As we have
discussed in class, one cannot truly lie to oneself. That is because, in order
to formulate a lie, one must first have recognized the truth as such. In other
words, the lie is a conscious attempt to change a reality, which cannot change
because it has already been recognized as reality in the act of attempting to
lie. But is that really the end of the discussion?
Given that
reality is subjective, it seems to me that a lie or false information can become
reality over an extended period of time. The flawed nature of human memory can
be overwritten or misinterpreted as the memory becomes stale and loses its
clarity. However, would this be considered a lie to oneself or as simply an
unfortunate lapse in one’s memory? Would a misinterpreted memory still be
considered “bad faith”?
I would
argue that so long as the individual has to make a deliberate decision to alter
reality, that idea or memory would be a lie. In accordance to this idea, it is
tempting to accept accidentally false memories as natural. They are not
intentional, so they should not be considered as patterns of “bad faith”. If we
take into account the idea that reality is subjective, this seems to make
enough sense. Nonetheless, if we are so lenient as to accept false memories as
inevitable and natural, then we open our minds to the potential to eventually
accept lies as truths. This is because once an idea is cemented in one’s mind
as truth, it is considered as such until proven otherwise. Therefore, if one is
persistent in his lie, then he may be able to transform what was once a lie
into truth.
An argument
against this idea would most likely assert that the truth of the lie is never
lost, but only hidden in the subconscious. A trigger could return the reality
of the lie to the individual. I would have to agree to this. However,
regardless of if the true memory is triggered or if the true memory is never
triggered, the lie can still become reality for a certain duration of time so
long as the truth remains forgotten. If the truth is forgotten, then there is
no information to testify against the validity of the lie.
Do you believe that a lie can become reality?
What is your argument for or against it?
I feel like a lie can become an individual's reality as soon as he deludes himself to believe that it is true. I think this is the premise of the claim that if someone lies to himself enough, the lie will become true. This goes back to Sartre's idea that the individual forms his own reality. Take the example of the waiter in a cafe. Although the waiter is putting on a persona of friendliness and openness to fit a certain image, does that mean that he is really lying to himself? I think it's possible that the waiter projects a certain person that he wishes to be at the moment in order to achieve a certain goal (i.e. tips, good feedback, etc). Sometimes we fake excitement or happiness when we really don't feel that way inside, but does that mean we are lying to ourselves, or just interacting with others in a way that hides our private strife?
ReplyDeleteExcept in the case of extreme trauma, I wouldn't say forgetting the truth is part of the everyday functioning of one's conscious/subconscious. Although one may forget the details about the lie, they will always intuitively know that, however vague, the conception began as as lie and remains a lie. An argument against this, however, could be that we are told about attributes we had as children, and this contributes to the image we have of ourselves as young children. Most memories up to 5 years of age are forgotten, and it's true that if my mom were to tell me i did something when i was three, even though I don't have a memory of it I'd still believe it whether it's true or not. Except this case and in the cause of emotional trauma, I think we all have the ability to intuitively sense whether an idea is formed from reality or not.
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