BALD-FACED LIES! LYING WITHOUT THE INTENT TO DECEIVE

Author: SORENSEN, ROY

Source: Pacific Philosophical Quarterly, Volume 88, Number 2, June 2007 , pp. 251-264(14)

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Abstract:

Surprisingly, the fact that the speaker is lying is sometimes common knowledge between everyone involved (the addressee, the general audience, bystanders, etc.). Strangely, we condemn these bald-faced lies more severely than disguised lies. The wrongness of lying springs from the intent to deceive - just the feature missing in the case of bald-faced lies. These puzzling lies arise systematically when assertions are forced. Intellectual duress helps to explain another type of non-deceptive false assertion: lying to yourself. In the end, I conclude that the apparent intensity of our disapproval of non-deceptive lies is a rhetorical illusion.

Document Type: Research article

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1111/j.1468-0114.2007.00290.x

Affiliations: 1: Department of Philosophy Dartmouth College

Publication date: 2007-06-01