We all lie early and often. The first lie that babies tell is at about six months when they lie to their mother and tell her, chemically, that she needs to steal nutrition from the rest of her body and give it to them.
We lie to ourselves, according to the article, because by lying to ourselves the subsequent lies that we tell to others are more believable.
Flashback: 28 May -- 3 Jun
1 hour ago
I am fascinated that the 10 Comandments do not include, "Do not lie," as many people think they do. The applicalbe Commandment is, "Do not bear false witness against your neighbor." This is very different than a general probition against lieing. We must assume that the accumulated wisdom is that it is ok to lie. (Depending on the type of lie, protecting Anne Franke from the Nazis, misleading your significant other about how those pants make her look, etc.)
ReplyDeleteAnother interesting angle to consider, according to Robert Wright in "The Evolution of God" the definition of neighbor is a bit elastic. At the time the Commandments were written down, neighbor probably meant a relatively small in group (tribe), so the Commandment did not extend universally. As time passes the concept of neighbor includes more and more people.