Is It Worth Lying?
There is hardly a person in the world who can say that he or she has never told a lie. Lying is quite natural and people often do it in case of emergency, intentionally or even without any reason. People are not born with a capacity to lie. They begin to do it at the age of three and the older they get, the more resourceful and sophisticated they become. Many philosophers such as Saint Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and Immanuel Kant condemned all lying. They were convinced that ‘one must be murdered, suffer torture, or endure any other hardship, rather than lie, even if the only way to protect oneself is to lie’. Immanuel Kant said that ‘by a lie, a man annihilates his dignity as a man.’
A lie is something you say that you know is untrue with the intention to deceive other people. There are different reasons for telling a lie. One may do it with the intention to maintain a secret or to save his or her face, to derive some benefit or to avoid a punishment, to
There are different types of lies from white lies to perjury. A white lie does not harm anyone and it is usually told in order to avoid hurting someone’s feelings. It is often used to avoid offense, such as complimenting something one finds not very beautiful or attractive or saying that you like a present even if it is not true. A white lie is a part of good manners as sometimes it is rude to say exactly what you think. When a person does not tell the whole truth about something such kind of lie is called half-truth. A bold-faced lie is one which is told when it is obvious to everybody that it is a lie. For example, a person who has been caught red-handed by the police and denies that he has stolen the money. Perjury is the crime of telling a lie after promising to tell the truth in a court of law.
In fact it is difficult to imagine the world without lie. Lie is everywhere: on TV, on the radio, in newspapers, in the street and even at home. Everyday people have to face misinformation, hoax, fabrication, propaganda, puffery, forgery, etc. That is why many of us have become distrustful and suspicious and we don’t believe most advertisements, commercials, speeches and promises. If one doesn’t want to be deceived or to become a victim of fraud,
he or she should take into consideration people’s behaviour and body language.It is possible to distinguish a lie by facial expression, movements, tone of voice and other methods. Some people are sure that lies can be detected through both verbal and nonverbal means. Scientists say that lying takes longer than telling the truth. So if a person hesitates before answering a question or makes a long pause, he is probably going to tell a lie. A liar may avoid eye contact, turn his head away, stammer or blush. A liar usually has a stiff expression and a forced smile. A person who feels guilty may speak too much, adding unnecessary details to convince his interlocutor. A liar feels uncomfortable and is often eager to change the subject. This knowledge is especially helpful for police, security experts, businessmen, politicians and employers. But one should remember that there is no absolutely reliable sign of lying.
Polygraph measures the physiological stress a person endures while he or she gives statements or answers questions. It is well-known that lying causes bodily changes. Polygraph measures the suspect’s heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate and respiration. If there is increased activity in these areas, the suspect might be lying. The accuracy of this method is questionable as this machine can be deceived. That is why polygraph results are not admissible as court evidence. The fact is that no machine, or expert can detect a lie with 100% accuracy.
Sometimes telling a lie can be essential if it helps save another person’s life. But sometimes lying makes things worse, especially after it has been discovered. Discovery of a lie may spoil one’s reputation or lead to social or legal sanctions. Besides you can’t lie all the time. One shouldn’t forget the saying, ‘Liars should have long memories’.
1. Read the following sentences and circle TRUE or FALSE: 1) People are born with a capacity to lie. T|F|
2) Many philosophers were convinced that lying was admissible in case of emergency. T|F|
3) People usually tell a lie without any reason. T|F|
4) Scientists say that lying takes longer than telling the truth. T|F|
5) A liar always smiles and feels at ease. T|F|
6) There is no absolutely reliable sign of lying. T|F|
7) The fact is that polygraph can detect a lie with 100% accuracy. T|F|
2. Complete each sentence (A-H) with one of the endings (1-8): A. Lying is quite natural and people often do it
B. A lie is something you say that you know is untrue
C. Everyday people have to face
D. If one doesn’t want to be deceived or to become a victim of fraud, he or she should
E. It is possible to distinguish a lie by
F. Polygraph measures the suspect’s
G. If there is increased activity in these areas
H. Discovery of a lie may
1. heart rate, blood pressure, breathing rate and respiration.
2. misinformation, hoax, fabrication, propaganda, puffery, forgery etc.
3. facial expression, movements, tone of voice and other methods.
4. with the intention to deceive other people.
5. spoil one’s reputation or lead to social or legal sanctions.
6. take into consideration people’s behaviour and body language.
7. in case of emergency, intentionally or even without any reason.
8. the suspect might be lying.
3. Give the definitions of the following words – white lie – hoax
– half-truth – fabrication
– bold-faced lie – propaganda
– perjury – puffery
– misinformation – forgery
4. Agree or disagree with the following statements. Explain your point of view – There is hardly a person in the world who can say that he or she has never told a lie.
– ‘By a lie, a man annihilates his dignity as a man.’
– Lie is everywhere: on TV, on the radio, in newspapers, in the street and even at home.
– Many people have become distrustful and suspicious.
– Sometimes lying makes things worse, especially after it has been discovered.
– You can’t lie all the time.
