And we should consider every day lost on which we have not danced at least once. And we should call every truth false which was not accompanied by at least one laugh.
-Friedrich Nietzsche
Showing posts with label truth. Show all posts
Showing posts with label truth. Show all posts
Wednesday, December 19, 2007
Sunday, November 04, 2007
Truth be told
Why? why do parents ruin their kids' life, or try, by teaching them things they can't use in life. For example, how many parents try to teach their children to "Always tell the truth!" It's good to always tell the truth, and it's bad to tell a lie - just like that, in black and white.
Why? Why do we do it? When we know perfectly well, that we don't tell the truth all the time ourselves. Do we? If you say you do, that's just another lie.
There is a character named Yudhishthir in Indian (Hindu) mythology, who is reported to be always truthful. Always. But even he, in the mega-war of Mahabharatha had to lie once to gain a strategic advantage. Then there is Lord Krishna who had no such reputation and used anything he could to his advantage. Truth, half-truths, white lies, a blend of truth and lie, he used what he could, based on the situation. But he advocated to his followers, "Do as I say, not as I do!". Fair enough!
There is a book called the Bhagvadgita that is Lord Krishna's discourse in the battleground and provides a kind of code of conduct for the perfect man. It's an excellent book, has been quoted extensively, the principles and ideas are so great that they form a path to enlightenment. Yet, this book, leaves room for 6 occasions to lie. Yes, there are 6 occasions when you may lie without committing a sin.
Still, we want our kids to supersede all of the legendary characters throughout history and be a saint to end all saints. And do they? No! Almost all children learn to lie by the time they learn to speak, if not before.
So what is it that we are gaining by trying to teach them to do something that we ourselves have not been able to do, nobody ever has been able to do, and is not a really prudent course of action in today's society anyway.
So, to recap, parents teach their children something that is impossible and at the same time not useful.
Will it not be more useful, maybe not idealistic but useful, to teach them the difference between truth and different kind of lies? Actually, I wouldn't mind teaching my kids (if and when...) how to lie successfully! It's a skill like other skills and comes in handy. There are a few professions that require good liars (I bet you can name a few), but in today's society, almost all professions need that as an auxilary skill.
Indiscriminate, unnecessary, constant lying will of course be impractical and stupid but the same goes for trying to tell the truth all the time.
In conclusion: There are sooktis (two-liners) in Sanskrit on such topics, one of them says, "If you have to choose between true words and kind words, be kind!"
On my blog, I welcome comments, discussion, debate, even healthy criticism. For this post though, I'd put the same restriction that Christ used, "He who has never told a lie in his life, be the first to say that I am talking through my hat!".
Cheers! :-)
Why? Why do we do it? When we know perfectly well, that we don't tell the truth all the time ourselves. Do we? If you say you do, that's just another lie.
There is a character named Yudhishthir in Indian (Hindu) mythology, who is reported to be always truthful. Always. But even he, in the mega-war of Mahabharatha had to lie once to gain a strategic advantage. Then there is Lord Krishna who had no such reputation and used anything he could to his advantage. Truth, half-truths, white lies, a blend of truth and lie, he used what he could, based on the situation. But he advocated to his followers, "Do as I say, not as I do!". Fair enough!
There is a book called the Bhagvadgita that is Lord Krishna's discourse in the battleground and provides a kind of code of conduct for the perfect man. It's an excellent book, has been quoted extensively, the principles and ideas are so great that they form a path to enlightenment. Yet, this book, leaves room for 6 occasions to lie. Yes, there are 6 occasions when you may lie without committing a sin.
Still, we want our kids to supersede all of the legendary characters throughout history and be a saint to end all saints. And do they? No! Almost all children learn to lie by the time they learn to speak, if not before.
So what is it that we are gaining by trying to teach them to do something that we ourselves have not been able to do, nobody ever has been able to do, and is not a really prudent course of action in today's society anyway.
So, to recap, parents teach their children something that is impossible and at the same time not useful.
Will it not be more useful, maybe not idealistic but useful, to teach them the difference between truth and different kind of lies? Actually, I wouldn't mind teaching my kids (if and when...) how to lie successfully! It's a skill like other skills and comes in handy. There are a few professions that require good liars (I bet you can name a few), but in today's society, almost all professions need that as an auxilary skill.
Indiscriminate, unnecessary, constant lying will of course be impractical and stupid but the same goes for trying to tell the truth all the time.
In conclusion: There are sooktis (two-liners) in Sanskrit on such topics, one of them says, "If you have to choose between true words and kind words, be kind!"
On my blog, I welcome comments, discussion, debate, even healthy criticism. For this post though, I'd put the same restriction that Christ used, "He who has never told a lie in his life, be the first to say that I am talking through my hat!".
