Right to Deceive (Towards a Problem of Advantage and Disadvantage of Lie for Education)

Abstract

The article is devoted to the question of advantages and disadvantages of lie for life. The process of formation of values and social stereotypes is one of the most hidden productions in the world. On the one hand, mass media, forming the public opinion of the nation, openly use small lie for the sake of a victory of the great truth. On the other hand, the parental lie appears to be one of the most effective and therefore widespread methods of education of children. Is there is a difference between deception and veracity, lie and the truth and, if so, what is it? Is lie appropriate as educational tool and the means of socialization? Or maybe, the truth is just the other side of lie? To answer the question about the benefits and dangers of lie in the world of the adults, it is necessary to understand, whether there is the truth in parental lie. Does parental lie really promotes children's obedience and forms in children the knowledge of ethical value of the truth? What is the long-term influence of parental deception of the child’s perception of himself and his parents? Can parental lie be justified and what, instead of deception, can help parents upbring their children? Looking for the answer in Montaigne, Kant and Nietzsche, as well as relying on results of the analysis of contemporary sociological, anthropological and psychological research, the author argues that neither half-truth, nor lie is effective in establishing moral principles.