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Lying despite telling the truth.

Alex Wiegmann1, Jana Samland1, Michael R Waldmann1

  • 1Department of Psychology, University of Göttingen, Germany.

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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Lying is defined by the speaker's belief in falsehood, not objective truth. New research supports this subjective view, showing people consider lies based on intent, even if the statement is accidentally true.

Keywords:
Conversational pragmaticsFalsityLyingMoral cognitionTruth

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Area of Science:

  • Philosophy of Language
  • Cognitive Science
  • Psychology

Background:

  • The standard definition of lying hinges on the agent's belief that their statement is false.
  • This subjective view allows for a lie to be factually true.
  • Empirical research has challenged this, suggesting people view lies as objectively false statements.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To re-evaluate the definition of lying in light of recent empirical challenges.
  • To demonstrate that the subjective view of lying is compatible with empirical findings when conversational pragmatics are considered.
  • To provide experimental evidence supporting the subjective definition of lying.

Main Methods:

  • Three experiments were conducted to test the subjective view of lying directly.
  • A fourth experiment utilized the case of making a promise to support the pragmatic hypothesis.
  • The study analyzed participants' judgments of statements as lies under various conditions.

Main Results:

  • Experimental results consistently supported the subjective view of lying.
  • The findings indicate that conversational pragmatics play a crucial role in how people assess lies.
  • Evidence suggests that even accidentally true statements made with the belief of falsehood are considered lies.

Conclusions:

  • The subjective definition of lying, where belief in falsehood is key, remains valid.
  • Conversational pragmatics explain apparent contradictions in empirical data.
  • The study reinforces the importance of intent and belief in the philosophy of lying.