What causes people to tell the truth?

[xisnotx]

My default setting to anyone, at anytime, is to lie...or not tell the whole truth (which might or might not be lying)..

So, what causes one to just naturally tell the truth, the whole truth? Why would anyone tell the truth at all times? Isn't it better (more interesting) to lie, and to try to balance all the webs of lies you've told, without contradicting yourself? Isn't it better to use people's naive belief that people are always (or usually) telling the truth in ways that are beneficial to you?

Why would anyone, by default, tell the truth?

**Before I get flamed..I'll tell the truth if and when I think it's necessary to do so. To some people, and in some situations, I'd rather die than lie. That is, the truth, or what I perceive the truth to be, is sometimes so important that it is more important than my own life. In short, I have, at least I hope, some morals.

 

[Antimony]

Sometimes I lie if I view it is absolutely necessary.

Other than that, I like to know where other people stand, and I like people to know where I stand. That way there is no confusion.

 

[PeaceBaby]

Integrity?

 

[Crescent Fresh]

Sometimes, people use truth to end their suffering.

Like Te-bitchslap from ENFPs.

 

[Qlip]

My default setting to anyone, at anytime, is to lie...or not tell the whole truth (which might or might not be lying)..

So, what causes one to just naturally tell the truth, the whole truth? Why would anyone tell the truth at all times? Isn't it better (more interesting) to lie, and to try to balance all the webs of lies you've told, without contradicting yourself? Isn't it better to use people's naive belief that people are always (or usually) telling the truth in ways that are beneficial to you?

Why would anyone, by default, tell the truth?

Why would I tell the truth? Because everything you said there sounds tiring and unnecessary and overly complicated. I would think a compulsion to do so would be a result of unhealthy impulses.

Even if I wanted to lie by default, eventually I would be caught with it and then be completely discredited with the people that I deal with on a day to day basis.

 

[Tiltyred]

I just really believe the truth will always come out -- also I'm a lousy liar. You can see it on my face and I say stupid things. Then I forget what I said, so months later maybe somebody brings up the subject and says "Remember blah?" and I'll be like, oh, yeah, when thing happened, and then I'll get the GOTCHA. So it's just not in any way worth it to lie.

 

[AphroditeGoneAwry]

I just always have. I abhor lying.

 

[Domino]

I think telling the truth is something like burping cucumbers. It's inevitable.

 

[EJCC]

My default setting to anyone, at anytime, is to lie...or not tell the whole truth (which might or might not be lying)..

So, what causes one to just naturally tell the truth, the whole truth? Why would anyone tell the truth at all times? Isn't it better (more interesting) to lie, and to try to balance all the webs of lies you've told, without contradicting yourself? Isn't it better to use people's naive belief that people are always (or usually) telling the truth in ways that are beneficial to you?

Why would anyone, by default, tell the truth?

It's funny -- sometimes I wonder why people lie by default so I'm in literally exactly the opposite position as you. I just don't bullshit people or mess with them; the thought doesn't even cross my mind. (Which confuses my ISTP and INTJ friends to no end!!)

Part of my answer to your question is just to agree with [MENTION=10714]Qlip[/MENTION] and [MENTION=5999]PeaceBaby[/MENTION]. But another part of my answer is a response to the bolded. I don't care about what's more interesting, when interacting with people. If my interactions with people ever have an impersonal, selfish objective, it's not to have fun, it's to achieve maximum productivity. Problems get solved faster when you're honest and direct.

I don't think finding backhanded ways to do that is a fun activity, partly because I'm not good at it, and partly because I get a bad taste in my mouth whenever I do. And if/when someone found out that I'd done that to them, they'd think I was an asshole, and I would agree with them, and feel guilty. Friendships end through that kind of revelation. Therefore, I wouldn't want to take that risk for the sake of my personal entertainment. There are kinder, safer, and more fulfilling ways to have fun.

On a broader and more philosophical level (unrelated to my individual experience), I'd say that what makes people tell the truth is probably 1) that it's easier to just say what's on your mind, and 2) that people are disinclined to lie, through socialization. If we were all raised in societies where we thought lying was better than telling the truth, I have no doubt that we'd all be lying right now. But that's not the case.

 

[ThatGirl]

What reason do I have to lie?

It is other people who make judgments about what I should have, or had not, said because of whatever it means to them. That bothers my 8.

Oh you want truth? I'll give you the truth!

 

[Anew Leaf]

Everything I say is a lie.

Except that.

And that.

And that.

And That.

And that.

And... well, you see where this is going.

 

[Lady_X]

My default setting to anyone, at anytime, is to lie...or not tell the whole truth (which might or might not be lying)..

