LIES...

It has never really been decided whether there are occasions when a lie is justified. Various thinkers such as Augustine, Kant etc have had various views.

The extreme case (much loved by philosophers) is that of a murderer chasing a victim. The murderer asks you which way the victim has gone. Are you supposed to tell the truth? Some argue that a lie can be told for the 'greater good'. Others argue that the end never justifies the mean so lies are out. Yet others hold that if the enquirer has no right to the knowledge then a lie may be justified. I have no wish to settle the argument. But there do seem to be a variety of possible lies.

White lies: these seem to be lies which are not really important and are told to save someone's dignity etc. The consequences are always tiny.

Self-defence lies: even though not justified these are understandable. When George Washington's father asked who had cut down the cherry tree, George might well have told a self-defence lie to say he did not know. Instead he told the truth. Lies told to avoid self-incrimination are so understandable that the US Constitution has an amendment to prevent self-incrimination.

Lies for pure gain: these are totally unjustified. They are told to give some advantage to the liar. Journalists may use them in order to make a 'more interesting' story or to carry through some agenda. They are even worse when the gain for one party is at the expense of the another party. It is hard to see any justification for this. Where the lie gives a gain but does not hurt others we sometimes use the term 'porkie'. So if someone claims to have gone to a certain school but has not, that does not hurt anyone else. So we need a word for gratuitous lies that are fabricated for the benefit of the teller at the expense of some victim. I suggest the new word 'brokkie'.

Brokkies: lies told for the direct benefit of the teller and at the expense of someone else. This particularly applies when the teller is in some position of authority and also when the lie cannot be easily put right.

Edward de Bono nmt
29th October 2000
Singapore

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