Poll: is omission lying? the poll by gender!

[Zhukov]

Technically, no.

But it's generally used in the same way and for the same purpose.

 

[Ymbirtt]

Well, no, it isn't lying, since no statement has been made either way, and a lie has to be a false statement.

If you purposely omit information that you know will help people out, though, then that is pretty immoral.

 

[MindBullets]

It's not lying, but that doesn't justify it.

 

[Monkfish Acc.]

It's one of those grey areas.
The same effect is achieved. You just TECHNICALLY didn't do anything morally reprehensible.

A similar practice would be saying things in such a way as to make it sound like you are saying something different.
Technically not lying, but still misleading.

I rely on both of those to get by as I refuse to lie for any reason ever.
Even for the sake of politeness.

 

[Drops a Sweet Katana]

By definition, omission is not lying. Lying is when one manipulates and twists the truth into something different. Omission is just telling an incomplete truth. That, however, doesn't make it any worse in some situations.

 

[Cazza]

No most of the time.

 

[NotSoNimble]

me and my mom got into a heated debate today about whether or not omission is lying or not. i said it wasn't, thought it is not always morally right, and she said that it is.

so, is it? and for sake of experimentation, i have included a gender portion. no lying about it now, ya hear?

LOL!

Fail at telling the truth is worse than a lie!

Parents are supposed to teach you that at a young age. Since you would rather freeze up and be afraid to tell the truth, you would be considered worse than one who lies in the social circles that I know.

 

[Amphoteric]

Sometimes it is better to leave something out. If you don't get asked for the specific piece of information then I don't see why it would be of any relevance.

 

[Glamorgan]

Well, intentionally, it's being dishonest, but it isn't lying.

Does that make sense?

 

[HotFezz8]

thats a real tough one, truly a grey zone...

ultimatly if you omit the truth to hurt someone (or thats the affect it has anyway), its wrong.

if omiting the truth saves someone from pain, its right.

 

[PureChaos]

if no-one asks and you don't tell, you aren't lying

 

[Redlin5_v1legacy]

Omission isn't lying. Omission is simply not telling the truth. It is totally different but may have similar consequences to lying. It is usually not the right thing to do.

 

[wordsmith]

me and my mom got into a heated debate today about whether or not omission is lying or not. i said it wasn't, thought it is not always morally right, and she said that it is.

so, is it? and for sake of experimentation, i have included a gender portion. no lying about it now, ya hear?

Put this one to your mum: "Truthfully, what colour is the sky"?

One of three outcomes here:
LIE: Something other than blue,
OMISSION: Tell you it's blue,
TRUTH: Give you the long winded scientific explanation of why it appears blue but is actually clear.

Omission isn't lying, it's diplomatic. If there's things that aren't asked, it's your call on whether you volunteer the info.

 

[Dexiro]

Lying has a pretty clear definition of saying something that isn't true.

Since you're not doing that it isn't lying. Though both terms can fall under "intending to deceive".

 

[LongAndShort]

I think it's a context sensitive definition.

For example, if someone asks you to give them all the facts on a subject, and you intentionally only give them half the facts, and they assume you have told them everything, then that would be lying as you've intentionally mislead them and their thoughts and opinions. That example was a lot clearer in my head, but I think it shows my point.

However, I don't necessarily think this the rule, as intention and result play a key role. And since there is no neutral vote, I'll follow the trend and say No (male).

 

[Thyunda]

What was the context of the debate? Omission can range from deliberate misinformation to simply ignoring irrelevant details.
Take a crime report, for example. An omission here can go from what the victim was doing before the assault (could be anything from provoking the assailant to singing his favourite tune), or it could be how many hedgehogs were in a nearby bush.
One is important, one isn't, so omission is both good and bad. Irrelevant details serve only to confuse, whereas you can't possibly bring any moral rightness away from deliberate misinformation.

 

[veloper]

No, omission is something everyone does all the time out of necessity.

Omission of important information can be misleading or deceptive. Still not lying though. So ask the right questions!

 

[Geekmaster]

knowingly leaving something out of an explanation in order to introduce a bias may not be lying but it serves the same function.