Can lying be justified?


The urban dictionary defines to lie as an act of imposing a distorted reality. The urban dictionary also defines to lie as “an art that is very hard to master and dangerous to fail at”.
But can you lie without thinking about the consequences. ?

First of all the psychology of lying can be a complicated concept due to people lying for different reasons. Some people lie to protect someone or something, while others lie in an attempt to avoid punishment. Even though others lie as an impulse or to show themselves in a way they aren't. However, some liars tell lies pathologically which is the behavior of compulsive or habitually lying, this is unlike lying to avoid hurting someone's feelings or getting into trouble. In fact, A pathological liar seems to lie for no apparent reason or beneficial in any way.
Also, everyone tells lies once in a while or often depending on your goal, however, there are many types of liars for example :
-The lies give them control
-The lies matter to the liar
-They want people to like them
These are some of the most “normal” or “regular” ones, although there are liars like:
-To inflate their image
-To cover up a mistake
-They lie to take the easy way out
Additionally, people are most likely to lie when they are ‘pushed into a corner’ and are the easiest way to react.

Following this some lies are called ‘little white lies’, a little white lie is a lie with good intentions. In fact, people who tell white lies are most likely to avoid hurting someone’s feelings. In addition to this white lies are never actually harmless and never beneficial, even though these little white lies are most likely to avoid someone getting hurt to keep this lie going you have to tell even bigger lies. Therefor no matter what little white lie you tell it's still a very negative and very destructive practice.


But can lying be justified?
From an ethical point of view is that a lie is still a lie. Those who follow consequentialist theories are concerned about the consequences of lying and if it would be a better result than telling the truth. Consequentialists process information from both sides of the rightness and wrongness and produces a result. So if telling a lie produces a better result than not telling it¸then, of course, telling it would be a better decition to do. In fact, this has a commonsense appeal but it also needs a person to work out this in advance and although consequences are hard to predict because of:
-Consequences are hard to predict
-How do we decide what is good and bad?
-Measuring good and bad is hard
-What consequences are relevant
Immanuel Kant was a philosopher believed that lying was always wrong. He thought we should treat each other as an end in itself. However, lying to someone is not trying them as an end in themselves but to get what the liar wants. overall lying is morally acceptable.

In conclusion a lie is still a lie, a white lie is a lie, a half truth is a lie, a hidden truth is a lie, a lie by omission is a lie, a lie is a lie. therefore lying is not encouraged, but due to people lying for different reasons its somewhat accepted, if you are aware of the consequenses.