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©2008. International Journal of Applied Philosophy 22:2. ISSN 0738-098X. pp. 211–230
Two Definitions of Lying
James Edwin Mahon
Washington and Lee University
AbstrAct: This article first examines a number of different definitions
of lying, from Aldert Vrij, Warren Shibles, Sissela Bok, the Oxford English
Dictionary, Linda Coleman and Paul Kay, and Joseph Kupfer. It considers
objections to all of them, and then defends Kupfer’s definition, as well as
a modified version of his definition, as the best of those so far considered.
Next, it examines five other definitions of lying, from Harry G. Frankfurt,
Roderick M. Chisholm and Thomas D. Feehan, David Simpson, Thomas
Carson, and Don Fallis. It finds reason to reject these definitions, in favor
of the two definitions of lying previously defended, namely:
(i) To lie (to another person) =
df.
to make a believed-false statement (to
another person) with the intention that that statement be believed to
be true (by the other person).
(ii) To lie (to another person) =
df.
to make a believed-false statement (to an-
other person), either with the intention that that statement be believed
to be true (by the other person), or with the intention that it be believed
(by the other person) that that statement is believed to be true (by the
person making the statement), or with both intentions.
T
1
2
3
4
—
212 jameS edwIN mahoN
—
Oxford English Dictionary—
VRIJ’S DEFINITION
lying as any
5
6
7
8
—
—
function
9
10
11
two defINItIoNS of lyINg 213
12
13
—
conceal
falsify—
14
—
15
—
—
not
214 jameS edwIN mahoN
—
16
17
18
a successful or
unsuccessful deliberate aempt, without forewarning, to create in another a belief which
the communicator considers to be untrue.
19
—
20
To
is
—
two defINItIoNS of lyINg 215
aempting to deceive
SHIBLES’S DEFINITION
21
22
In Against Lying
23
24
25
—
26
—
—
27
—
216 jameS edwIN mahoN
p
28
—
BOK’S DEFINITION
stated
29
stated
—
30
31
two defINItIoNS of lyINg 217
32
33
—
34
35
truthful
OED
DEFINITION
The Oxford English Dictionary
Webster’s International Dictionary of the English Language
218 jameS edwIN mahoN
36
believed—
LDCL
CDLC
believeare
37
L
CD
—
L
—
—
COLEMAN AND KAY’S DEFINITION
two defINItIoNS of lyINg 219
38
Le MurThe Wall
39
—
KUPFER’S DEFINITION
40
41
42
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—
43
intentionality condi-
tionS and ApS
ApS
Ap
44
—
SppS
p S
p
SpS
pSAp
Ap
45
—
two defINItIoNS of lyINg 221
FRANKFURT’S DEFINITION
—
46
47
48
—
—
SC
A CS
ApS
p C
222 jameS edwIN mahoN
AA
p
A—
CA SS
won’tS
and CApAS
SASp
AAp
SSS
AC
C
49
SA
C
CHISHOLM AND FEEHAN’S DEFINITION
L lies to D
p
LpLp
LpD
50
L
asserts p to D
LpD
DLp
DLp
51
two defINItIoNS of lyINg 223
—
pLD
p—
D
52
—
SIMPSON’S DEFINITION
—
53
224 jameS edwIN mahoN
—
SAp is
SpSA
pAA
Sp is A
54
CARSON’S DEFINITION
55
two defINItIoNS of lyINg 225
—
56
—
—
—
57
58
—
59
226 jameS edwIN mahoN
60
—
61
62
FALLIS’S DEFINITION
63
is
You liep
Do not
make statements that you believe to be falsep
64
—
two defINItIoNS of lyINg 227
—
—
just is
—
—
CONCLUSION
—
228 jameS edwIN mahoN
65
Endnotes
—
The Concept of Mind
How To Do Things With Words
Right and Wrong
Why We Lie: The Evolutionary Roots of Deception and the
Unconscious Mind
—
—
Listening:
Journal of Religion and Culture
Why We Lie
Telling Lies: Clues to Deceit in the Marketplace, Politics, and Marriage
—
Detecting Lies and Deceit: The Psychology of Lying and the Implications for
Professional Practice
two defINItIoNS of lyINg 229
International Journal of Applied Philosophy 21
Lying: A Critical Analysis
On LyingTreatises on Various Subjects
Fathers of the Church
Lying: An Augustinian Theology of Duplicity
Augustinian Studies
Augustinian Studies
Augustinian Studies
Journal of
PhilosophyPublic Aairs Quarterly
American Philosophical Quarterly
Lying: Moral Choice in Public and Private Life
A Pack of Lies: Towards A Sociology of Lying
Revue Internationale de Philosophie
Philosophy and Phenomeno-
logical Research
The Hiding Place
Common Morality: Deciding What to Do
Lan-
guage
La Nouvelle Revue Française
Review of Metaphysics 36
International Studies in Philosophy
Truth and Truthfulness: An Essay in Genealogy
230 jameS edwIN mahoN
Necessity Volition and Love—
The Importance of What We Care About
Philosophy and Phenomenological Re-
search
Philosophy and Phenomenological Research
Noûs
Lying, Cheating: A Moral Theory of
White-Collar Crime
Journal of Philosophy
Studies in the Ways of Words