Some days ago, a young boy chatted my sister up, and at first, wanted to scam her by telling her about cryptocurrency and that she should invest 15,000 rupees to get 100,000 rupees within 24 hours. Who would fall for such, especially someone who has experienced being scammed in the past?
She had to play along and when the guy saw there was no headway, he opened up and started apologizing, saying he needed money to eat as he had no parents. After a series of probing by my sister, the boy kept covering up with more lies and she instantly blocked him.
Lying about a particular thing has been the order of the day. Everyone lies to achieve a particular thing, and I don’t think anyone will want to come out as a saint because we have all found ourselves in situations that make us lie just to save ourselves from trouble.
We now feel it is a normal thing to lie to justify our actions to survive. Before we know it, someone has pushed us into telling lies just to save ourselves.
Is it then morally acceptable to tell a lie to justify our actions?
Generally, lying is considered wrong because it taints trust and causes harm to another person. However, there are situations where some people might argue that lying is justifiable when it comes to protecting an individual or preventing harm to them.
For instance, in an organization where an employee makes a mistake that could cause a big problem which could affect the company, and when the victim opens up to a trusted colleague, he or she tries to help by standing and covering up for them and telling lies just to protect them.
But in such a case, it only lasts for a while unless they speak the truth. One thing lying does is to make someone unrest until they do what is right.
Some lies are considered justifiable in some contexts. It's like telling someone that they are good but you know that's a lie or you don’t fully believe it, but you did that just to make them feel good, especially when they aren't in a good mood or need to feel loved.
Another instance where lying could be justifiable would be when you are trying to prevent conflict or restore peace, and at that point, people may try to reason with you which most times doesn’t go well.
However, there are situations where spilling the truth does more harm than good, making the victim regret ever telling the truth. It is important to understand that though it hurts and is painful at that moment, it brings liberation and a sense of empowerment rather than telling a lie and carrying the guilt all your life and this doesn’t guarantee peace.
However, there is no way we can avoid telling lies to one another, and that is where we need to consider the intent of such a lie by asking the question, "Is it necessary I lie in this context?" This is because evaluating the intent behind a lie would help us protect ourselves and others.
Some people feel lying would benefit the person listening, while for others, it is for their personal interests or gain. Above all, there are consequences when an individual keeps telling too many lies as they are used to it making one not differentiate between a lie or truth anymore.
According to a study published in the journal titled ”Nature Neuroscience” in 2016, it reveals how the brain adapts to dishonesty. Source
This means that when an individual continues telling lies, the brain gets hold of it and one's behaviour keeps on repeating it. This is just like when one forms a habit. The brain is likely to stick to something one does over and over again.
Another consequence would be that the individual who continues lying might not get the help they seek. Just like the experience with my sister, the guy kept lying and even when he opened up for help, my sister blocked him because she was tired of his constant lies.
So also, the other person they are trying to protect might eventually be harmed and that could make them break their trust with them.
Honesty is the best policy. One must be honest with oneself to keep one’s reputation and integrity on their toes.
We may think it is not possible to live without telling 'white lies' as people believe to be morally justifiable because we are humans, but when we have trained our minds and brains to keep to honesty, we see how easy it becomes. So, telling the truth is generally the best policy.
