Loading ...
Why Do People Lie?
Aug 10th, 2007 by Jack
Why do people lie? And what is considered a lie? these are the two question that run in my mind daily. It’s a question that runs in my mind daily because daily I run into people that lie. The lies that I come across is mostly for personal gain or some will lie to try and avoid personal embarrassment. Now what is a lie? Here is what I officially found that describes a lie:
Lie \Lie\ (l[imac]), n. [AS. lyge; akin to D. leugen, OHG. lugi, G. l["u]ge, lug, Icel. lygi, Dan. & Sw. l["o]gn, Goth. liugn. See Lie to utter a falsehood.]
1. A falsehood uttered or acted for the purpose of deception; an intentional violation of truth; an untruth spoken with the intention to deceive.
The proper notion of a lie is an endeavoring to deceive another by signifying that to him as true, which we ourselves think not to be so. –S. Clarke.
It is willful deceit that makes a lie. A man may act a lie, as by pointing his finger in a wrong direction when a traveler inquires of him his road. –Paley.
2. A fiction; a fable; an untruth. –Dryden.
3. Anything which misleads or disappoints.
Wishing this lie of life was o’er. –Trench.
To give the lie to.
(a) To charge with falsehood; as, the man gave him the lie.
(b) To reveal to be false; as, a man’s actions may give the lie to his words.
White lie, a euphemism for such lies as one finds it convenient to tell, and excuses himself for telling.
Syn: Untruth; falsehood; fiction; deception.
Usage: Lie, Untruth. A man may state what is untrue from ignorance or misconception; hence, to impute an untruth to one is not necessarily the same as charging him with a lie. Every lie is an untruth, but not every untruth is a lie. Cf. Falsity.
Source: Webster’s Revised Unabridged Dictionary (1913)
The only two questions I have left is, if a person believes what he is telling is the truth does it still make it a lie or make the the person just an idiot? Also if the person omits information in his telling of the truth does that make a lie even thought what he did omit is all truth? With these questions in mind I will leave you this little montage I found that describes what I first said about people lying for personal gain and to keep face also this statement “That a very strong person is a person that can accept the responsibility of being wrong and admitting it!”. Enjoy
