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Why Lying Is Not Acceptable and the Consequences of It

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When Lying is Justifiable

Lying is an inevitable behavior, although we may all agree lying is not right, we fall into this behavior many times in our lives. Everyone lies; whether it is to protect, obscure, place blame, or manipulate. As children, most individuals were taught that lying was wrong. From hearing parents say common quotes like, “the truth shall set you free”, or from the many consequences received for lying, people were meant to be have honesty enforced their minds. There is no doubt truth actually is enforced in our minds, according to a study by expert of Developmental Science, Dr. Fu Genyue, Ph.D, “Children of all ages categorize lies as lies and truth as truth” (499). Research in the medical field shows that “deception is judged as justified in some contexts involving the prevention of harm” (Freeman 2274). Of course lying is not acceptable when speaking under oath or at confessions with a priest, but lying is definitely justifiable in certain situations were it can be used as a protection factor to protect the feelings, securities, and lives of others.

We are all put into very awkward situations at some points of our lives where we may feel lying to spare one's feelings was the best option. One common situation is being asked, “Do I look fine in this outfit?”. If the person does look fine it is okay to say so, but it is when that person may not that we produce what is called a “white lie”. While many people may recognize the words “white lie”, there is no clear understanding of what it means. According to Sudhanshu Kumar Mishra, Ph.D, who is a expert in Economics, a white lie is “ a lie used to avoid offense such as complementing something one finds unattractive”(5). According to expert of Developmental Science, Dr. Fu Genyue, Ph.D, telling a white lie is very common, not only in adults, but also in children. “Not only do children lie to

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