FINAL PAPER

"Honesty Vs Lying

Fabiola Kurti
Composition 1
Klodjana Skendaj
3d of february 2022

Today, truth is a very rare element within society, where the line to lie is very thin. This is
because of the interests we have in telling lies, rather than always being truthful, often for
convenience, to avoid obstacles and, therefore, to temporarily and apparently enter a
calmer and more trouble-free situation.

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But to lead a life based on lying and telling falsehoods all the time is impossible: a castle
made up of truth and falsehoods together is very fragile and therefore, in the end, we will
always have to tell the truth at one time or another. I think, therefore, that we have to lead
a life relying mainly on the truth and that it is permissible to tell a lie, but a great good
must come from it, not only for ourselves, but for everyone.
Always telling the truth is the morally right thing to do. Surely we are all happy when
someone always speaks to us with sincerity, without playing around with lies and
falsehoods. That is someone that everyone can appreciate,however It is not pleasant to
find oneself in a position where one is constantly being made fun of. In addition, by not
telling the truth, we may induce someone to act in a way that is contrary to the way things
are really going, and thus cause them harm. Sometimes, however, only in rare and
occasional situations, a lie can be better than the truth. This, in my opinion, happens when,
having lied, we bring good not only to ourselves, but especially to others. But this has to
be a well-thought-out lie, and one that has been thought through very carefully, because
there is still a big difference between the intention of doing good and actually doing good,
and so it doesn't take much to come to a conclusion that is unpleasant for everyone. If
such a result is reached, then only the truth can make everything right, because having
failed in our endeavour, we can rely on others to make things right and not harm anyone.
Telling a lie is, therefore, very subjective and depends on the situation, the people
involved and the result that can be achieved. If we think that lying is the best thing to do,
we must do it with caution and thinking of all the consequences, looking for other
solutions in order to prefer the truth. Lying is the last frontier and should only be
considered at the end, after carefully analysing every possible resolution. Therefore, it is
very risky to lie on impulse, and it is in this case that we often end up in unpleasant
situations. We must, therefore, try to prefer the truth in every situation, taking refuge in
falsehood only in extreme cases.
We must also choose the truth or the opposite by trying to stay as close as possible to the
real situation, i.e. by avoiding illusion as much as possible. If lying takes us or others very
far from reality, it will then be difficult to go back and, therefore, it will certainly be bad
for someone. If we think it is better to lie, we have to do it in such a way that we do not
pass the point of no return and still remain within reality. In this case, if the lie told does
not 'work', then it would not be a hard task to rearrange the situation and find other
solutions. If, on the other hand, a 'big' lie is told, it becomes more difficult to return to a
normal situation and, therefore, harm is done to someone.
Sometimes telling the truth can hurt, even a lot, and so in this case you are faced with a
dilemma: be honest and suffer or lie and hope that everything will be fine. In this case you
have to be far-sighted and try to understand the consequences. If telling the truth would
cause a great deal of pain, but with the prospect of an immense good, then I think it is
right and proper to bear this pain, as we would then be fulfilled. In the same situation, if
lying would allow the situation to be resolved immediately, we would have to see whether
the problem could reoccur over time. In this case the question would be difficult, because
each of us would act in a subjective and different way. I think it is always better to prefer

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the truth, even if we must first suffer to enjoy it. Lying is more like a drug, which makes
us feel good right away, but for a limited period of time and, once the effect is over, we
feel worse than before, continuing to seek it out to provide us with that temporary good.
We can only lie if we firmly believe that we will be able to put things right if something
goes wrong or if we are really sure that it will bring good to everyone and will last.
In my opinion, there is also a third way, which might allow avoiding both truth and lies in
case they are both inconvenient, and that is omission. Omission is only used to circumvent
the problem and constantly avoid it, without ever facing it. In certain cases, however,
mainly in minor situations, omission may allow the problem to be avoided once and for
all, without addressing it. But if the problem occurs often or if it is something more
serious and important, and both the truth and the lie cause pain, then it is absolutely
necessary to be honest and deal with the problem once and for all, ensuring a lasting good
for ourselves and others. Therefore, in my opinion, in the case of minor situations, one can
also consider the path of omission, but always after carefully evaluating every possible
resolution while remaining true and acting in such a way as to ensure a lasting good for
all, sometimes even suffering temporarily.
In conclusion, I believe that the truth is the preferred path in most cases, because in one
way or another it always leads us to a stable and lasting good situation. But given the vari-
ety and great multiplicity of situations, I sometimes think that it is also right to lie, doing
so in full awareness, knowing the risks we might encounter and always believing
ourselves capable of resolving any situation. Telling the truth is often uncomfortable, but
lying all the time is much worse, because in the end it is always good that triumphs and
brings out the truth. We must, therefore, always act for the good, trying not to harm
ourselves, but especially others, and being willing to endure temporary pain for the
lasting good.

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