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What is a lie?
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<blockquote data-quote="Copabanana" data-source="post: 658349" data-attributes="member: 18958"><p>Swot, I like philosophy too. </p><p></p><p>So, here is a definition of a lie, which seems to require deliberate deception to be considered such.</p><p> A lie is a "false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth."</p><p></p><p>I think it is different for each person and each circumstance. I think with my mother and sister they knew were they lying but it never did bother them. I think each of them believed the end justified the means, and never did think one thing about it afterwards. By the definition above, they were lying, I think, because there was intent, that they may have justified to themselves, but it was there.</p><p></p><p> Yes. I think this is how my mother was. She thought the world was hard and cruel and that justified to her the fact that she could be hard and cruel. As you say, it did become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I think my sister is the same way, justifying whatever she does because of her worldview, and in this way absolving herself of responsibility for her bad acts. And because she behaves in a treacherous and deceitful way, her experience of the world is that her beliefs were true. And it goes on from there.</p><p></p><p> Not necessarily. Because the world is not good.</p><p></p><p>It is just the world with good and bad and all kinds of stuff in the middle. So, to go out into a world like a Polyanna, to me, risks getting eaten alive. Wouldn't that person become bitter and unhappy?</p><p></p><p>To me there is a middle ground, though.</p><p></p><p>You can choose to act as if the world is good while believing the contrary. Kind of like taking a stand for good. No matter what. And doing the right thing, as you see it. And staying committed to do the right thing, regardless of the consequences.</p><p></p><p>This is a kind of act of defiance. Defying the idea of a cruel, rotten world. But at the same time, it works. First, you don't have to roll around in the dirt with everybody who thinks the world is ugly. And at the same time you attract good, as you say, by a positive attitude. People are attracted to good, don't you think? I know Satanists aren't but I'm not that interested in them, either.</p><p></p><p> No, I don't think so. To act as if there is good, and to act from goodness is not to say that the world is good. At least, not to my way of thinking.</p><p></p><p>Think about it. What is the world, really, except a perception, an image in our minds. Of something that is so vast and complex, that everybody that ever lived all together cannot capture an iota of it. So any vision of the world we think we have is not real. Not a lie. But an abstraction. A guess. A schema.</p><p></p><p>All any of us can ever do is pretend based upon what we believe, act as if. So, to me, that means I get to pick how I want to see the world. And that is not a lie, because there was no intention to deceive myself or anybody else. Just the intention to live well.</p><p></p><p>That is my way of thinking.</p><p></p><p>PS SWOT How does the title of this thread about soulmates fit into this topic? I have been trying and trying to figure it out, and cannot.</p><p></p><p>This was fun, Swot. Thank you.</p></blockquote><p></p>
[QUOTE="Copabanana, post: 658349, member: 18958"] Swot, I like philosophy too. So, here is a definition of a lie, which seems to require deliberate deception to be considered such. A lie is a "false statement made with deliberate intent to deceive; an intentional untruth." I think it is different for each person and each circumstance. I think with my mother and sister they knew were they lying but it never did bother them. I think each of them believed the end justified the means, and never did think one thing about it afterwards. By the definition above, they were lying, I think, because there was intent, that they may have justified to themselves, but it was there. Yes. I think this is how my mother was. She thought the world was hard and cruel and that justified to her the fact that she could be hard and cruel. As you say, it did become a self-fulfilling prophecy. I think my sister is the same way, justifying whatever she does because of her worldview, and in this way absolving herself of responsibility for her bad acts. And because she behaves in a treacherous and deceitful way, her experience of the world is that her beliefs were true. And it goes on from there. Not necessarily. Because the world is not good. It is just the world with good and bad and all kinds of stuff in the middle. So, to go out into a world like a Polyanna, to me, risks getting eaten alive. Wouldn't that person become bitter and unhappy? To me there is a middle ground, though. You can choose to act as if the world is good while believing the contrary. Kind of like taking a stand for good. No matter what. And doing the right thing, as you see it. And staying committed to do the right thing, regardless of the consequences. This is a kind of act of defiance. Defying the idea of a cruel, rotten world. But at the same time, it works. First, you don't have to roll around in the dirt with everybody who thinks the world is ugly. And at the same time you attract good, as you say, by a positive attitude. People are attracted to good, don't you think? I know Satanists aren't but I'm not that interested in them, either. No, I don't think so. To act as if there is good, and to act from goodness is not to say that the world is good. At least, not to my way of thinking. Think about it. What is the world, really, except a perception, an image in our minds. Of something that is so vast and complex, that everybody that ever lived all together cannot capture an iota of it. So any vision of the world we think we have is not real. Not a lie. But an abstraction. A guess. A schema. All any of us can ever do is pretend based upon what we believe, act as if. So, to me, that means I get to pick how I want to see the world. And that is not a lie, because there was no intention to deceive myself or anybody else. Just the intention to live well. That is my way of thinking. PS SWOT How does the title of this thread about soulmates fit into this topic? I have been trying and trying to figure it out, and cannot. This was fun, Swot. Thank you. [/QUOTE]
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