5. Choose a situation in which it is admissible/inadmissible/desirable/ essential to tell a lie. Explain your point of view. Describe the situation from your own life experience when you had to tell a lie – Your boss is asking you if you like your new colleague. You think that he is a decent and honest man but he is lazy, irresponsible and incompetent.
– You have seen your sister’s boyfriend walking with some other girl. Your sister is telling you that she is not sure whether her boyfriend is faithful to her.
– You have broken your mother’s favourite vase. She is very upset and she is telling you that she is going to punish your younger brother who must have done it.
– Your best friend is showing you a very expensive dress she has just bought. She is happy and delighted. But you think that the dress doesn’t suit her.
– Your cousin is being charged with a theft. He is asking you to testify in court that he has spent the whole day with you.
6. Answer the questions 1) Do you agree that ‘one must be murdered, suffer torture, or endure any other hardship, rather than lie, even if the only way to protect oneself is to lie’? Explain your point of view.
2) Why do people tell a lie?
3) What is your attitude to white lie/half-truth/bold-faced lie/perjury?
4) How can body language help us understand that our interlocutor is lying?
5) Why are polygraph results not admissible as court evidence?
6) Why can lying be dangerous?
7) When is it worth telling a lie? Why?
8) Do you often tell a lie? What makes you do it?
7. Read the quotations below. Choose any quotation and comment on it
– ‘A harmful truth is better than a useful lie.’ (Thomas Mann)
– ‘One ought to have a good memory when he has told a lie.’ (Pierre Corneille)
– ‘No one can lie, no one can hide anything, when he looks directly into someone’s eyes.’ (Paulo Сое I ho)
– ‘Anyone who tells a lie has not a pure heart, and cannot make a good soup.’ (Ludwig van Beethoven)
– ‘A lie which is half a truth is ever the blackest of lies.’ (Alfred Lord Tennyson)
– ‘For every good reason there is to lie, there is a better reason to tell the truth.’ (Bo Bennett)
– ‘And, after all, what is a lie? ‘It is but the truth in a masquerade.’ (Alexander Pope)
– ‘Any fool can tell the truth, but it requires a man of some sense to know how to lie well. (Samuel Butler)
– ‘A single lie destroys a whole reputation of integrity.’ (Baltasar Gracian)
– ‘Polygraph tests are 20th-century witchcraft.’ (Sam Ervin)
Read the fable ‘The Boy Who Cried Wolf and find the moral of the story. Find some other examples in literature when the main or minor characters suffered or perished because of lie. Discuss these examples.
The Boy Who Cried Wolf
There once was a shepherd boy who was bored as he sat on the hillside watching the village sheep. To amuse himself he took a great breath and sang out, “Wolf! Wolf! The Wolf is chasing the sheep!”
The villagers came running up the hill to help the boy drive the wolf away. But when they arrived at the top of the hill, they found no wolf. The boy laughed at the sight of their angry faces.
“Don’t cry ‘wolf, shepherd boy,” said the villagers, “when there’s no wolf!” They went grumbling back down the hill.
Later, the boy sang out again, “Wolf. Wolf. The wolf is chasing the sheep!” To his naughty delight, he watched the villagers run up the hill to help him drive the wolf away.
When the villagers saw no wolf they sternly said, “Save your frightened song for when there is really something wrong! Don’t cry ‘wolf when there is NO wolf”
But the boy just grinned and watched them go grumbling down the hill once more.
Later, he saw a REAL wolf prowling about his flock. Alarmed, he leaped to his feet and sang out as loudly as he could, “Wolf Wolf”
But the villagers thought he was trying to fool them again, and so they didn’t come.
At sunset, everyone wondered why the shepherd boy hadn’t returned to the village with their sheep. They went up the hill to find the boy. They found him weeping.
“There really was a wolf here! The flock has scattered! I cried out, “Wolf” Why didn’t you come?”
An old man tried to comfort the boy as they walked back to the village.
“We’ll help you look for the lost sheep in the morning,” he said, putting his arm around the youth, “Nobody believes a liar…even when he is telling the truth!”
A. Read the statements below and circle YES or NO. Tick the questions that you would like to discuss with your group mates. Organize a discussion after reading the text.
QUESTIONNAIRE
1. I often tell a lie. YES/NO.
2. I always feel at ease when I have to tell a lie. YES/NO.
3. I sometimes pretend that I am ill if I don’t want to do some work. YES/NO.
4. When I tell a lie, my facial expression, posture and gestures never change. YES/NO.
5. Sometimes I tell a lie because of the excitement of taking a risk of being caught. YES/NO.
6. 1 don’t care if a lie will be discovered. YES/NO.
7. 1 often use cribs during tests and exams. YES/NO.
8. If I have done something wrong, I try to put the blame on other people. YES/NO.
9. When somebody asks me to lend him some money, I say that I am hard up for money myself even if it is not so. YES/NO.
10. I often conceal my problems from my relatives and friends. YES/NO.
(The more positive answers you have, the more sophisticated liar you are).
B. Read the text ‘Is It Worth Lying?’ and do the tasks below.
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