Public lecture: “What is Wrong with Lying?”

Sarah Stroud:

Abstract: Most of us would confidently say that lying is wrong—or, at least, that there is something wrong with lying. But what exactly is wrong with it? It turns out to be more difficult than one might have thought to answer this question. I survey some of the obvious potential explanations of the wrongness of lying and suggest that they prove unsatisfying on reflection. I then offer my own proposal for what is wrongful in lying: to lie to someone is to issue a faithless pledge, similar to making an insincere promise.