Is the belief that things could always be worse helpful or harmful?

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The discussion centers on the value of honesty and the role of white lies in social interactions. Participants debate whether honesty is the most important value, with some suggesting that personal integrity or generosity may be more significant. The necessity of white lies is acknowledged, particularly in situations like surprise parties, where they serve a positive purpose. There is a consensus that lying is generally viewed as acceptable only when it is for the good of others, while malicious lies are condemned. Ultimately, the conversation highlights the complexity of honesty in human relationships and the moral dilemmas surrounding truth-telling.
  • #31
Nomy-the wanderer said:
I don't believe in full honesty , and angel would do that, but there r people who are very honest that they don't have to lie all the time, but they also lie..

And there r people who are mostly lying, that they can't give it up..
very execelent anser.

why the need for honesty?
are you honest, so you need people honest to you too ?
 
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  • #32
So when one asks another, "Are you a liar?", can the asker really know anything from the response?

More of a rhetorical question. I think asking someone if they lie is one of the most pointless questions as one can never reach a logical believable answer.

As to the original post, I agree that the intent of what one says is very important in the matter of honesty. The only problem with getting away with these "white lies" is that one person's definition of a white lie may not concur with another's.

Example:

A husband comes home from work to see his wife having sex with his brother. He confronts her about it and she replies, "I just didn't want to hurt you. You'd be happier not knowing".
 
  • #33
Jameson said:
Example:
A husband comes home from work to see his wife having sex with his brother. He confronts her about it and she replies, "I just didn't want to hurt you. You'd be happier not knowing".
good example, that happens many times. never believe in fox's reasonings
 
  • #34
I think people who aren't faithful ,are the most terrible kind of a liar!
 
  • #35
I don't think so..
 
  • #36
Lisa! said:
I think people who aren't faithful ,are the most terrible kind of a liar!

I find it interesting that you rate lies by degrees of "wrongness", something that I do also. I'm not agreeing with your statement but I would say that most of us find certain lies worse than others. Why? Humans are so illogical sometimes.
 
  • #37
Jameson said:
I find it interesting that you rate lies by degrees of "wrongness", something that I do also. I'm not agreeing with your statement but I would say that most of us find certain lies worse than others. Why? Humans are so illogical sometimes.
Yes,they are.I think the reason you do sth is important sometimes.Not all the time.
I think people who aren't faithful are lying somehow at least to themselves and telling a lie to yourself is really bad!it's difficult to explain why I think they're lying maybe because as you said "humans are so illogical sometimes."who knows maybe they're logical exactly when they have no reason to prove they're right!
 
  • #38
Lisa! said:
Yes,they are.I think the reason you do sth is important sometimes.Not all the time.
I think people who aren't faithful are lying somehow at least to themselves and telling a lie to yourself is really bad!it's difficult to explain why I think they're lying maybe because as you said "humans are so illogical sometimes."who knows maybe they're logical exactly when they have no reason to prove they're right!

Can you really lay down a universal law that lying to yourself isn't really bad? Think of Hitler who lied to himself about the Jews, or Lenin who did so about the Kulaks. A person who systematically lies to himself is apt to act upon a falsehood, and that can lead anywhere.

Consider that someone who lies to their spouse hurts that person, and maybe a few others - children, members of their circle, etc. But someone who lies to themselves can hurt millions.
 
  • #39
Lisa most humans on Earth lie to themselves...

1st of all every person has an image for himself in his mind, the picture must be beautifull to be bearable, fqaithgull or not, sometimes people convince themselves that they r soemthing they aren't and maybe cannot be..

Some people suddenly wake up and look carefully again, and discover the truth, and some don't...it's not because they r bad people who want to lie but it's how they see it.And even if they felt soemthing wron , this is hard to accept..
 
  • #40
selfAdjoint said:
Can you really lay down a universal law that lying to yourself isn't really bad? Think of Hitler who lied to himself about the Jews, or Lenin who did so about the Kulaks. A person who systematically lies to himself is apt to act upon a falsehood, and that can lead anywhere.

Consider that someone who lies to their spouse hurts that person, and maybe a few others - children, members of their circle, etc. But someone who lies to themselves can hurt millions.
Why should I do that?I think it's really bad.How is it possible to know myself when I'm not honest with myself?and when I don't know myself how is it possible to know what I should be looking for in my life?


Bigger lie hurts more people.I don't know why I think first you should be dishonest with yourself then you can lie to others!
Sometimes we say sth that we don't believe it.maybe Hitler just lied to others not himself about Jews in order to achieve his goals.
Anyway could you please explain why you think Hitler and Lenin lied to themselves?I mean what kind of lie?and what do you think about all politiciens like Bush?are they lying to themselves too?and why?
 
  • #41
Nomy-the wanderer said:
Lisa most humans on Earth lie to themselves...
That's why the world is so terrible.

1st of all every person has an image for himself in his mind, the picture must be beautifull to be bearable, fqaithgull or not, sometimes people convince themselves that they r soemthing they aren't and maybe cannot be..
I agree with you but sometimes people around someone are guilty about this unreal image.they never tell you what they really think about you.sometimes we think we're really good because others are worse...

Some people suddenly wake up and look carefully again, and discover the truth, and some don't...it's not because they r bad people who want to lie but it's how they see it.And even if they felt soemthing wron , this is hard to accept..
I don't think all of them are bad but at least I don't want to be one of them!
 
  • #42
Yeah people can be guilty cause they don't look thoroughly but there r a lot of causes for that..
 
  • #43
anyway,I can't trust all people's ideas about me!
 
  • #44
Lisa! asks, "please expand"

1) Honesty is an expression of a person's actual interpretation of an occurance:

Invariably and unconsciously a person will favour one interpretation of an occurance than another. But this is more of an unconscious and autonomic response that is based in their genetic and environmental conditioning as well as how their brain has organized and expresses that conditioning.

2) Lies relate a person's consciously manipulated interpretation of an occurance:

Here we see the liar using their intellegent interpretation of occurances. They use only those elements of thought that serve their conscious and immediate requirments, disregarding the actual, physical sequences and occurances they have experienced.

There is honesty to be found in both of these actions. They are both human methodologies of surviving either physically, socially or economically.

The honest truth is that both processes are a matter of survival.

However, when you factor in sociopathological reasoning, the discussion transforms and you'd have to move this thread to the psychology section.
 
  • #45
Lisa! said:
dextercioby,I'm really sorry for any woman who wants you to help.there's always worse and here you would be worse than his bf. :devil:
Ah, now that's a fallacy if ever I've seen one. Maybe you should start a topic about that next.
 
  • #46
Smurf said:
Ah, now that's a fallacy if ever I've seen one

Look in the mirror and you'll see one! :wink:
. Maybe you should start a topic about that next.[/QUOTE]
about "There's always worse"?
 

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