Discussion Is telling the truth always good?

[casctb]

I recently watched a Youtube video where truth was brought up. Everyone in the comments were all for it and said they weren't afraid of the truth, they wanted the people around them to be honest all the time but I'm skeptical. Is telling the complete truth in every situation to anyone around always a good thing? Are there times where telling the truth is unnecessary or even do more harm than good?

 

[Dr Iron Arc]

Well in the Lilo and Stitch tv show one of the experiments designed to make society fall apart was an automatic lie detector that could not be turned off.

Like it or not, lies make the world go round. Unraveling one could cause widespread chaos. There are plenty of times when it's better to lie than to always tell the truth. What if you've been kidnapped and your kidnapper is forcing you to lie? What if you tell the truth about denting someone's car and they sue you for it? Those are just minor examples I can think of but civilization is just so complex that there's no way being truthful all the time will be able to hold it up.

 

[Life_and_Death]

I think some some situations. I can't think of any right now but I know I have a few things I keep to myself and lie about when the topic comes up. Oh I thought of one.

My husband's dog had just passed away and my husband wasn't too happy about it. So after dropping him off at the vet to be cremated I suggested we go to his fave local restaurant for some supper. I run inside and he waits in the vehicle. The son told me that they were closed. His dad however came over and I explained the situation (plus knowing us from previous visits) he then decided that even though he was closed he would make us some food. I don't tell my husband about this because I don't want him to feel like he caused anyone problems.

 

[TheSoulless]

Lies are better sometimes, like the others here said. The tough thing is to evaluate the situation you're in and make the decision of whether to lie or not.

 

[MartyByrde]

In a word: no.

That's not to say truth isn't important. It's a critical part of all sorts of relationships. However, I do find that while people claim to want the truth, it's not always something they can genuinely handle. Many people will hold the truth against you in one way or another.

 

[XYZ]

Truth is oftentimes so poorly lit that what we perceive to be the truth is in fact nothing more than a shadow on a wall or a distorted image filtered through the lens of our knowledge, culture, expectations and fears.

It would be absurd for me to ask of myself and others to not tell lies, given the elusive nature of what those commentators on YouTube casually refer to as "the truth".

I have no idea what the truth is, so asking me to speak it is completely ludicruous.

 

[NeverGoodEnuff]

Thr truth according to whom?

 

[MrBlue]

While facts don't, and shouldn't change, I think truth is kinda subjective to the context of a situation. Like if somebody asked if they were fat, they're not neccessarily asking whether they are overweight, but if they fit the negative connotations with being fat (ie:ugly, lazy etc), so if they don't I wouldn't say they are fat because of the context.

That's just me though, I'm awful at outright lying so I tend to try to either deflect the question so I can tell the truth, or not answer at all. I know some people use "telling the truth" as an excuse to be hurtful or not to think about what they are going to say before they do.

 

[Mr2005]

If it's for their own good then yeah but not everyone will care either way. Some people will use it as an excuse to be horrible. The kind who can give it but can't take it. This is where the whole censorship/freedom of speech debate comes from

 

[Myforevercharlie]

Hmmm.. depends on the situation I guess. Being honest is always better, but why hurt people if it's a little thing?
My best friend got a new vase last week, an absolute atrocitie in my opinion. She asked if I liked it. But I'm not going to tell her that. She loved it, that's what matters more than me telling her she has bad taste.