So, what causes one to just naturally tell the truth, the whole truth? Why would anyone tell the truth at all times? Isn't it better (more interesting) to lie, and to try to balance all the webs of lies you've told, without contradicting yourself? Isn't it better to use people's naive belief that people are always (or usually) telling the truth in ways that are beneficial to you?

Why would anyone, by default, tell the truth?

**Before I get flamed..I'll tell the truth if and when I think it's necessary to do so. To some people, and in some situations, I'd rather die than lie. That is, the truth, or what I perceive the truth to be, is sometimes so important that it is more important than my own life. In short, I have, at least I hope, some morals.

lying is mostly pointless and potentially hurtful. i only lie to spare someones feelings and even that is rare...i'd be more likely to sweeten up the difficult truth....and...my memory for details completely suck. i forget them enough as it telling the truth...i would just make a terrible liar.

 

[wolfy]

I'm aware of how lies can come back and bite you in the ass. It's better to bite the bullet and tell the truth. I decided to tell the truth all the time at some point. I think there is a lot of truth to the phrase the truth will set you free. Not in a staid moralistic way but in a more pragmatic straight forward way. Here it is, deal with it. Here I am, deal with it.

 

[CrystalViolet]

I don't lie. I exclude information if it's not absolutely necessary. I may soften the blow if it's a particularly harsh truth, but I won't lie.

 

[Elfa]

YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!!

Ok, seriously: my default position is telling the truth. I don't like not telling the truth. I lie only if it's absolutely necessary for the moment (I just thought about it right now: if people are used to me telling the truth, they may believe me more easily when I lie - which is good, since that lie was necessary ). But I don't even remember the last time I lied, I really don't use to do it... Well, I played poker yesterday, but I was the first to leave the game without anything. ¬¬

 

[Red Herring]

Besides the obvious arguments that

- society is sort of based on the assuption that people tell the truth unless they have a strong motive to do otherwise (there are normally controls in place for that) and
- you safe yourself the work of having to keep up a net of lies and the embarassment when truth comes out

I can tell you - speaking strictly for myself - that hate to lie because it is ugly. Not ugly as in immoral but ugly as in an artist who is forced by circumstances to ruin his painting with an ugly line. It is more about throwing bad information out there when you know better. False data is ugly data.

There is a scene in Foucault's Pendulum, if I remember correctly, where one of the side characters explains that he never stirs his tea to dissolve the sugar lump and prefers to wait for it to dissolve completely on its own because the stirring movement is unnecessary and would only contribute a little more chaos to the universe.

Well, that's how I feel about lies. They are a smudge on the glass that distort the picture of reality. That's bad.



(If we are talking white lies, I would prefer to either keep my mouth shut or break it to them gently. If we are talking about lies that actually hurt people to gain yourself an advantage, well, I think the same principles would apply that generally stop people from stabbing or robbing their neighbor - and I don't mean police presence )

 

[entropie]

 

[Kyrielle]

My default setting to anyone, at anytime, is to lie...or not tell the whole truth (which might or might not be lying)..

So, what causes one to just naturally tell the truth, the whole truth? Why would anyone tell the truth at all times? Isn't it better (more interesting) to lie, and to try to balance all the webs of lies you've told, without contradicting yourself? Isn't it better to use people's naive belief that people are always (or usually) telling the truth in ways that are beneficial to you?

Why would anyone, by default, tell the truth?

**Before I get flamed..I'll tell the truth if and when I think it's necessary to do so. To some people, and in some situations, I'd rather die than lie. That is, the truth, or what I perceive the truth to be, is sometimes so important that it is more important than my own life. In short, I have, at least I hope, some morals.

Because I'm too lazy to not tell the truth? You think I want to spend all my precious time and energy maintaining that kind of mess when I don't have to? It's easier by far to shoot straight. That doesn't mean I tell the truth all the time, of course. That isn't useful, either. Instead, I tell the truth most of the time, while occasionally omitting information that isn't beneficial or important. I can also admit to occasionally telling white lies, though sometimes I do so without realizing I've done it until it's too late. At which point, I immediately ask myself, "Why did I just say that? There was no reason to hide that information." Inevitably, it comes down to trying to save face, though I usually fail at it. But that attempt is almost reflex at this moment. Very odd.

Anyway, in my job I HAVE to try to assume my customers are telling the truth at first. If I didn't, I'd be offending everyone by making them feel like a bunch of criminals and I would waste valuable time. That doesn't mean I don't eventually catch the liars. You just have to be patient and wait for the contradictory information to inevitably surface, or for them to have a "look" about them that I can't describe, but usually detect.