Few people say they’re liars, for obvious reasons. It’s not exactly the best conversation starter. Yet we all have met people who say otherwise with proud, puffed chests: “I never lie. I tell the truth even when it’ll hurt.” Spoiler: they don’t actually mean it, even if they don’t realize it.
The truth is that we’re taught from early childhood to value honesty, and at least most of us subscribe to such a philosophy of transparency. Still, we’re so used to blatant lies that we fail to take them into account when we make such confident statements regarding our alleged full honesty: white lies.
what exactly is a white Lie?
One early recorded definition of a “white lie” was found in a British article of The Gentleman’s Magazine, and it went as follows: “A white lie is that, which is not intended to injure anybody in his fortune, interest, or reputation, but only to gratify a garrulous disposition and the itch of amusing people by telling them wonderful stories.”
In other words, sometimes we lie to highlight a facade. That’s a common motivation, yet surely not the sole driving force.
Think of your college experience so far, and you’ll easily spot moments in which you just wanted to stay home and watch a movie instead of going out with your friends, so you told them you had a project due. You may have experienced a time when you told yourself you would clean your room after a task, but as soon as you got back, something else seemed to be more appealing than making your bed. These excuses are small and trivial; you just wanted a night in instead of cleaning, but they’re still lies!
The ethics of white lies
The key difference between a white lie and a normal lie is the motivation behind it, the scope that it takes, and the degree of truthfulness that it carries. Most people would say that white lies are benign because they’re often stated to avoid hurting somebody’s feelings. It’s a similar sentiment to the common breakup phrase, “It’s not you, it’s me,” as you’re rejecting someone, when you know for a fact, it is them.
A white lie is closer to the truth, and it’s more socially acceptable, yet… does that make it ethical?
according to immanuel kant
The answer to that lies in who you ask. Many philosophers throughout the years have attempted to shed light on this issue and arrived at different conclusions. German philosopher Immanuel Kant, for instance, defended that lying is always wrong with no exceptions, because of his categorical imperative: one should only act in ways that could become universal rules, and if everyone lied, trust would vanish.
Telling a lie, from Kant’s perspective, violates one’s dignity. Professor Sandel, from Harvard University, offers an alternative way to look at this by raising the possibility that there might be a distinction between an outright lie and a misleading truth.
He describes a situation in which someone gives you a tie as a gift, and you hate it. When they ask you what you think, perhaps instead of bluntly lying, “It’s beautiful,” he suggests you could say, “I’ve never seen a tie like that!” Now that could be considered a backhanded compliment if you ask me, but take that as you will and use it with responsibility.
according to john stuart mill
Another philosopher you can analyze is John Stuart Mill. According to his writings, what makes an action moral or not depends on the outcome that it brings (an academic trend called utilitarianism). Its focus is on maximizing overall joy, and it determines that people should choose the action that creates a net positive result.
In this context, one could make the argument that a white lie, such as “I believe you will do great in your calculus exam today,” even though you know this person is terrible at math, could be considered moral if the outcome is to encourage them and, hence, contribute to them doing better.
according to aristotle
Personally, I’m a self-proclaimed nerd, so I’ll give you one more author for your deliberation. In case you still aren’t convinced that you’ve found your match, it would be a crime not to shout out Aristotle. Aristotle centers his reasoning on virtue ethics (the properties of character) instead of specific rules one ought to follow. Lying is usually seen as a violation of a crucial virtue, honesty.
Think about courage; it can be a trait when it helps you apply to your dream internship despite your fear of rejection. Courage can also, in the wrong amounts, convince you that facing an exam without any prior studying seems reasonable, which would constitute recklessness.
The same thought process could be applied in the discussion of white lies: honesty is a virtue, but so is kindness. Perhaps being brutally honest and saying, “You didn’t contribute anything, so the rest of us had to pick up your slack” to a group member that, in fact, didn’t help in any substantial way in a project, may be inflated honesty and deflated kindness. The important message here is that every situation needs different doses of each virtue, and wisdom is the correct way to apply their balance to your life.
The ethical status of white lies, therefore, remains subject to ongoing debate. It can vary depending on which framework one uses to evaluate. If each of these philosophers were judges, which one would you want to decide the case that puts your daily white lies around campus on trial?
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