Analysis Essays About Lying - 1063 Words

Webster’s Dictionary defines a lie as an intentionally false statement. However, defining a simple three-letter word is not as easy as it seems on the surface. Upon reading or hearing the word lie, people are instantly associated with a general feeling of negativity. Lying generally creates feelings of dishonesty, untrustworthiness, deceit, and betrayal. However, lying is one of the oldest human social practices. Erin Bryant explains in her essay â€Å"Real Lies, White Lies, and Gray Lies† that even though lying has a derogatory label, it is a very common social behavior used by a majority of people on a daily basis. It has been a subject of scrutiny through the millennia by philosophers such as St. Augustine, Aristotle, and Plato. Can lies†¦show more content†¦Greed and self-preservation usually assume precedence. Think of all the cases similar to O.J. Simpson’s, or more recently, the Penn State scandal. Those accused swore their innocence even in the f ace of obvious guilt. Gray addresses this aspect of lying as follows: â€Å"Here rest the domains, familiar to everyone, of being on the spot, of feeling guilty, of fearing reprimand, failure, or disgrace, and on the other side of the ledger, of wishing to seem more impressive to others than the bald facts allow.† This type of lying is used to make the liar seem better than they really are. It can be used to increase publicity, wealth, or interest for a relationship. Scenarios such as these have been laid out for the world to see time and time again. A man at the bar, hoping to spark interest in an unlucky lady, creates an alter-ego he uses in an attempt to impress her. The young lawyer pretends to have a vast successful case record in the attempt to gain a new client. The Chief Executive Officers of large corporations falsify documentation to entice stock owners to invest, all the while embezzling and taking the money as their own. There are countless examples of such cases : the Enron incident, Watergate scandal, S L debacle, the Bay of Pigs fiasco, etc. The final category of lying is lying with the intent to harm others. This form of lying is the most sourly looked upon. Thankfully, it is also the rarest ofShow MoreRelatedIs Lying Bad For Us?1195 Words   |  5 PagesLying today is quite a disregarded subject, causing its reputation enough to make people uneasy. Most are taught at a young age that lying is substandard, lousy, or even cheap, and that you should never use it to your benefit. Of course we don’t want to be a lousy person, but what about lying makes it so? Why is it considered so immoral and frowned upon by many social norms? Luckily for us there are two very appealing essays that help us crack these baffling questions. In these essays, they defineRead MoreWhat is wrong with adultery Essay1697 Words   |  7 PagesAdultery Bonnie Steinbock in her essay â€Å"What’s Wrong with Adultery?† starts by quoting the data from studies to show that the number of women who have committed adultery has significantly increased. Despite this increase in female adultery, it is in some degree due to the attitudes changing toward sex and sexuality, but Steinbock thinks that people should use rational justification to evaluate the disapproval of adultery. Then in the rest of the parts of Steinbock’s essay, she is generally arguing againstRead MoreThe Truth About Lying By Judith Viorst1346 Words   |  6 Pagesdepression, as he regards everyone to be a facade of who they truly are. Conventional wisdom would uphold this condemnation of dishonesty. However, in Judith Viorst’s â€Å"The Truth About Lying,† she presents a reality where various types of dishonesty-social, peacekeeping, protective, trust-keeping- are necessary. I believe that lying is morally right only if it facilitates h armonious social interactions between people. Lies meant to protect someone’s feelings or prevent conflict between two people are necessaryRead MoreKant And Kant s Universal Law Essay1458 Words   |  6 PagesDoes Kant successfully establish that one must never under any circumstances or for any purpose tell a lie? In this essay, I will argue that Immanuel Kant fails to successfully establish lying as morally impermissible because the claim that lying is morally impermissible goes against common sense. Kant defines his Universal Law to demonstrate the necessary action one must take in order to act in a way that is morally permissible and uses it in support of his belief that one’s motive is the soleRead MoreThe Great Gatsby By F. Scott Fitzgerald1280 Words   |  6 PagesGatsby, all the characters in the book portray themselves differently from their true selves because they are corrupted by greed, money, or love. Gatsby, in the beginning, had a sense of mystery and intrigue, about him but when we actually meet him and get to know him we discover that he is a lying, despicable man. Many people want to look better in other’s eyes and will distort their image to do so. Every character in this book has a story of who they are and who they want to be, and are willing toRead MoreBbc Media Coverage Analysis Essay1420 Words   |  6 PagesThis essay will argue that whilst the BBC media coverage of my chosen article has good attributes, there is a lack of extensiveness and some of the information that is presented to the reader is misleading. Throughout this essay I will analyse the original research study and compare the findings to previous research. Secondly, an analysis of the media’s article will be conducted, before comparing it the research study. Lastly, I will conclude that the BBC’s representation of the study is impreciseRead MoreMayella Ewell Character Analysis Essay735 Words   |  3 PagesMayell Ewell Essay Ava Chong Mayella Ewell Character Analysis In To Kill a Mockingbird, Harper Lee presents Mayell Ewell as a complex, round character with traits that evoke various feeling from the reader. In one light, â€Å"she seemed somehow fragile-looking† (179). She is scared of what would happen to her if anyone found out she was lying. The questioning became too much and made her â€Å"stare at (Judge Taylor) and burst into tears† (179). The crying showed her emotional and fragile sideRead MoreThe Way We Lie641 Words   |  3 Pagescompletely normal, actually they don’t feel anything at all. One can be couth lying in any place like work, home and to different person’s friends, family, clients, teachers and even authority. In the preface of the story the author had describe how in a day she had lied a minimum of four times to various people. In spite of this the authors tried a different approach she tried now to go a week without consciously lying, she discovered that it is merely impossible and of course as various negativeRead MoreReflection Paper On The Formal Writing Assignments983 Words   |  4 Pagesteachers never went into as much depth and detail as we did in this class. Writing in general was one of my biggest challenges coming into this class. In class we had to write reflections about ourselves and our week in class. I would always struggle with these because I would never know what to write about or how to start it. However, I got more comfortable with formal writing. I felt more comfortable with these because it was like following a formula. With the formal papers, I had directionsRead MoreThe Psychology Of The Social Injustice Of Women937 Words   |  4 Pagesbooks, journals, notes, evaluations/analyses, and tests/assessments. Books and Journals Writing in psychology can range from an analysis, journals, or books. Many psychologists write pieces along the lines of an evaluation or analysis of a patient; meetings are confidential, meaning that psychologists cannot share content about the patient. In psychology, one can write about an example, or elaborate on the information one has found. One can continue the writing to a greater source such as journals,