honestly, lying is a good thing
while watching the news in the school cafe yesterday, i listened to an interview with julian keenan, director of cognitive neuroimaging at montclair state university, discussing the topic of lying. i found myself in agreement with a couple of points he made as he concluded that his studies revealed that lying was not a learned characteristic, but rather something that is innate in all humans; we are born pre-disposed to lie. as a Christian, this is nothing new as Scripture describes the fact that we were all born in sin, what theologians call "total depravity."
now, most people won't argue that lying is something that just comes naturally. after all, who has ever taught a child to lie? undoubtedly, no one because they are all born so darn good at it...i do have a four year old son. what came next is what blew me away: the question was asked of whether or not there were good lies and bad lies; was lying ever a good thing? according to dr. keenan, not only is lying sometimes good, "lying is a sign of high intelligence." dr. keenan's justification for this statement was that one must be able to analyze the other person, quickly determine what they want to hear and then have the ability to come up with a response that satisfies that other person's desire. therefore--and here's the kicker--"if parents could get over the morality and relax a bit, they could think differently when their child takes that cookie."
alright, it's one thing to acknowledge the fact that everyone is susceptible to lying once in a while, whether they like to admit it or not and regardless of how much they prefer not to. it wasn't long ago that people would admit to the occassional "white lie", but they knew that it was wrong...it was a bad thing. now there are people who simply redefine or re-categorize their lying, lessening the impact or importance (see my previous post), but what this man is proposing is a step beyond even that. he suggests that we actually embrace it. When our kids lie to us, we should be thankful because they are demonstrating signs of high cognitive development. how backwards has our society become that what has been considered a sign of deviance since the beginning of time has now become a virtue; a sign of high intelligence? is this really the kind of behavior we now want to actually encourage and instill in our children? this is what is going to make our society better? it seems to me the problems in society are largely because we have gotten over the morals, as if it's a bad case of the flu. therein, i think, lies the problem. postmodern culture has moved beyond the need for a God who has declared absolute truth and morality and, instead, traded in for self-determination and a "morality" defined as whatever works to get ahead. in this way of thinking, lying fits the bill. ask certain people about lying, cheating or stealing and they will usually reply that they wouldn't consider them wrong since there are times when these things are not only acceptable, but are sometimes, if not often, necessary. as c.s. lewis said, however, these same people who believe that these are relative issues rather than absolutes will claim to have been wronged every time they are lied to, cheated, or stolen from. we are being sold a bill of goods by an ideology that is self-defeating but pervasive.
the only thing that made me feel worse about the comments by dr. keenan was the reply from the interviewer: "thank you for joining us...interesting stuff." i suppose we've gotten to the point where we don't even question the absurdities anymore. we listen carefully and take it all in...hook, line and sinker.
now, most people won't argue that lying is something that just comes naturally. after all, who has ever taught a child to lie? undoubtedly, no one because they are all born so darn good at it...i do have a four year old son. what came next is what blew me away: the question was asked of whether or not there were good lies and bad lies; was lying ever a good thing? according to dr. keenan, not only is lying sometimes good, "lying is a sign of high intelligence." dr. keenan's justification for this statement was that one must be able to analyze the other person, quickly determine what they want to hear and then have the ability to come up with a response that satisfies that other person's desire. therefore--and here's the kicker--"if parents could get over the morality and relax a bit, they could think differently when their child takes that cookie."
alright, it's one thing to acknowledge the fact that everyone is susceptible to lying once in a while, whether they like to admit it or not and regardless of how much they prefer not to. it wasn't long ago that people would admit to the occassional "white lie", but they knew that it was wrong...it was a bad thing. now there are people who simply redefine or re-categorize their lying, lessening the impact or importance (see my previous post), but what this man is proposing is a step beyond even that. he suggests that we actually embrace it. When our kids lie to us, we should be thankful because they are demonstrating signs of high cognitive development. how backwards has our society become that what has been considered a sign of deviance since the beginning of time has now become a virtue; a sign of high intelligence? is this really the kind of behavior we now want to actually encourage and instill in our children? this is what is going to make our society better? it seems to me the problems in society are largely because we have gotten over the morals, as if it's a bad case of the flu. therein, i think, lies the problem. postmodern culture has moved beyond the need for a God who has declared absolute truth and morality and, instead, traded in for self-determination and a "morality" defined as whatever works to get ahead. in this way of thinking, lying fits the bill. ask certain people about lying, cheating or stealing and they will usually reply that they wouldn't consider them wrong since there are times when these things are not only acceptable, but are sometimes, if not often, necessary. as c.s. lewis said, however, these same people who believe that these are relative issues rather than absolutes will claim to have been wronged every time they are lied to, cheated, or stolen from. we are being sold a bill of goods by an ideology that is self-defeating but pervasive.
the only thing that made me feel worse about the comments by dr. keenan was the reply from the interviewer: "thank you for joining us...interesting stuff." i suppose we've gotten to the point where we don't even question the absurdities anymore. we listen carefully and take it all in...hook, line and sinker.
Labels: David C. Price
posted by DAVID C. PRICE at 11/19/2004 07:45:00 AM
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2 Comments:
Why is your font so small?
i like to make it so that if my posts don't make you think deeply, the squinty eyes will make you at least look like you are.
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