Cheers! :-)
Friday, August 03, 2007
A culture of dishonesty
I am watching this TV ad for laser eye surgery, and it says that the surgery costs 395 per eye. "Per eye"! I think most people would want to fix both eyes while they are about it.
But it's not just that. It's in everything we do. Anywhere when you say something that will be read or heard by many people, honesty and factual information becomes secondary to appeal.
Prices are now always 19.95 even though it's 20 quid, they will appear as 19 to a prospective buyer, the visual appeal.
When a product is advertised the good points are embellished to the point where they are just short of falsehood. In case of several toothpastes and toothbrushes I suspect they go beyond falsehoods as long as it can't be challenged in court.
Take a good look at matrimonial ad's, words have different meanings, a "well-adjusted" girl may mean more than 2 months since she was released from the mental asylum.
This tendency is more apparent in case of businesses and corporations than individuals. Recently I had an occasion to buy a used car, and I buy a lot of things from the net, liked used books, and I find that descriptions from individuals usually contain the bad points as well as good. The system of feedbacks to create an honest reputation might have something to do with it.
A placement ad from a big company will talk all about the company's strength, it's ultra-techy image and a whole page full of things that will make it look like it's the only company to work for but there will be no mention of the fact that they laid off a big percentage of their staff in the Y2K crisis, and did it heartlessly, just before a big holiday. Or the fact that 20% of their staff resigns every year because of their policies, work environment or remuneration.
Come to think about it, how many of the "real people" ads have real people in them?
I can go on but I know I don't have to, you can think of countless such examples yourself.
Sounds like "Honesty is the best policy" is no longer the best policy. I am not a preacher of 100% of the truth 100% of the time, no culture could withstand that. On the other hand, as George Vth said, "Once people begin to deviate from the truth, they do not know where to stop!"
What is the result? The result is a common distrust. When a recruiter reads a CV he is prepared to grill the candidate to find out how much of that is true. When a candidate gets a call he always turns to his friends to ask "What kind of company is this?"
Think about the last time you tried a new product or service. Then think about the last time you tried a product or service without the recommendation of a friend or a source independent of the provider of that product or service. You might be surprised.
The ads, the press releases, the speeches, we have learned to take all of them with a grain of salt. We acknowledge them but don't accept them until we can verify ourselves.
The human race has come a long way from the caveman era. And this is the trend. What will happen in the future? Will we all become professional con-men? Will we never believe anyone who says, "Come on in, the water is fine!"?
But it's not just that. It's in everything we do. Anywhere when you say something that will be read or heard by many people, honesty and factual information becomes secondary to appeal.
Prices are now always 19.95 even though it's 20 quid, they will appear as 19 to a prospective buyer, the visual appeal.
When a product is advertised the good points are embellished to the point where they are just short of falsehood. In case of several toothpastes and toothbrushes I suspect they go beyond falsehoods as long as it can't be challenged in court.
Take a good look at matrimonial ad's, words have different meanings, a "well-adjusted" girl may mean more than 2 months since she was released from the mental asylum.
This tendency is more apparent in case of businesses and corporations than individuals. Recently I had an occasion to buy a used car, and I buy a lot of things from the net, liked used books, and I find that descriptions from individuals usually contain the bad points as well as good. The system of feedbacks to create an honest reputation might have something to do with it.
A placement ad from a big company will talk all about the company's strength, it's ultra-techy image and a whole page full of things that will make it look like it's the only company to work for but there will be no mention of the fact that they laid off a big percentage of their staff in the Y2K crisis, and did it heartlessly, just before a big holiday. Or the fact that 20% of their staff resigns every year because of their policies, work environment or remuneration.
Come to think about it, how many of the "real people" ads have real people in them?
I can go on but I know I don't have to, you can think of countless such examples yourself.
Sounds like "Honesty is the best policy" is no longer the best policy. I am not a preacher of 100% of the truth 100% of the time, no culture could withstand that. On the other hand, as George Vth said, "Once people begin to deviate from the truth, they do not know where to stop!"
What is the result? The result is a common distrust. When a recruiter reads a CV he is prepared to grill the candidate to find out how much of that is true. When a candidate gets a call he always turns to his friends to ask "What kind of company is this?"
Think about the last time you tried a new product or service. Then think about the last time you tried a product or service without the recommendation of a friend or a source independent of the provider of that product or service. You might be surprised.
The ads, the press releases, the speeches, we have learned to take all of them with a grain of salt. We acknowledge them but don't accept them until we can verify ourselves.
The human race has come a long way from the caveman era. And this is the trend. What will happen in the future? Will we all become professional con-men? Will we never believe anyone who says, "Come on in, the water is fine!"?
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