Liars, Liars...

Why do people lie? "To protect other people's feelings," said one of the friendster surveys I read. -- That is the most fabricated excuse and self-justification I have ever heard. The pathologic liar who said this must have believed her very own lies...

According to an article I read, "Lying is a technique that is used to influence, control and manipulate other’s thoughts, feelings, and behaviors."

To that, I totally agree. I am not a fan of liars myself. In fact, I abhor this kind of people. I try to stay away from them. But as the saying goes, "It takes one to know one" so, it takes a while for me to discover a potentially dangerous company. I often become a victim of these deceitful people.

A notable personality disorder often associated with liars is "Narcissism." It is a condition characterized by an inflated sense of self-importance, need for admiration, extreme self-involvement, and lack of empathy for others. A true narcissist is almost totally wrapped up in himself, and the entire world revolves around his needs and desires.

There are two kinds of lying: a lie of commission and a lie of omission. So, either you twisted the truth or you withheld it, you are still considered a liar. Psychologists came up with five major grounds why liars do what they do:
1.) to avoid punishment or possible rejection
2.) to seek approval or to create a favorable impression
3.) to maintain privacy
4.) to avoid conflict
5.) to regulate power

Whatever reasons a liar might come up with; it still comes to an ultimate reason -- for personal gain. So how can a liar be somewhat humanistic in lying as what the subject in the survey wanted to point out?!

There are three kinds of liars: the situational, the pathological and the chronic liars. Even so, I don't think there is someone in any of the three categories that we can consider as "less evil."

Another funny term that liars came up with is "white lie." It is still a lie whether you color it white, grey or black. No matter what the intentions are, still, "the end does not justify the means."