Do you categorize different lies by degrees of severity, or are all lies the same to you?

Question

I distinguish between a lie that's told with the intent to harm, or defraud another person, versus a lie that someone tells to make themselves look good, and a lie a person tells to protect themselves from harm. Some overly judgmental people treat them all with the same penalty, and that, to me, is arrogance- and these sorts of people don't tend to think of arrogance as wrong, is the funny thing. Anyone else noticed this?

Answer 1

I think honesty is usually the best policy, but I'm not going to tell a bulimic person that they are fat even if they are.  If someone asks me if I like them while holding a gun to my head, I'm going to lie and say "sure."  In general, though, if you have relationships with people, it's best to keep things straightforward and truthful.

Answer 2

"You butt doesn't look big" - white lie, not a big deal.

"Did you hear how mandy hooked up with bill AND mark? What a s***k!" starting a rumor, pretty bad since it's: a)not true, b) can ruin mandy's social life.

If done to save your life, it's fine- UNLESS it's at the cost of another's life.

Answer 3

some people see black and white, while apparently, you see shades of gray. Its pretty much what a judge has to do by weighing each violation before a verdict is decided.