The genius of lying

About the book Much of the moral condemnation of lying has been an obstacle that prevents appreciation of its complex and multifaceted nature. And it is enough for us to set aside the moral judgment on the lying person until we find that observing false situations—with their richness and activity—is an interesting and fruitful matter. The example of Darwin, who was testing the feelings of joy and pain that appeared on his young child's face in order to record them in a study on animal emotions, makes us discover the wide extent of signs of lying and their specific languages. Daily life presents us with multiple scenes of various kinds of lying, private and public. The field of marital infidelity has long been a testing ground where the unfaithful party invents false scenarios, distorts words, and plants bombs, and fabricates clever or naive tricks. The same applies to the political scene when a responsible politician swears an oath of innocence. Of course—we suppress our feelings of envy or contempt—so much as we are shocked by the violation of the sanctity of truth. But a little reflection on human nature and the colors of their speeches makes us realize the astonishing richness of lies and their endless signs. It suffices for us to be able—without always adopting a strictly scientific attitude or the cold nerves of a sarcastic critic—to observe the creative capacity of lying. Publication year 2015 Author: François Nodlam Translation: Iyad Issa Publisher: Saba Page Number of pages: 282