Unit 5 The Real Truth about Lies
Teaching Points
By the end of this unit, students are supposed to
1) grasp the author?s purpose of writing and make clear the structure of the whole
passage through an intensive reading of Text I The Real Truth About Lies.
2) comprehend those useful or important expressions/sentences in Text I
thoroughly and be able to paraphrase them.
3) be aware of new words and structures and use them freely in conversation and
writing.
4) reconsider the dilemma: to lie or not to lie.
Topics for pre-reading discussion
1) Have you ever been lying to others with a seemingly good intention? How?s the
consequence?
2) If somebody lies to you for your own good, how would you feel?
Cultural Background
1. A white lie is one that lacks evil intent, as opposed to a black lie, which is most certainly malevolent, though normally we don?t bother to specify that lies are evil. A white lie is harmless or trivial, which is frequently said in order to avoid hurting someone?s feelings.
2. Behavioral scientist Wendy Gamble identified four basic types of lies for a University of
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Arizona study in 2000: Prosocial:
Lying to protect someone, to benefit or help others.
Lying to save face, to avoid embarrassment, disapproval or punishment. Lying to protect the self at the expense of another, and/or to conceal a misdeed. Lying to hurt someone else intentionally. Self-enhancement: Selfish: Antisocial:
Text I
The Real Truth about Lies
Randy Fitzgerald
Global Reading
I. Text Analysis / Main Idea
This is a piece of persuasive writing. It is of journalistic style.
In this text, the author asserts the ubiquitous presence of petty white lies, analyzes its causes, discusses its grave consequences, and concludes that some lies are justifiable, while others are to be avoided.
II. Structural Analysis
The author begins with the results of two surveys. Then he comments on the consequences of telling lies. In the end, he discusses which lies should be avoided. Part I (Paras. 1-6) introduces the topic by reporting two survey results.
Part II (Paras. 7-11) shows that people often tell white lies so as not to hurt others. Part III (Paras. 12-15) deals with the consequences of telling lies.
Part IV (Paras. 16-18) discusses whether lies should be avoided at all costs.
Detailed Reading
Questions
1. What is the result of Professor Bella DePaulo?s survey? What conclusion can we
draw from the result? (Paragraphs 1-2)
According to the survey done by Professor DePaulo, 140 out of 147 people admitted having told lies. As some of the lies are well-intentioned, people may not regard them as lies. This result shows that telling lies is common.
2. What is the result of the survey conducted by Josephson Institute of Ethics? What
can we learn from it? (Paragraph 5)
According to this survey, among 20,000 students surveyed, 92 percent professed to have told lies and meanwhile, 91 percent never doubted about their own ethics or
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character. Again, this result shows that telling lies is common and people seldom relate telling lies to morality.
3. According to the writer, what could be considered “nice lies”? (Paragraph 11) According to the writer, all these could be considered “nice lies”: complimenting people on their appearance, expressing appreciation for gifts or food. 4. What is the grave consequence of telling lies? (Paragraph 15)
The ubiquitousness of lies may cause people to be distrustful of each other, thus leading to the collapse of the whole society.
Text II
To Lie or Not to Lie? — The Doctor’s Dilemma
Sissela Bok
A Lead-in Question
Do doctors have “license to lie”, for the sake of their patients?
Main idea
This text is about the question of whether patients should be told the truth about their illnesses. Many physicians may slip into deceptive practices in the belief that this may benefit them psychologically and help them recover. But new studies show that most patients want to know the truth even in the case of grave illnesses. The writer argues that lying makes it difficult for the patients to make choices for their own health, and can also cause doctors to lose their integrity and credibility. Notes
1. Sissela Bok: Sissela Bok, born 2 December 1934, is a Swedish-born philosopher and ethicist. Formerly a Professor of Philosophy at Brandeis University, Bok is currently a Senior Visiting Fellow at the Harvard Center for Population and Development Studies. One of her great contributions has been a continued exploration of 'practical ethics' or applied moral philosophy.
2. But the illusory nature of the benefits such deception is meant to bestow is now coming to be documented. (Paragraph 6) The subject of the sentence is the illusory nature and the predicate, is now coming to be documented and the whole sentence means that the benefits lying is supposed to have are now proving to be unreal and imagined.
3. … it contributes to the spiral of litigation and of “defensive medicine”…
(Paragraph 9)
“The spiral of litigation” means two opposing parties in a law suit are involved in an endless process of litigation which is getting higher and higher in level. The phrase “defensive
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medicine” refers to the alterations of modes of medical practice for the purposes of avoiding lawsuits by patients as well as providing good legal defense if such lawsuits are instituted. 4. Patients’ bills of rights require that … (Paragraph 10) “Bills of rights” is
statements of the rights of a class of people, in particular the first ten amendments to the Constitution of the US, ratified in 1791.
5. “What you don’t know can’t hurt you.” (Paragraph 11) This proverb means if
you do not know about a problem, you do not worry. The whole sentence means people won?t be comforted by not knowing the truth in medicine, law, government, or the social sciences; on the contrary, they will be hurt or greatly affected by lying. One example of the proverb: Don’t tell Dad I take drugs. What he doesn’t know won’t hurt him.
Questions for Discussion
1. According to the author, in what line of work is honesty sacrificed for “greater
needs”?
2. What, according to some doctors, is the fundamental principle of the medical
profession?
3. What are the negative effects of “benevolent deception” on patients?
4. How will the medical profession and its staff be affected by “benevolent deception”? 5. If you were a patient, would you like to know the truth that you would have only a few
months to live? And if you were a doctor, how would you break the news to your patient?
Reference Answers
1. In medicine, law, politics, journalism, etc., deception is practiced for ??greater needs”. 2. “As far as possible do no harm.”
3. The patients may feel betrayed, and their autonomy intruded. And they cannot
make informed decisions about their health and life; and it can also prolong recovery and affect treatment.
4. “Benevolent deception” may cause the erosion of integrity of the medical profession
and affect those that do not tell lies to their patients. It may even induce law suits and the endless process of litigation. 5. Open question.
Memorable Quotes
“While all deception requires secrecy, all secrecy is not meant to deceive.”
— Sissela Bok
Questions for Discussion
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If a lie is defined as “something that you say or write that is not true and that you know is not true”, then is the art of story-telling or writing novels a form of lying? Or should we simply call them “imaginative”?
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