Apr 27, 2011 beginning with the moral questions raised about lying since antiquity, sissela bok takes up the justifications offered for all kinds of lieswhite lies, lies to the sick and dying, lies of parents to children, lies to enemies, lies to protect clients and peers. Bok defines lying in the same way as augustine and kant. Moral choice in public and private life by sissela bok publication is among your options to take. Sissela bok on lying and moral choice in private and public life an amplification. Oct 29, 2014 the reticent politician the word reticence is not a common word to hear in everyday life. Sissela bok is a senior visiting fellow at the harvard center for population and development studies. Its continuing broad readership pays tribute to the books.
Bok most clearly begins to present her own theories about lying in chapters 6 and 7, where she examines types of excuses and then tests the types by means of methods of justification and publicity. Well, the subject of lying connects for me, very much, with all of communication, and the amazing thing that we human beings do communicate, in fact, with one another rather well. Lying is a penetrating and thoughtful examination of one of the most pervasive yet little discussed aspects of our public and private lives. Chan school of public health, provided a nuanced view on how lies and secrets in politics have impacted public trust and the 2016 election. Nov 01, 2016 november 1, 2016sissela bok, writer, philosopher, and a senior visiting fellow at the harvard t. Lying moral choice in public and private life sissela bok. Moral choice in public and private life is a 1978 book by philosopher sissela bok that covers the ethical issues in lying, such as intent, result, context, and circumstances. Use the link below to share a fulltext version of this article with your friends and colleagues. Aug 20, 20 here is the case that sissela bok makes for the principle of veracity a principle asserting a very strong moral presumption against lying. As a philosopher and ethicist she has a tendency to make even the most jaded of us pause and ask ourselves many different things. The word politician while more commonly used, has received a bad reputation, at least in the united states, because it has been associated with powerhungry, manipulative public officials who value the progress of their agenda over their own integrity. What truly pushed her into the limelight, however, was her publication lying. It is this intuition which brings lying so naturally within the domain of things.
From the acclaimed author of lying, a brilliant exploration of happiness set in the context of. Sissela bok is opposed to lying, but in her highly selective and tendentious book on the subject she directs her attention primarily to lies told by those occupying positions of power and responsibility in american society. This book explores the ethics of lying, motivations for lying, and in which scenarios that. The consequences of such lies are then explored through a number of concrete. Well, the subject of lying connects for me, very much, with all of communication, and the amazing thing that we human beings. What, she asks you, would it be like to live in a world in which truthtelling was not the common practice. Sissela bok, is the daughter of two nobel prize winners gunnar and alva myrdal of sweden and the wife of the president of. Unless stopped, government leaders will have free rein to manipulate and distort the facts and thus escape accountability to the public. In such a world, you could never trust anything you were told or anything you read. According to robert k fullinwiders article sissela bok on lying and moral choice in private life an amplification, her father, gunnar myrdal, is known for his 1944 study an american dilemma. Feb, 2015 sissela bok is a swedishamerican philosopher who has specialized in the investigation of practical ethical issues. Sissela bok is known for her philosophical work that explores lying and concealment in a way that provokes thought and compliments concepts of communication theory. Moral choice in public and private life, sissela bok acknowledges that, despite numerous religious and moral pronouncements against lying, people almost universally resort to the.
Jul 23, 2018 sissela bok, an expert on lying, its justifications and consequences, makes clear the price we pay when we are lied to. Lying remains in print today, nearly thirty years after its initial publication, and is widely used in the classroom. Sissela bok s lying is a wellwritten book about an obviously interesting subject, deception, and when and under what circumstances it should be employed. In this book, she asserts a very strong moral presumption against lying, which connects to the sissela bok model we learned about in class. Sissela bok 1990 ethics and international affairs 4. While i did find the topic interesting, i do believe that the conclusions would be different had the author taken another perspective into account, stop the ones she discusses within her book. Sissela bok 1934 was born in sweden and is the daughter of gunnar and alva myrdal, two towering midtwentieth century figures, both nobel prize winners. She uses a definition of lying quite like the one from kant above. Gunnar myrdals pathbreaking study, an american dilemma.
Sissela bok was born in sweden and educated in switzerland and france before coming to the united states. She is the daughter of gunnar and alva myrdal, who are considered to have made. Fullinwider explores and amplifies sissela bok s seminal work. Its continuing broad readership pays tribute to the book s. Moral choice in public and private life sissela bok. Realist thinkers who once rejected the moral claims of the possibility of a lasting world peace now take the position that the goal of attaining it is clearly worth striving for, however utopian it seemed when first advocated. Moral choice in public and private life by sissela bok. Sissela bok on lying and moral choice in private and public life an. Sissela bok on lying and moral choice in private and public. Donald trump and the culture of lying the new yorker.
The limits of confidentiality bok 1983 hastings center. Sissela bok, the author of a seminal book on political lying, joins dorothy wickenden to discuss trumps continued assaults on the truth. Feb, 2015 boks phd touched on this in its discussion of voluntary euthanasia. Sissela bok is known for her philosophical work that explores lying and concealment in a way that provokes thought and compliments concepts. Sissela bok on lying and moral choice in private and. But she wants to oppose their position that one cannot lie to save an innocent life. This position was successfully and consistently opposed by constant and grotius who did so by redefining lying so that the untruth one tells to save an innocent life does not count as a lie since it does not violate a right. Whether it is a lie to the child about if you dont eat. Beginning with the moral questions raised about lying since antiquity, sissela bok takes up the justifications offered for all kinds of lieswhite lies, lies to the sick and dying, lies of parents to. With this work, bok explores the concept, ability, reasons and variations of lies created and told by people. Lying moral choice in public and private life sissela bok chris cassidy, cfi regional loss prevention manager southern states cooperative sissela bok is one of my favorite thinkers.
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