Lying - by Sam Harris

Date read: 2016-07-29
How strongly I recommend it: 6/10
(See my list of 150+ books, for more.)

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Quick read on the implications and truth about lying. Challenges the idea that "white lies" have a small impact and discusses the idea of full truth.

My Notes

We often behave in ways that are guaranteed to make us unhappy.

Lying is the royal road to chaos.

To lie is to intentionally mislead others when they expect honest communication.

Honesty is a gift we can give to others. It is also a source of power and an engine of simplicity. Knowing that we will attempt to tell the truth, whatever the circumstances, leaves us with little to prepare for. Knowing that we told the truth in the past leaves us with nothing to keep track of. We can simply be ourselves in every moment.

A commitment to telling the truth requires that one pay attention to what the truth is in every moment.

Sincerity, authenticity, integrity, mutual understanding-these and other sources of moral wealth are destroyed the moment we deliberately misrepresent our beliefs, whether or not our lies are ever discovered.

By lying, we deny our friends access to reality-and their resulting ignorance often harms them in ways we did not anticipate.

When we pretend not to know the truth, we must also pretend not to be motivated by it. This can force us to make choices that we would not otherwise make.

Willingness to be honest-especially about things that one might be expected to conceal-often leads to much more gratifying exchanges with other human beings.

A commitment to the truth is naturally purifying of error.

To truly have integrity, we must not feel the need to lie about our personal lives.

We seem to be predisposed to remember statements as true even after they have been disconfirmed.