One of Us Is Lying and the Problem of Honesty
The moral case for understanding why you tell the truth rather than just assuming you know.
Why do you tell the truth?
Have you ever considered what exactly the value of it is? Most people assume that honesty is always the best policy. However, when you actually put thought into it, the vast majority of people are doing so because they're afraid of the consequences. People tell the truth in order to avoid the stigma and reputation effect that being caught does to them. If you don't have such an incentive, there isn't really any reason to do so. Children learn this fact fairly early on in their lives. It's part of the reason why they blame other people for things they did. Particularly if they have siblings who were in proximity to something that happened.
They have no problem saying that their brother or sister broke a toy or a piece of furniture since they can get away with it. When no person is around, they will blame the family pet or some sort of imaginary figure for what happened. Of course, this is when parents get involved and find ways to punish them for lying. In doing so, children are introduced to the idea of consequences for their actions. It's only then that they learn not to do it. Although this isn't necessarily going to stop them from doing so. As soon as they can find an accomplice to back up their claims, usually in the form of a sibling or a friend, they will make the attempt again.
Only through repeated attempts to lie and repeated failures do they come to understand the idea of honesty as a virtue. The temptation to try and get away with things is maintained. What they can get away with, they will. Including but not limited to getting others to lie about where they're going so that they can do things their parents or other authority figures disapprove of. Drinking, partying, having sex and a variety of other activities can be done so long as you can get someone to vouch for your whereabouts even if you're not there.
One of Us Is Lying is fundamentally about the problem with being honest. When a group of four teenagers are caught up in the scandal of the school gossip's death, they become implicated in his murder. All of them have some reason to take issue with him because of what he does. They all have things they've been lying about which he was aware of at the time of his death. Revealing this information to others makes them look guilty to everyone around them. Which of course means that none of them have any real reason to be honest about who they are and what they've done.
Within this situation, the consequences of being truthful outweigh the value of not revealing what happened. In fact, it's better for them not to tell the truth. So why would they come forward if it's only going to be a problem?
Explore the problem with being honest by checking out One of Us Is Lying.
You can watch it on Peacock TV in the United States and UK, and Amazon Prime elsewhere.
hmm, that's an interesting moral dilemma. i think we've all been in a situation where telling the truth, or at least the whole truth, would probably have been misinterpreted to our disadvantage. it's tough to know what to do in that situation. do you try to explain anyway, keep your mouth shut, or, um, revise your version of events? might have to check this one out, too. ps- i loved 'heels'!