Lying by Sam Harris. A simple click for $1.99 and euphoria of finishing a book in 40 minutes - pleasures of Kindle!!
Sam Harris delivers as usual, this time much better in a small power packed version. A much easier and a better read than My Experiments with Truth. I know that was a bad analogy but this book is more pragmatic sans that stigma of Mahatma.
Those "quintessential" white lies start with how was your day? and continues to become WMD's in Iraq (highly recommend 2009 British movie, The invention of lying). We as a civilization can do much better than that. Are we ready to start our own experiments with truth and to face the consequences? I did and faced the consequences but refuse to give up even after an immense social cost. But returns to my conscience was priceless.
On Lying:
Whatever our purpose in telling them, lies can be gross or subtle. Some entail elaborate ruses or forged documents. Others consist merely of euphemisms or tactical silences. But it is in believing one thing while intending to communicate another that every lie is born.
Lying is, almost by definition, a refusal to cooperate with others. It condenses a lack of trust and trustworthiness into a single act. It is both a failure of understanding and an unwillingness to be understand. To lie is to recoil from relationship.
On White Lies:
What could be wrong with truly "white lies"? First, they are still lies. And in telling them, we incur all the problems of being less than straightforward in our dealings with other people. Sincerity, authenticity, integrity, mutual understanding - these and other sources of moral wealth are destroyed the moment we deliberately misrepresent our beliefs, whether or not our lies are ever discovered.
A white lie is simply a denial of these realities. It is a refusal to offer honest guidance in a strom. Even on so touchy a subject, lying seems a clear failure of friendship.
On Honesty:
Honesty is a gift we can give to others. It is also a source of power and an engine of simplicity. Knowing that we will attempt to tell the truth, whatever the circumstances, leaves us with little to prepare for. We can simply be ourselves.
Vulnerability comes in pretending to be someone your are not.
A wasteland of embarrassment and social upheaval can be neatly avoided by following a single precept in life. DO NOT LIE.
Sam Harris delivers as usual, this time much better in a small power packed version. A much easier and a better read than My Experiments with Truth. I know that was a bad analogy but this book is more pragmatic sans that stigma of Mahatma.
Those "quintessential" white lies start with how was your day? and continues to become WMD's in Iraq (highly recommend 2009 British movie, The invention of lying). We as a civilization can do much better than that. Are we ready to start our own experiments with truth and to face the consequences? I did and faced the consequences but refuse to give up even after an immense social cost. But returns to my conscience was priceless.
On Lying:
Whatever our purpose in telling them, lies can be gross or subtle. Some entail elaborate ruses or forged documents. Others consist merely of euphemisms or tactical silences. But it is in believing one thing while intending to communicate another that every lie is born.
Lying is, almost by definition, a refusal to cooperate with others. It condenses a lack of trust and trustworthiness into a single act. It is both a failure of understanding and an unwillingness to be understand. To lie is to recoil from relationship.
On White Lies:
What could be wrong with truly "white lies"? First, they are still lies. And in telling them, we incur all the problems of being less than straightforward in our dealings with other people. Sincerity, authenticity, integrity, mutual understanding - these and other sources of moral wealth are destroyed the moment we deliberately misrepresent our beliefs, whether or not our lies are ever discovered.
A white lie is simply a denial of these realities. It is a refusal to offer honest guidance in a strom. Even on so touchy a subject, lying seems a clear failure of friendship.
On Honesty:
Honesty is a gift we can give to others. It is also a source of power and an engine of simplicity. Knowing that we will attempt to tell the truth, whatever the circumstances, leaves us with little to prepare for. We can simply be ourselves.
Vulnerability comes in pretending to be someone your are not.
A wasteland of embarrassment and social upheaval can be neatly avoided by following a single precept in life. DO NOT LIE.
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