What Is The Difference Between The Truth And A Lie?
A lie is much easier to identify than the truth. A lie is a statement made with intent to deceive. The intent is the key here: if I tell you that New York is in Canada, and I really believe that, then I’m not lying, even though the statement is demonstrably untrue, because I myself believe it – I am TRYING to tell the truth. On the other hand, if you are not sure where New York is, and I tell you it’s in Canada – maybe because I want to you fail a test, look silly or whatever – then I have told a lie. We often speak of “white lies”, ie lies told with good intentions. For instance, if a friend’s outfit doesn’t look good, but s/he has no time to change it, it’s kinder to say “you look great” than to be honest. Technically this is still a lie, it’s just that most of u wouldn’t consider it wrong. But as for what truth is – we may agree on physical facts, but abstract “truth” is a very tricky concept. We can only say that, if you are trying to be honest, then you are, as far as you know, sp
