LyingAs it was in Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary, and Othello, so it is in life. Most forms of private vice and public evil are kindled and sustained by lies. Acts of adultery and other personal betrayals, financial fraud, government corruption—even murder and genocide—generally require an additional moral defect: a willingness to lie. In Lying, best-selling author and neuroscientist Sam Harris argues that we can radically simplify our lives and improve society by merely telling the truth in situations where others often lie. He focuses on "white" lies—those lies we tell for the purpose of sparing people discomfort—for these are the lies that most often tempt us. And they tend to be the only lies that good people tell while imagining that they are being good in the process. |
Contents
3 | |
7 | |
10 | |
12 | |
Trust | 21 |
Faint Praise | 24 |
Secrets | 25 |
Lies in Extremis | 28 |
Big Lies | 36 |
Conclusion | 40 |
A Conversation with Ronald A Howard | 43 |
A Conversation with Readers | 71 |
Acknowledgments | 97 |
Notes | 99 |
About the Author | 104 |
A Note on the Type | 105 |
Other editions - View all
Common terms and phrases
agree Annaka Anne Frank asked avoid behavior better child commitment to telling communicate conceal conspiracy conversation course culture daughter deceive deception Decision Analysis Derek’s dishonesty doctor dress drugs End of Faith espionage Ethical Analyst fact false feel Gina given going Haldwani harm Harris honest Howard human husband imagine innocent instance interview Jainism Jessica keep kill kind knew liar look fat Lucy lying to one's Malcolm Mental Accounting Moral Landscape mother murderer neurologist never norms okay one’s opium personal ethical code perverse incentives police positive possible prison probably problem question readers reality reason relationship remember require Sam Harris secret self-deception simply Sita situation Social Psychology someone speak Stanford steal Stephanie surely talk telling the truth tend things tion told trip true trust truth-teller unethical want to live war on drugs white lies wife worry