Editing Lie (section)

==Ethics==
{{see also|Christian views on lying}}
[[File:Aristoteles Louvre.jpg|thumb|upright|[[Bust (sculpture)|Portrait bust]] of Aristotle made by [[Lysippos]]]]

[[Utilitarian]] philosophers have supported lies that achieve good outcomes&nbsp;– white lies.<ref name="sundayobserver.lk" /> In his 2008 book, ''[[How to Make Good Decisions and Be Right All the Time]]'', [[Iain King]] suggested a credible rule on lying was possible, and he defined it as: "Deceive only if you can change behaviour in a way worth more than the trust you would lose, were the deception discovered (whether the deception actually is exposed or not)."<ref>''[[How to Make Good Decisions and Be Right All the Time]]'', (2008), Iain King, p. 148.</ref>

Stanford law professor [[Deborah L. Rhode]] articulated three rules she says ethicists generally agree distinguish "white lies" from harmful lies or cheating:<ref>{{cite podcast |url=https://think.kera.org/2017/11/13/why-we-cheat/ |title=Why We Cheat |date=17 Nov 2021 |work=Think! |publisher=[[KERA (FM)|KERA]]}} (around 5:00)</ref>
* A disinterested observer would conclude that the benefits outweigh the harms
* There is no alternative
* If everyone in similar circumstances acted similarly, society would be no worse off

[[Aristotle]] believed no general rule on lying was possible, because anyone who advocated lying could never be believed, he said.<ref>''How to Make Good Decisions and Be Right All the Time'', (2008), Iain King, p. 147.</ref> The [[philosopher]]s [[St. Augustine]], [[St. Thomas Aquinas]], and [[Immanuel Kant]], condemned all lying.<ref name="sundayobserver.lk">{{cite news|url=https://archives.sundayobserver.lk/2012/02/05/imp06.asp |title=To lead a life of lies |access-date=10 July 2012 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120211154019/http://www.sundayobserver.lk/2012/02/05/imp06.asp |archive-date=11 February 2012 |work=Can we talk? by T. Arjuna |last=Arjuna |first=T. |publisher=[[Sunday Observer (Sri Lanka)|Sunday Observer]] }} | Sri Lanka's ''Sunday Observer'' article on lying, Feb 2012</ref> According to all three, there are no circumstances in which, ethically, one may lie. Even if the ''only'' way to protect oneself is to lie, it is never ethically permissible to lie even in the face of murder, torture, or any other hardship. Each of these philosophers gave several arguments for the ethical basis against lying, all compatible with each other. Among the more important arguments are:
* Lying is a [[perversion]] of the natural faculty of speech, the natural end of which is to communicate the thoughts of the speaker.
* When one lies, one undermines [[trust (emotion)|trust]] in [[society]].

In ''[[Lying (Harris book)|Lying]]'', neuroscientist [[Sam Harris]] argues that lying is negative for the liar and the person who is being lied to. To tell lies is to deny others access to reality, and the harm of lying often cannot be anticipated. The ones lied to may fail to solve problems they could have solved only on a basis of good information. To lie also harms oneself, making the liar distrust the person who is being lied to.<ref>[http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/10.1177/01461672982411004 "Deceiver's Distrust: Denigration as a Consequence of Undiscovered Deception"], (1998), Brad J. Sagarin, Kelton v. L. Rhoads, Robert B. Cialdini.</ref> Liars generally feel badly about their lies and sense a loss of sincerity, authenticity, and integrity.  Harris asserts that [[honesty]] allows one to have deeper relationships and to bring all dysfunction in one's life to the surface.

In ''[[Human, All Too Human]]'', philosopher [[Friedrich Nietzsche]] suggested that those who refrain from lying may do so only because of the difficulty involved in maintaining lies. This is consistent with his general philosophy that divides (or ranks) people according to strength and ability; thus, some people tell the truth only out of weakness.{{cn|date=February 2025}}

A study was conducted by the [[University of Nottingham]], released in 2016, which utilized a dice roll test where participants could easily lie to get a bigger payout. The study found that in countries with high prevalence of rule breaking, dishonesty in people in their early 20s was more prevalent.<ref>{{cite journal | pmc=4817241 | year=2016 | last1=Gächter | first1=S. | last2=Schulz | first2=J. F. | title=Intrinsic Honesty and the Prevalence of Rule Violations across Societies | journal=Nature | volume=531 | issue=7595 | pages=496–499 | doi=10.1038/nature17160 | pmid=26958830 | bibcode=2016Natur.531..496G }}</ref>