Relationships Involve Both Telling the Truth and Lying
When taking a close look at the use of deception in our romantic relationships, one thing becomes clear: our relationships are more complicated than we like to think.
Our relationships are held together by a delicate balance of both candor and deceit—both are
required to make a relationship work (see relationships are a paradox and Cole, Saxe, Solomon).
Telling the truth is essential because without it our relationships would fall apart.
On the other hand, lying to a spouse or romantic partner helps us protect the ones we love from unpleasant truths, it helps us avoid conflict, and it allows us to exercise some freedom from time to time.
Using deception too frequently, however, destroys trust, it limits a partner’s ability to make choices, and it becomes very hard to contain.
Related Information:
- lying is good – Article on Forbes.com
- lying is wrong – Article from Markkula Center for Applied Ethics
- lying and deception – articles, links and resources
Truth About Deception – back to our home page.
