Circum Spective

SOCIAL CONTRACT THEORY

Definition from Wikipedia: A broad class of theories that try to explain the ways in which people form states and/or maintain social order. The notion of the social contract implies that the people give up some rights to a government or other authority in order to receive or maintain social order.

Definition from an episode of House: Collaborative lies. Giving someone a hand who maybe needs to deceive himself. For example you tell me that my nose suits my face and, in return, I don't mention that the pants you're wearing make you look even fatter than you look in your other clothes.

Thus, in a sense, they are very much the same theory. In the first, people give up rights to a government in order to maintain social order (or so they are led to believe), and in the second, people give up the ability to know and tell the truth in exchange for not hurting each other's feelings.
Gosh, that second one sounds sooo worth it! What a great contract ... exclaimed the Father of Lies with utmost glee.

[For those who would like to read more about Social Contract Theory: Thomas Hobbes (1651), John Locke (1689) and Jean-Jaques Rousseau (1762) are the most famous philosophers of contractarianism, which formed the theoretical groundwork of democracy and republicanism. Just Google those names and you'll have more to read than you ever really wanted to read on the subject.]

Speaking of lies, let's talk about lies for a few minutes ... shall we?

To lie is to state something that one knows to be false or that one has not reasonably ascertained to be true with the intention that it be taken for the truth. One may lie to oneself as well as to others. In fact, lying to oneself may be even more undesirable and destructive than lying to others. At least when you lie intentionally to another, you know that what you have said is a lie. But to be self-deceived -- that is, to tell oneself a lie and believe it to be the truth -- is a dangerous position in which to be.

Types of lies

Lies come in all shapes and sizes. For example, one of the more common lies is told when someone submits a statement as truth, without knowing for certain whether or not it actually is true. Although the statement may be possible or plausible, it is not based on fact. Rather, it is based on a certain amount of speculation and could be more accurately described as an educated guess. However, the person boldly asserting it conveniently fails to qualify the statement by using words such as, "I believe ... " or "I read somewhere that ..." or "I am fairly certain that ...".

Lying by omission

One lies by omission by omitting an important fact, deliberately leaving another person with a misconception. Lying by omission includes failures to correct pre-existing misconceptions.

White lie

A white lie would cause only relatively minor discord if it were uncovered, and typically offers some benefit to the hearer. White lies are often used to avoid offense, such as complimenting something one finds unattractive. In this case, the lie is told to avoid the harmful realistic implications of the truth. As a concept, it is largely defined by local custom and cannot be clearly separated from other lies with any authority.

Noble lie

A noble lie is one which would normally cause discord if it were uncovered, but which offers some benefit to the liar and assists in an orderly society, therefore potentially beneficial to others. It is often told to maintain law, order and safety.

Emergency lie

An emergency lie is a strategic lie told when the truth may not be told because, for example, harm to a third party would result. For example, a neighbor might lie to an enraged wife about the whereabouts of her unfaithful husband, because said wife might reasonably be expected to inflict physical injury should she encounter her husband in person.

Perjury

The act of lying or making verifiably false statements on a material matter under oath or affirmation in a court of law, or in any of various sworn statements in writing. Perjury is a crime, because the witness has sworn to tell the truth and, for the credibility of the court to remain intact, witness testimony must be relied on as truthful.

Bluffing

To bluff is to pretend to have a capability or intention which one does not actually possess.

Misleading/Dissembling

A misleading statement is one where there is no outright lie, but still retains the purpose of getting someone to believe in an untruth. "Dissembling" likewise describes the presentation of facts in a way that is literally true, but intentionally misleading.

Exaggeration

I think we're all familiar with this one.

Jocose lies

Jocose lies are those which are meant in jest, and are usually understood as such by all present parties. Teasing and sarcasm are examples.

Contextual lies

One can state part of the truth out of context, knowing that without complete information, it gives a false impression. Likewise, one can actually state accurate facts, yet deceive with them. To say "yeah, that's right, I slept with your best friend" utilizing a sarcastic, offended tone, may cause the listener to assume the speaker did not mean what he said, when in fact he did.

Puffery

An exaggerated claim typically found in advertising and publicity announcements, such as "the highest quality at the lowest price," or "always votes in the best interest of all the people," or "even a jeweler cannot tell it from a genuine diamond."

Lying in Trade

The seller of a product or service may advertise untrue facts about the product or service in order to gain sales, especially by competitive advantage. Many countries have enacted laws that hold sellers liable for omission of any material fact that the buyer relies upon.

Lie by obsolete signage

Examples are the continued use of old stationery that has printed information such as a previous telephone number, or advertising that remains painted on a wall after an enterprise has ceased business.

Psychology of lying

Young children learn from experience that stating an untruth can avoid punishment for misdeeds, before they develop the theory of mind necessary to understand why it works. In this stage of development, children will sometimes tell outrageous and unbelievable lies, because they lack the conceptual framework to judge whether a statement is believable, or even to understand the concept of believability. When children first learn how lying works, they lack the moral understanding of when to refrain from doing it. It takes years of watching people tell lies, and the results of these lies, to develop the ability to lie convincingly.

Morality of lying

The philosophers Saint Augustine, Thomas Aquinas and Emmanuel Kant, condemned all lying. According to all three, there are no circumstances in which one may lie. One must be murdered, suffer torture, or endure any other hardship, rather than lie, even if the only way to protect oneself is to lie. Each of these philosophers gave several arguments against lying, all compatible with each other.

Telling one, or even a few lies does not make one a "liar". However, habitual or compulsive lying or an excessive or abnormal propensity for lying and exaggerating does qualify one as a "liar". Jesus refers to Satan as the father of lies (John 8:44) and Paul commands Christians "Do not lie to one another" (Colossians 3:9, Cf.Leviticus 19:11). God says "..all liars shall have their part in the lake that burns with fire and brimstone: which is the second death." [Rev 21:8]

What do you think about that "social contract" (agreement to lie or to not speak the truth to each other) now?

A liar is a person who tends to lie repeatedly. The more one lies (big, small, white, by omission, or whatever), the easier it becomes to tell more lies ... and the more difficult it becomes to stop lying.

Self-deception is the most dangerous form of lie. How can your conscience, or a friend ... or God pull you back from the edge of that Lake if you have been telling yourself lies for so long that you can no longer even recognize the truth ... for so long that your own conscience is no longer even a part of the equation, having been deadened by repeated rejections? That is a dangerous place to live, folks.

Because it is a matter of life and death (literally and eternally), I recommend we all ask God to help us see where we are habitually or repeatedly deceiving ourselves or others.

Are you a Christian? Or do you just claim to be one? Do you believe the Bible? Do you believe that all liars will have their part in the lake that burns? Are you so smug or so arrogant or so self-deceived that you don't even think you need to pray about this one? I hope not. For your sake.