Are there any instances in which it is acceptable to lie?

Question

Are there any instances in which it is acceptable to lie?

Answer 1

Of course there is as long it's a little white lie. That's why they call them that. I think your contience will let you know what kind of a lie it is.

Answer 2

depends... "Santa Claus" might be a good example... although we're still mad about that one... another thought we’ve been playing with is lying to better illustrate an idea or concept… metaphors and such… acceptable and good are not the same... also we have a very strict sense of lying... for us it is more about intent... if I want to know something... and you know that something... and I make my desire to know that something known to you... anything less then giving me that information I want is a lie...  

Answer 3

In order to avoid hurting someone's feelings.  

Answer 4

If the lie you are telling harms no one and saves someone from harm, then yes, I think it is acceptable to tell that lie.  For example, if you were living in France under n**i occupation and were hiding a Jewish family and a German soldier asked you, do you know where this family is?  Then by all means, lie, lie, lie!!

Answer 5

Law is life itself and not the rules of its conduct. Evil is a transgression of law, not a violation of the rules of conduct pertaining to life, which is the law. Falsehood is not a matter of narration technique but something premeditated as a perversion of truth. The creation of new pictures out of old facts, the restatement of parental life in the lives of offspring--these are the artistic triumphs of truth. The shadow of a hair's turning, premeditated for an untrue purpose, the slightest twisting or perversion of that which is principle--these constitute falseness. But the fetish of factualized truth, fossilized truth, the iron band of so-called unchanging truth, holds one blindly in a closed circle of cold fact. One can be technically right as to fact and everlastingly wrong in the truth.

Answer 6

if it is to the benefit of others that are good and not just you, then yes

Answer 7

in the bible reference is made to rahab a woman who had to tell a lie to hide the men of God from the pursuers.  she has been and is being praised for her good deed.

Answer 8

Absolutely.  All day/every day we tell little white lies to make people feel better, avoid confrontation, etc., the world would be simply horrible if we didn't.

Think about when a child asks if you think their drawing is pretty or do you like their story or do you want to watch Lion King for the millionth time or do you think they played well in the game.  

Am I fat? Do you think I'm pretty?  Your boss asks if you mind doing this or coming in early or staying late.  You come in late because you were interviewing for another job but replace job with doctor's appointment.  In-laws ask if you "want" to have dinner with them on Sunday.  Loan apps ask how much you make.  How much do you weigh?  What size do you wear?, etc. etc.

Answer 9

Just to give you an answer that is entirely different:  Kant says no.  It is never acceptable to lie.  He bases this on his famous dictum that you should only act such that your action could become a universal law.  If it became a universal law that lies are acceptable, it would undermine the very structure of human thought and law.  A lie only works because the person you are lying to accepts what you are saying as true.  If it was accepted that everyone was capable of lying it would be necessary to consider that the contract will not be upheld, the promise not kept, etc.  Kant went so far as to claim that if you lied to protect an innocent person who was hiding in your attic from a mad man, you would be assuming responsibility for whatever consequences ensued.  For example, if you lie about the person being in the attic and then that person is caught escaping out the window of the attic, that would be your fault, for if you had told the truth, as you knew it, the mad man would have gone up the stairs and missed catching the escaping victim.  This is an extreme defense of telling the truth, but it is worth the effort to think out the implications because it reveals a system that rejects the idea that we can be responsible for consequences and one that assumes we are responsible for consequences.  This is a main battleground in the discipline called Philosophy.  

Answer 10

yes if for a good cause it is good to lie.

Answer 11

If you're lying to avoid hurting someone's feelings, to keep someone safe, or to keep children from being afraid, then yes, I think it's acceptable.  If you're lying to keep yourself or someone else out of trouble when they've done something wrong, then no, it's not OK.