Lying

A much needed practical exploration on lying and deceit. Harris makes a strong argument for why lying (and especially white lies) in nearly every circumstance, is bad, both in a personal sense and as a categorical imperative. To do this, he dives into the requisite edge-case scenarios — the murderer at the door, the dying wife asking the husband if he has ever cheated, and much more. In a few cases, Harris discusses rare instances in which lying is applicable, and fields a series of crucial questions in his appendix from readers who offer their own experiences.

Harris doesn’t fall into a trap that many other philosophers and authors (of old and new) do when taking this subject on. He does leave space for challenging hypotheticals (espionage, undercover police offices, despotic and dangerous regimes), but his argument whenever possible focuses on the far more important topic of everyday discourse and lifestyle, which is often neglected. He makes a brilliant case for why the short term discomfort of active honesty, even in seemingly trivial situations, facilitates a life and society that in the medium and long term is far happier, sane and productive.