Half-Truths and Brazen Lies: An Honest Look at Lying
Chapter 1 WHAT’S IN A LIE
5 There’s nothing like real homegrown spaghetti When British families plopped down in front of their television sets one night in 1957 they thought they were in for some regular old TV viewing Panorama a popular BBC news show was on Toward the end of the show the news anchor turned to the camera and said We end Panorama tonight with a special report from the Swiss Alps The footage showed Switzerland in springtime and women wearing traditional Swiss clothing plucking long strands of spaghetti from trees The last two weeks of March are an anxious time for the spaghetti farmer the reporter explained with a straight face While he spoke so-called farmers were shown spreading out a harvest of fresh spaghetti to dry in the sun Viewers were told that the threat of frost could ruin the pasta’s taste but at least the dreaded spaghetti weevil insect hadn’t damaged the crops that year When the story was over the anchor finished the broadcast by saying Now we say good night on this first day of April Of course the story wasn’t true It was an April Fools Day joke told for fun But not many people in Britain knew that at the time Italian pasta was still considered a special exotic dish Hundreds of viewers called in to the station to ask where they could buy a spaghetti bush Others wanted to know how to grow their own tree The reply Place a sprig of spaghetti in a tin of tomato sauce and hope for the best Hoaxes pocus So is an April Fools Day joke actually a lie Sure though not the same kind you might tell to wriggle out of an uncomfortable situation The spaghetti joke was considered a hoax A really good one too An April Fools hoax is a special kind of lie that’s outrageous told in good fun meant to grab the public’s attention TRUE STORY Perhaps what really sets a hoax apart from other kinds of lies is that the liar wants to be found out eventually Many companies now make up elaborate April Fools Day hoaxes to get attention and publicity only to reveal the truth later For instance on April 1 2014 Domino’s Pizza UK claimed it was now offering an edible pizza box calling it the future of snackaging Meanwhile Sonic Drive-In the American fast-food restaurant declared it would soon be offering a kale cream pie shake Back in 2011 Canadian airline WestJet released a video stating that the company would be adding helium think of helium balloons to their planes to make them lighter It was all a bunch of hot air of course As hoaxes show there are many different kinds of lies and lots of reasons people tell them This chapter is about answering the question When is a lie a lie and when is it something else
6 It’s a statement You have to communicate a thought either by speaking or by writing it down It has to be untrue The liar has to be trying to trick another person That’s simple enough Sure the definition seems super handy when you’re trying to figure out if someone is lying or not For example Pretending You’re a robot and I’m an alien and we’re going to make a sandcastle These kids are saying something untrue but because they both are in on the ruse there’s no deception Verdict Not a lie Nobody believes your lie I didn’t eat the cookies I swear Even though you’re a bad liar and no one is fooled you are still trying to pull a fast one Verdict Lie What’s worse than being called a liar Being called a liar when you thought you were telling the truth Maybe it’s time everyone gets a lesson on what the word lie actually means Warning The following definition seems simple but it’s a head-exploding brainteaser that philosophers big thinkers who study human beliefs have been debating for centuries Here’s the standard definition that most people agree on now WHEN IS A LIE A LIE 2 3 LIE To make a false statement with the intention to deceive 2 3 1 1 EXHIBIT A
7 But but but Unfortunately there are many gray areas and situations that don’t quite fit the usual definition of lying You nod your head yes when you’re really thinking no Some philosophers believe that this isn’t a lie because you’re not speaking or writing a statement but others say that’s silly Nodding counts because it communicates an idea You’re being sarcastic When your dad enters your messy room and says What a fresh smell and uncluttered sleeping area he obviously doesn’t mean what he says but is he lying No His tone of voice tells you what he’s getting at despite his choice of words There’s no intention to deceive But he can quit it with his lame conversational implicature Look that one up You think you’re telling a lie but it’s actually the truth When your rival asks you what pages to study for tomorrow’s math test you give her the wrong ones Just so we’re clear this is not your best moment Except it turns out you gave her the correct pages by accident and she gets an A Did you lie Tricky one You’re making a statement and you’re trying to deceive her but oops you told the truth Some people would give you a free pass but not everyone There are experts who add something extra to the definition Liars just have to believe that what they’re saying is false it doesn’t matter if it’s not Lies in disguise Sometimes we like to S-T-R-E-T-C-H the meaning of lying to include things that aren’t strictly the real deal although they would still be considered deception Lies of omission you leave out important facts so you can mislead others Cheating and stealing your action is deceptive Exaggeration your facts are mostly true but you add a few that aren’t and stretch the truth Forgery you create something phony that you hope people will mistake for the real deal Fabrication you say something that you think is true but you’re not actually 100 percent sure Plagiarism you copy someone else’s work and pass it off as your own Here’s one more lying to yourself While some philosophers say the best liars often believe the lies they’re telling on some level others disagree They think it’s impossible to convince yourself to believe something false while knowing the truth at the same time Either you know what’s real or you don’t
