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  3. A Pack of Lies
  • Cited by 154
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    • Publisher:
      Cambridge University Press
      Publication date:
      29 August 2009
      09 June 1994
      ISBN:
      9780511520983
      9780521459785
      DOI:
      https://doi.org/10.1017/CBO9780511520983
      Dimensions:
      Weight & Pages:
      Dimensions:
      (228 x 152 mm)
      Weight & Pages:
      0.332kg, 216 Pages
      • Subjects:
      Philosophy: General Interest, Sociology: General Interest, Philosophy, Sociology
      Series:
      Themes in the Social Sciences
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    Subjects:
    Philosophy: General Interest, Sociology: General Interest, Philosophy, Sociology
    Series:
    Themes in the Social Sciences
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    Book description

    Defining lies as statements that are intended to deceive, this book considers the contexts in which people tell lies, how they are detected and sometimes exposed, and the consequences for the liars themselves, their dupes, and the wider society. The author provides examples from a number of cultures with distinctive religious and ethical traditions, and delineates domains where lying is the norm, domains that are ambiguous and the one domain (science) that requires truthtelling. He refers to experimental studies on children that show how, at an early age, they acquire the capactiy to lie and learn when it is appropriate to do so. He reviews how lying has been evaluated by moralists, examines why we do not regard novels as lies and relates the human capacity to lie to deceit among other animal species. He concludes that although there are, in all societies, good pragmatic reasons for not lying all the time, there are also strong reasons for lying some of the time.

    Reviews

    "Barnes composes a vision of lying that interlaces material from an impressive array of sources...The typology of lies expostulated in the book could possibly provide researchers with a foil for generating testable hypotheses." Mark L. Harvey, Comtemporary Psychology

    "...an impeccably scholarly survey...." Contemporary Sociology

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