A great man – what is he? . . .He rather lies than tells the truth; it requires more spirit and will. There is a solitude within him that is inaccessible to praise or blame, his own justice that is beyond appeal. –Friedrich Nietzsche (‘The Will to Power’)
I concluded my last entry with a definition: Lying = an intentionally deceptive message in the form of a statement.
There are many philosophers and theologians who would accept this definition – but not all. One of the things we do know is that the choice of definition frequently presents a moral dilemma. Specific religious and moral traditions have been – continue to be – rigorously, if not absolutely, opposed to all lying; my definition is too narrow for them.
Yet, when examined more closely even these ‘absolutist’ traditions define lying in such a way that some deceptions-falsehoods did not ‘count’ as lying. The Dutch jurist, Hugo Grotius (considered by many as the ‘Father of International Law’) argued on the behalf of Protestant thinkers that speaking falsely to those – like thieves – to whom truthfulness is not owed cannot be called lying.
The ‘absolutist’ tradition was so confining that ‘wiggle room’ was necessary (actually, much of what emerged was a much larger room than a ‘wiggle room’). One ‘out’ was the emergence of what is commonly called the ‘mental reservation.’ The beauty of this concept is that I can tell you a lie and convince myself that I am not lying. What a great concept! This is how it works.
‘Richard, did you cut down the cherry tree?’ After a bit of quick thinking I reply, with great conviction: ‘No I did not!’ Now, I add the ‘mental reservation.’ In my ‘mind’ I add these words: I did not cut down the cherry tree last week. This is a true statement. With my ‘mental reservation’ I make my ‘verbal statement’ true; I do not ‘tell a lie.’ Yup, this is truly a great concept.
By adding these addenda to the definition I can subscribe to a strict tradition and at the same time have the leeway to practice what I truly desire – in this case, to lie without lying.
Here is another example. My son, Nathan, when he was 12 years old announced the following (I do not remember the situation but his insightful words have remained with me). Nathan announced: Dad, I will never lie to you; I will always tell you the truth. ….Pause…. As long as you ask me the right question! How great is that. How many young folk actually abide by this rule? Actually, we adults are even better at this; we have built upon this. One way we do this is to deflect the question (listen to a daily Whitehouse press briefing and you can experience this being played out on a daily basis; yesterday’s was a classic).
Consider this, gentle reader, that whenever a law or rule is so strict that most folks cannot actually live by it, creative efforts to discern loopholes quickly ensue; the rules about lying are no exceptions. We will continue exploring this next time.
Today I will conclude with the words of the goddess Athena. She is addressing Odysseus in the ‘Odyssey’:
Whoever gets around you must be sharp
and guileful as a snake; even a god
might bow to you in ways of dissimulation.
You! You chameleon!
Bottomless bag of tricks! Here in your own country
would you not give your stratagems a rest
or stop spellbinding for an instant?
You play a part as if it were your own tough skin…
No more of this, though. Two of a kind, we are,
contrivers, both. Of all men now alive
you are the best in plots and story-telling.
My own fame is for wisdom among the gods –
deceptions, too.
Searcher-Seeker 
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