Quote:
Originally posted by Dragonlich
This all boils down to the definition of lying. Are you lying when something *might* be false? And if you know it might be?
Lying, like everything on this planet, isn't a pretty black/white thing. Ex: If I told you that the earth was flat, I'd be lying. However, 400 years ago, I'd be telling the "truth" with that same statement, simply because nobody would have known it was a lie, including me...
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I think that lying does include making statements one believes or suspects are false.
Rather, lying depends on one's
intent. If you want to convince someone of your point or to take a course of action they might otherwise not do, then using information you suspect is false or intentionally refusing to research the claim (that is, "don't tell me if you find out this is wrong so my conscious can stay in the clear") is dishonest behavior.
Using your flat earth example:
If you don't know the world is round, then you are just wrong when you say it's flat. If you suspect, or if someone tells you, that it's round and you continue to claim that all known evidence points to the fact that it's flat, then you are being dishonest.
Worse, if you realize you are wrong but want to tell people the original claim, stating something like, "We have a report from our friends in Italy that says the earth is flat" is definately dishonesty even if you then claim, "well,
we never
said it was flat,
they told us it was flat and we just relayed the information."