marc Chernoff. For an example someone says “You look great in that dress just because he is not in a mood to explain the truth, it can be painful” (Bandura 6b). The moral values of a society are challenged by these situations and hence it leads to chaos in the society. There are some lies that are used for good purposes but this not means that lying is a healthy habit. Criminals who lie to hide from punishment do it for saving their own lives and it does not help anyone. Hence it is always recommended that true statements should be delivered so that society can be a better place to live in with trust and respect on each other. From the above discussion it is clear that lying is not a social institution. Lying can cause disrespect and lack of belief in a society. The types of lies discussed are some of the important ones which can cause social disturbance. Lying does not make any difference even if it is used to make someone happy or to gain trust of someone else because the bottom line is that a lie can never be a truth for someone else. Bandura has written about the perception of liars about other individuals. “The punishment of a liar is that he/she can never trust someone else” (Bandura 7c). Hence in support to the thesis statement it can be concluded that lying gives a false impression which can be painful for someone. Works Cited Bandura, Avy. “Self-Efficiency Mechanism”. American Psychologist 12.1 (2002): 4-7. Print. Ericsson, Stephanie. “The ways we lie.” The Bedford Reader. 6th ed. Eds. X.J. Kennedy, Dorothy M. Kennedy and Jane E. Aaron. Boston: Bedford Books, 1997. 337-344. Print. Read More