POLS 3440 Lecture Notes - Watergate Scandal, Eric Alterman, Noble Lie
12 Feb 2013
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A lie is a statement that is intended to deceive others maureen ramsay (unit 08, e- When it comes to politics, the issue of lying can be complicated. Theorists tell us that a lie is not simply the opposite of the truth, because telling the truth is not necessarily the same as being truthful. They may honestly think they are telling the truth, but if they are mistaken, without any intention to deceive, they may still be said to be truthful, even if what they say cannot be classified as the truth. The distinction between truth and truthfulness may seem arcane splitting semantic hairs. But the distinction is significant, because political leaders whom we regard as lying to us will often defend themselves by saying, no, they told us what they believed at the time was the truth. Perhaps they changed their minds subsequently, or came into possession of information they had not previously known existed.
