David Hammond
Dr. Gibbons
English 02, 6223
11 October 2004

The Ends Justify the Means: A Look At Lies

If you say you never lie, you're probably lying. Most people lie many times a day. I'm not necessarily talking about huge, elaborate fabrications, but all of those little things you do to get through the day. All mammals lie, because in many cases it helps get things done more quickly or helps avoid confrontation. But, as we all know, lies can also lead to serious consequences. So when is a lie productive, and when is it destructive?

Bum: Sir, can you spare a little change? Fletcher: Yes I could. Bum: Well, will you? Fletcher: No. Bum: Why not? Fletcher: Because I believe you will buy booze with it. I just want to get from the car to my office without being confronted by the decay of western society. Plus I'm cheap. (Liar Liar)

Lies can be used to shorten an otherwise long and unnecessary explanation. In the quote above, Fletcher could have just answered No, sorry to the first question and the conversation would have been over. He could have made a white lie. Writer Stephanie Ericsson says, The white lie assumes that the truth will cause more damage than a simple, harmless untruth. (Ericsson 390). In this case, the lie would have been productive. By telling the truth, Fletcher just made the bum angry, and the truth helped no one. The overall situation would have been better if he lied. This is not always the case with white lies, however. White lies can be destructive if they mislead the recipient in a significant way. Ericsson gave an example of this: Telling a friend he looks great when he looks like hell (390). Installing false confidence in someone in order to avoid confrontation can ricochet and thwap the liar in the face (after it thwaps the recipient of the lie first). These kinds of white lies are like bridges, but you shouldn't offer someone a bridge if they want to see the sights.

We don't even realize that a lot of the lies we make are in fact lies. Whenever you say something that isn't true, it's a lie. That includes the things that we say without really thinking. As writer Deborah Tannen explains, Conversation is a ritual. We say things that seem obviously the thing to say, without thinking of the literal meaning of our words, any more than we expect the question 'How are you?' to call forth a detailed account of aches and pains. (372). Questions can be lies, because you don't really want to know the answer, and asking a question has the direct implication that you do. The fact that people understand that such questions are usually meaningless doesn't make them any less of lies. As Tannen explains, these ritualistic lies are often used to make the environment more pleasant. Saying a friendly How are you? or Thank you can be productive. However, Tannen also explains that it can be destructive if the meaningless comment is responded to in an unexpected way: Many women use 'thanks' as an automatic conversation starter and closer... [w]hen the other speaker doesn't reciprocate, a woman may feel like someone on a seesaw whose partner abandoned his end. (374).

People are often forced to be nice to someone they don't like, whether an authority figure, a peer, or someone below them. It's called a façade. We all put up façades to one degree or another. When I put on a suit to go to see a client, I feel as though I am putting on another face, obeying the expectation that serious businesspeople wear suits rather than sweatpants. (Ericsson 391). Façades can be very productive. For instance, being nice to your boss, even if you don't really like the guy, can make him happier and can help your position in the company. But façades can be destructive because they are used to seduce others into an illusion. (Ericsson 391). Façades give others a false impression of them, which can lead to bad decisions. A boss may think that the worker is more qualified than he or she really is, and that can end up hurting the company.

Many would be confident making the claim that most lies are destructive. However, if you consider the number of little lies we make on a daily basis—lies that we consider more productive than destructive—you may reach a different conclusion. The truth is, it isn't that most lies are destructive, it's that the significant lies are. Lying is a technique that mammals developed through evolution, and it has many productive uses. Pets will often lie to their masters, snuggling or purring, when in fact all that they want is food. This is a productive use, as long as it isn't overused, because there are no real negative consequences. However, because of the nature of our society, humans have the capability to cause much more damage through lying. We have to be careful not to abuse our powers to lie, but we must also be careful not to shut off our minds completely to the idea that lying isn't always a destructive thing.

Works cited

• Ericsson, Stephanie. The Ways We Lie The Bedford Reader. 8th ed. Jane E Aaron, X J Kennedy, and Dorothy M Kennedy. Boston MA: 2003. 389-396.
• Liar Liar. 1997.
• Tannen, Deborah. But What Do You Mean? The Bedford Reader. 8th ed. Jane E Aaron, X J Kennedy, and Dorothy M Kennedy. Boston MA: 2003. 372-378.