Lying: deception in human affairs

Abstract

Seeking to clarify the concept of lying, I deal with several topics on which ideas vary. I consider the symbolic, intentional, misleading, and relational character of lies, and include secrecy and other forms of deliberate deception within lies on the basis of these components. Next, I distinguish between human and nonhuman deception, invoking the concepts of symbols, role‐taking, self, and mind. Following this, I present several representative categories of the infinite array of benign and exploitive social contexts in which lying occurs. In a brief discussion, I then impugn the commonly‐used notion of “self‐deception” as internally contradictory. And, finally, I describe both negative and positive consequences of deception in human affairs.

Citation

Meltzer, B.M. (2003), "Lying: deception in human affairs", International Journal of Sociology and Social Policy, Vol. 23 No. 6/7, pp. 61-79. https://doi.org/10.1108/01443330310790598