Why do we really Lie?

originally posted by: windword
What makes you think that we are, in any way, obligated to tell the truth?

Remembering the truth is a lot easier than remembering a lie.

Secondly, consider the consequences when a liar forgets that they spoke a lie, years ago, to a person who trusted them. Once bitten, twice shy.

Remember Bush Senior with 'No New Taxes'. No one trusted him after that lie.

I believe the common reason is simply people's immaturity. And i'm not just talking about the immaturity of being selfish and lying to gain something. I mostly lie because of people's close mindness (Immaturity) and their inability to handle the truth. Sure, i don't just do it to make them a favour (Although this is often the reason), but to make myself a favour too. Still, it's their fault for me lying (Because it's perfectly natural for anyone to try to avoid troubles or simply negativity. And if someone is ready to give you this, then lying to prevent it can be considered a sort of self-defense).

a reply to: Rapha

Yeah, yeah....Oh, what a tangled web we weave.....and all that.

But, that doesn't answer my question, which was "What makes you think we are obligated to tell the truth?"

When asked, is everyone required to spill their beans? Is everyone required to "speak their truth" when not asked? Why does one have an obligation to reveal themselves?

Sometimes, telling the truth can be counter productive to ones's survival. Sometimes we humans, and all living creatures bend the truth to make it fit our own reality.

Nature itself, isn't truthful.

Check out this lying Gecko!



Or this lying Mantis, pretending to an innocent orchid.



Or this Mantis, pretending to have eyes.

a reply to: Dark Ghost

I don't find the need to lie and have difficulty doing so. Perhaps it is my psychology of being obsessively frank.

As a teenager, my mother used to amuse her friends by confiding to them that I was incapable of lying. In fact she exploited this quality by always asking my opinion of her looks whenever she dressed up to go to a ball or function with my dad. I would always tell the truth and that is the reason why she kept doing it until my late teens. She would never ask my sisters but always me (..and I am male). It just shows how much she valued my honesty.

Apart from being able to slightly exagerate to make a point, I still cannot handle the business of lying. It is just too deceitful for me to cope with. To gain an advantage I would rather keep quiet than lie.

I just thought I'd make the point that it is not all of us that lie.

We lie because there is no reward for telling the truth.

Many of the posts in this thread are touching on it, but are coming from the angle of why we lie, rather than why we avoid telling the truth.

For instance, if someone commits a crime, is it in their interest to be honest about it? Almost never. Maybe to reduce consequences after a lie has been discovered, but never open honesty as a default position.

We live in a world of penalization, where honesty about every defined wrong-doing (laws, social interaction, contracts, etc) has a negative consequence. Rather than a world that realises that we all make mistakes, and that honesty can help us develop mentally and emotionally.

As a result we define ever more systems and rules to try to weed out the lies, and become ever more devious in how we with-hold truth from the system, to avoid fines and negative consequence.

If we could move towards a system of acceptance for mistakes, and aid given in rectifying mistakes (even something as heinous as murder), then we would have less reason to lie, and more reason to tell the truth that would lead to a more honourable and caring society, where honesty would have a positive effect on the individual and the community.

Most of our day to day lives are pretty dull experiences. Haul out of basket, commute to work, do mundane job, go home and watch some crappy TV. We lie to pump it up about life.................. BUT I DIDN'T LIE ABOUT THE UFO EXPERIENCES THEY ARE REAL

a reply to: Dark Ghost

www.abovetopsecret.com...

I actually wrote a thread exploring honesty and falsehoods. Some people think their social needs outweigh the need for honesty.

I HATE liars. And I am one sometimes.

Lying is partly a blame-shifting technique.


Bear in mind, people are not even honest with themselves. They don't always know good from bad, right from wrong, the truth from a lie.

Also, it's not a lie, if they believe it.

a reply to: crowdedskies

I find it hard to believe that you never lie, though.

Are you saying you don't even tell white lies for the sake of convenience?

originally posted by: Dark Ghost
a reply to: crowdedskies

I find it hard to believe that you never lie, though.

Are you saying you don't even tell white lies for the sake of convenience?

I have difficulty with lying. I admit to a mild degree of exageration at times. I suppose that would count as a lie.

As for lying (even small lies) , it goes right against my nature. But you are right, I have succumbed at times but it is so rare an event

a reply to: Dark Ghost

The truth is our reason to lie or elaborate, as we mask our own emotions, with veiled truth much like the realm we exist within but, i feel we really know that we are protected within eternally but our egos/selves fail to recognise this, for instance my ATS name is Fingle based on Fingals Cave full of junk/crap but also maybe bits of gold, sound,acoustics, vibration, harmony within?
so in essence we are truth unfolding and our lies will become the fact that we face and understand ourselves with Love compassion truth and finally a true mutual understanding without the survival nature of the lie that we live..........

en.wikipedia.org...

originally posted by: Dark Ghost
Why do we really Lie?

Fear!
Ultimately, that's it, fear!