Why on earth do people lie?

Why do people lie? It is estimated that many people want to know the standard answer. When we were young, we were taught to tell the truth and not to lie, but when we grow up, we find that telling the truth doesn't work at all, and even telling the truth sometimes hurts. In a sense, learning to be a man is actually learning to lie. Therefore, this question has puzzled me for a long time. I thought of this topic again last night and couldn't sleep for a long time. Through the analysis of people's lying behavior over the years, the following reasons are summarized:

One is for the game. People are born lonely, so games in life are essential. A philosopher once said, "People need entertainment, so sometimes lying is inevitable. Lies can sometimes bring us happiness. "

Presumably, everyone has heard the story of "Wolf Coming". In the story, the child herding sheep "cried wolf", and the villagers hurried up the mountain to save them, only to find that they had been cheated. After these two times, the wolf really came for the third time. No matter how the child cries, no one wants to save him. As a result, the child was eaten by the wolf. When the children in the story lie, there is no malice. They just want to play a joke and have some excitement. At most, it is out of a fun psychology or a prank, but the consequences are very serious and cost life.

In fact, there are many such lies in life for the purpose of playing games. Because there is no malice, people often just laugh them off as jokes, knowing that they are lies and don't care too much.

The second is to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages. This is the fundamental reason why most people lie. Obviously, in life, as an ordinary person, everyone knows how to protect themselves. When a stranger wants to ask you if you have a considerable amount of cash at home, even if you do have tens of thousands of dollars in cash at home, you will say, "How can our family have money?" I borrowed money from my colleagues this morning. "Lying like this is just to protect yourself. In this case, it is estimated that most people will not tell the truth.

In some cases, if you really tell others everything, your property and even your life will be lost or threatened. Also, if you declare your annual income truthfully, you may have to pay more income tax; If you truthfully write on your resume that you have been punished for cheating in college, you may not be accepted by the employer, thus losing a job opportunity ... Obviously, sometimes lying is helpless.

It is human nature to seek advantages and avoid disadvantages, so lies can be seen everywhere in life, and some lies are difficult to draw conclusions with "good" or "bad". Sometimes, we are faced with only one choice, "yes" or "no", and there is no middle way to go, so it is difficult to guarantee the truth of every sentence. In this regard, we can only understand it from the perspective of human nature, and we cannot simply measure it by moral standards.

The third is living habits. This kind of lie should not exist, you can quit. This kind of liar often lies aimlessly and casually, and what he says is irresponsible. Opening his mouth is a lie. Even if he said something that had nothing to do with himself, he wouldn't tell the truth. Over time, he didn't even realize why he lied.

There is a joke about a man calling home: "honey, the boss wants me to accompany her to Canada, which will take about a week." This is a good opportunity for me to get promoted. Please prepare clothes and fishing tools for me for a week, ok? I will leave the office soon, and I will take my things with me when I pass by. Oh, I almost forgot to put on that blue pajamas for me, too. "

The wife thinks her husband's request is a bit strange. But she did it anyway.

Next week, the wife warmly welcomes her returning husband.

The husband said proudly, "Look what I caught. Salmon, salmon, and some lovely goldfish … "Then the husband said reproachfully," Why don't you bring my blue pajamas? "

The wife said slowly, "I didn't forget!" " The pajamas are in your toolbox. "This is a typical lie story. He deceived himself, and the next lie exposed the last one. Why on earth do people lie?

This kind of person is more of a visionary than a liar. They talk like making up stories, and the story is self-centered. In these stories, they always appear in their ideal roles. Of course, this role is often higher than their existing social status. When they brag and get carried away, they will exaggerate their expressions like actors, which makes people feel unnatural. Sometimes I get a little depressed, but it's absolutely no different from acting. For such a person, lying has become his habit, and even he doesn't know what it is for.

The fourth is for the benefit. Since ancient times, it is a shortcut for a person to reach the top of his official career by lying. In the market, businessmen carefully fabricated one lie after another in order to make money. In love, those sweet words and vows are true. How many words are there? In foreign countries, politicians are recognized as "professional liars".

It is said that the Burlington Club of the United States holds a lie contest every year, and everyone can participate except politicians, because it is obviously unfair to let "professionals" and "amateurs" compete on the same stage. During the American election, you can see those politicians making speeches when you turn on the TV. What will happen if I am elected? But once he is elected, his original promise will be forgotten and nothing will count. That's how politicians win people's trust and get votes with lies.

China's political system is different, and the son of heaven keeps his word, so there is no need to lie. But since ancient times, there have been traitors and villains who tell lies with their eyes open, deceiving their superiors and deceiving their subordinates. In today's society, some people, for ulterior motives, often hire some local ruffians and literati to write some rubbish articles, distorting the facts and disturbing the audience. Compared with "referring to a deer as a horse", some remarks are really even worse.

There may be many reasons why people lie, so I won't list them one by one. However, it is now clear that no matter what motives, reasons or intentions, people can't live without lies. The problem is that some lies are understandable and not necessarily true; Some lies can be ignored and laughed off; But some lies are related to the affairs of governing the country and keeping the country safe. If we don't take them seriously, the consequences will be very serious. A military general once said, "If you don't lie, you can't achieve great things." This may be the experience he summed up from years of military struggle. He thinks that those who have achieved great things are lying. This may be alarmist, but the reality is really like this.