One can make either true statements or false statements about reality.
One can do these two things, but not to the exclusion of alternatives. One can make statements which are confused or nonsensical, that are not even false.
In any case, a statement doesn’t have inherent truth value outside the way it’s interpreted by the people who hear it. The statement that “If a tree falls in the forest, it does not make a sound” is true or false depending on the meanings understood by the audience and the person uttering it. It’s entirely possible to convey false understandings by making statements which omit relevant information. To refuse to call a statement which is deliberately tailored to make its audience believe falsehoods a lie is using a distinction in an unhelpful way.
It borders on arguing about the meaning of words, so I find it useful to describe what I mean by “lying”, i.e. “conveying information that adjusts someone else’s worldview away from reality”. Funnily enough, that excludes most lies-to-children..
At that point whoever I’m talking to will either point out that his definition differs, or even decide to go with mine henceforth, and either way we can start getting some real work done.
One can do these two things, but not to the exclusion of alternatives. One can make statements which are confused or nonsensical, that are not even false.
In any case, a statement doesn’t have inherent truth value outside the way it’s interpreted by the people who hear it. The statement that “If a tree falls in the forest, it does not make a sound” is true or false depending on the meanings understood by the audience and the person uttering it. It’s entirely possible to convey false understandings by making statements which omit relevant information. To refuse to call a statement which is deliberately tailored to make its audience believe falsehoods a lie is using a distinction in an unhelpful way.
This.
It borders on arguing about the meaning of words, so I find it useful to describe what I mean by “lying”, i.e. “conveying information that adjusts someone else’s worldview away from reality”. Funnily enough, that excludes most lies-to-children..
At that point whoever I’m talking to will either point out that his definition differs, or even decide to go with mine henceforth, and either way we can start getting some real work done.