British Fantasy Pics
Only the one who knows the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth can be certain that the statement chosen to say is completely false. Until a person is on the witness stand, they seem to be under the illusion of not having to tell the truth. The only true statement any human being can make is, “I never state the complete truth.” Further, “What I say is a complete lie.” is as presumptuous to say, “What I say is the complete truth.”
The idea of a pathological lie implies that the speaker knew the truth, and knowingly chose to communicate a statement other than the truth. Leaving aside the impossibility of any human being knowing absolute truth, if there is such a thing, let’s examine the matter of communication of statements. A lie is a communication that conveys to the listener an impression which the speaker considers incorrect. The human concept of lying, cause and source is a phenomenon in itself. Observe what society believes to be the indications of “the truth” and we can now deduce from that what the layman and scientific belief about lying is.
To get at the truth, society has employed many methods of persuasion. Methods to get at the truth include getting a person drunk or the use of braining chemical drugs. The modern truth serum, scopolamine and the sodium pentothal narcosynthesis approach; like alcohol, serve to paralyze the higher brain centres, rendering the ability to select and judge greatly diminished if not inoperative. The lie detector or polygraph systems depend on the principle that any human being does not have complete conscious control of their emotional reactions. Heart rate, breathing and perspiration are not directly controlled by any process involving a thought or judicious selection. The ancient Hindu “rice test” involves the principle that the person who is afraid of being caught lying, tends to have a dry mouth and therefore, the guilty party will not be able to spit out a mouthful of rice, while the innocents have no problem. A person capable of judging conscious, thoughtful action will lie thru their teeth while the nonthinking person, reacting to an impulse will tell the truth.
Emotion should not get the better of your thinking. Emotion is an unreliable guide when making judgements. If emotions are mankind’s worst enemy they will betray the human and force emotion into play. Every possible effort to employ emotional thinking is made when a space alien wants to ‘detect the truth’ amidst a confusion of ideas. A human will never call another a liar if they agree with them. If they never agree with them and if they fail to understand the point of view or become too lazy to follow the argument, then one should try to divert their discussion somehow.¹
Espionage Notes ( Infiltrate, take over and inform) … the weak system of any espionage is the transfer of information … involving contact between sender and receiver, intermediate checkpoint, a tap or intercept hidden in sound.² … suspicion is that is needed … because the only way the secret agent can remain undetected is to remain unsuspected … because once the eye of counterintelligence is upon them, they must inevitably be unmasked. No cover can survive an investigation in depth.²
Philosophical Concept of Methodological Self-analysis:
A reasonable doubt questions the evidence. If it’s an argument you want, you’ve come to the right spot.
An argument or argus is the process of reasoning; the shewing or proving that which is doubtful by that which is known. The middle term of a syllogism is sometimes called specially ‘the argument’ or the ‘inference’.
Evidence is literally the seeing of anything – meaning any facts apprehended by the mind, and made the grounds of knowledge and belief of thought, being the same or different in certain points. Therefore, define all terms and prove all propositions. Descartes’ Rules of Truth Attainment includes questioning all information to the source, condensing problems to its lowest denomination, understanding simplicity to comprehend the complex and considering all scenarios.
Lies: Zeus gave no aid to liars. Saint Augustine said, “He who says some lies are just might also say that some sins are just, and therefore, some things are just which are unjust: what can be more absurd? and “Quid est enim fides, nisi credere quod non vides” or rather, Augustine is asking, “what is faith save to believe what you do not see.” Homer said, “Congreve had his measure too: Thou liar of the first magnitude.” Shakespeare said, “For my part, if a lie may do thee grace, I’ll gild it with the happiest terms I have.” ( source: “The Testimony of Dr. Farnsworth” by F.L. Golden )
Note: If a man says he is lying is his statement true? If so, then he is lying, and his statement is false. Is his statement false? If so, then he is lying, and his statement is true. Epimenides, the celebrated poet and prophet of Crete, is supposed to have said his famous remark, “All Cretan are liars”or, in other words, ‘All statements made by Cretan are false.’ Paradoxically, this remark is true as a self-contraction because it can be said, “All statements made by Epimenides are false because he is Cretan.” ³
Sources:
¹ Astounding Science Fiction 1955-06 Editorial
² “Tales of the Black Widowers” by Isaac Asimov
³ “Riddles in Mathematics” by Eugene P. Northrop
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