Joel Kontinen
Can science explain why some people choose to tell lies?
Live Science published an article that attempts to say that it does. The conclusion was inspired by the story that U.S. swimmer Ryan Lochte and three of his team mates told the press.
They claimed that they were robbed at gunpoint.
However, surveillance cameras told a very different story. The article suggests that the swimmers lied in order to avoid embarrassment.
It speculates that lying starts at a very young age. Adults might use the same strategy they learnt as kinds to wiggle out of a difficult situation. The obvious motive is to avoid punishment and embarrassment.
It should not matter in a Darwinian world whether individuals told outright lies, as it does not acknowledge the existence of a Divine Lawgiver who ultimately sets the rules.
Even scientists can’t always resist misconduct.
It’s a very different story in a Christian world. Truth is all-important, and God’s Word infers that lying is a sin.
Source:
Kubota, Taylor. 2016. Lochte's Lies: How Science Explains Fibbers. Live Science (19 August).
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