Truths, Lies and Us

5 minute(s) · April 16, 2025

This piece explores the complex nature of lying, its causes, moral ambiguity, psychological impact, and the internal transformation it can create, ultimately arguing that while truth is difficult, it is the path to authenticity and freedom.

Individuals might want to hide the truth to gaslight others into believing that they are just as good as others or maybe even better. For example, it is very common to see people trying to fit in groups of people they can’t actually fit into, but they lie about themselves to seem better and suitable for a place in the group. 

Other situations include individuals hiding the truth from others to protect them, such as parents hiding lots of disturbing facts from children, or someone who did something bad hiding the truth from people they love to not disappoint them. 

All of those situations show the need we sometimes feel to lie. There are even more, but we aren’t here to analyse the reasons to lie. We are here to dive into the lies themselves. 

A lie is logically said to be a false statement. A lie is typically defined as a statement made with the intention to deceive. More specifically, a lie involves the deliberate act of presenting false information with the awareness that it is not true, aiming to mislead the listener. 

Although are we sure that a lie is just a false statement? Is it tied to deeper issues around intention, morality, or the entire nature of truth itself? 

Back in the 20th-century, philosophers believed that lying is morally wrong in all cases, because it violates the principle of honesty, making it feel as if disrespect for others as rational beings follows the lie. They believed that truthfulness is an essential principle, and even "harmless" lies, such as telling a small lie to protect someone's feelings, are ethically unacceptable. 

However, in modern times, lying has evolved to a more complicated definition. Truth seems to have become subjective, and philosophers argue that a lie can be considered a fact from someone’s perspective—and vice versa. 

If truth is shaped by individual perception or social constructs, what one person might view as a lie could be considered a different interpretation or perspective by another. 

We can clearly understand that lying is quite a complicated subject. I am not able to give you a full opinion on what lying is, since even I have not shaped a correctly studied one. 

So, shall we talk about the consequences of a lie? Not the typical consequences, such as the weakening of a relationship or people seeing you as a liar, but the impacts it has on the liar, if you want to call them that. 

The psychological effects the lie has on the person who lied are just as important as the other effects it brings. The person feels guilty and questions their trustworthiness as the truth unfolds. They try to hide the truth so hard, but eventually the truth always comes to light. 

That’s the terrifying power of a lie. It doesn’t just live in the moment it’s spoken—it stays put and echoes persistently. 

 And over time, the more you lie, the easier it becomes. That first twist of the truth might make your heart race, your palms sweat. But the second? A little easier. The third? Natural. And before you know it, lying isn’t something you do anymore—it’s something you are. You have become the lie without understanding how. 

And once you reach that point, coming back is incredibly difficult. Not impossible, but hard. Because rebuilding trust, especially in yourself, takes so much longer than breaking it ever did. 

People can change. That’s the other side of this conversation. Yes, lies are damaging. Yes, they hurt others and ourselves. But they also teach us. They show us who we don’t want to be. They remind us how valuable truth is, especially when it’s hard to tell. 

Telling the truth might feel like standing naked in a room full of people. Vulnerable. Exposed. But it’s also freeing. It means you’re being seen as you are—flawed, messy, real. And being real is the most powerful thing you can be in a world full of carefully constructed illusions. 

So maybe the takeaway isn’t that lies are inherently evil or that truth is always clean and painless. Maybe the takeaway is that we need to choose what kind of weight we want to carry—the burden of the lie or the bravery of the truth. 

And if we’re honest with ourselves, we already know which one sets us free.