Lying with integrity

People lie all the time, from silly things like saying you don't know where something is just because you're being lazy to much bigger things like lying in court,which is against the law.

So is there an unspoken hierarchy of lies, which are alright to say and which are definitely not? Yes, I think there is. Saying to someone that you like their children when you don't is an acceptable lie because the only person who is being effected is yourself; where as if you'd said you didn't like their children and told them the truth then it would probably end in an argument and upset everyone. Then I think there are medium lies which do affect the other person but only if they found out but the lie makes them feel better, like saying that someone looks nice in their clothes when they don't look that great. Then there are big lies, where if the person found out they would be very upset, like saying you haven't told their secret but you have; this is also a trust issue which would make it worse. Finally there are huge lies which affect a number of people, such as lying in court which is against the law and could result in a more serious punishment.

I actually think the world, to a certain extent, is a better place because people tell little white lies. If everyone told the truth all the time then I don't think it would be a very nice world to live in, all the little lies which people tell t0 protect peoples' feelings and even children's innocence would not be there, it would be the end of Santa Claus! The film 'The Invention of Lying' shows this very well, Ricky Gervais' character invents lying and then discovers how useful and damaging it can be.

However, a world where no one lied could be good in other ways, we'd be able to trust politicians and we could believe everything we were told. Other reasons why lying is wrong come from a BBC article about the ethics of lying, "an untrusting world is also bad for liars- lying isn't much use if everyone is doing it... lying is bad because it's a basic moral wrong... some religious people argue Lying is bad because it misuses the God-given gift of human communication".

There is a definate link to lying and religion, one of the ten commandments is "Thou shalt not give false testimony" the Quran even threatens that liars will go to Hell, "be carefull of falsehood as it is the compainion of sinners and both will be in Hell". This seems a little extreme that just by saying someone's hair looks nice, when really it looks like they've been dragged through a hedge, surely this is better than hurting their feelings, but if some religions are to be followed by the word then you could end up in Hell!

www.bbc.co.uk/ethics/lying/lying_1.shtml