Weapons of mass destruction, the NSA, and Watergate: many have felt cheated by the lies of the powerful. Yet we all twist the truth to keep people happy and deceive in order to protect. Is lying oddly essential? Should we accept lying as part of personal and public life? Or is there always more beauty in truth?
In this week’s video from the Institute of Art and Ideas, CUNY philosopher and author of Lying for the Sake of Truth James Mahon, Absolutely Fabulous star Helen Lederer, and psychiatrist Mark Salter dissect the ethics of deceit.
This video was produced by The Institute of Art and Ideas and is republished here with permission. It was filmed at HowTheLightGetsIn 2016 alongside 200 other debates and talks, all available for free at IAI TV. Their new podcast, Philosophy for our times, is available here.
