What does deception mean? What is the purpose of deception? Is a lie so harmless?

The world wants to be deceived, so let it be deceived. Carlo Caraffa You can fool some all the time, you can fool everyone some of the time, but you cannot fool everyone all the time. Abraham Lincoln You can fool too many people for a long time.… … Consolidated encyclopedia of aphorisms

Wiktionary has an entry for “deception” Deception Action by meaning. verb: to deceive (to give false information). Something that deliberately introduces someone. misleading, deceiving; lie. The state of being deceived; delusion. Erroneous, imaginary representation;... ... Wikipedia

Swindle, fraud, counterfeit, forgery, deceit, cunning, hoax, falsehood; fiction, fabrication, lie, pretense, illusion, deception; comedy (puppet). An error is not considered false (proverb). Wed... Synonym dictionary

DECEPTION, ah, husband. 1. see deceive. 2. Same as lying. You won't get far with deception (last). Go to o. (decide to lie). 3. A false idea about something, a delusion. Enter in about. O. vision (visual error). O. feelings (mistake in your attitude... ... Dictionary Ozhegova

Deception- Deception ♦ Mensonge A lie uttered with the intent to mislead (but not as an allegory or irony) and with full knowledge that what is uttered is false. Every deception presupposes knowledge of the truth or at least contains the idea of ​​truth. Thereby… … Philosophical Dictionary Sponville

In psychology, deception of feelings. Philosophical encyclopedic Dictionary. 2010 … Philosophical Encyclopedia

deception- DECEPTION is a false, incorrect message that can mislead; disinformation that has achieved its goal. O. is the opposite of truth, which means not only true, but also correct, genuine, fair, appropriate... ... Encyclopedia of Epistemology and Philosophy of Science

deception- shameless (Tan); tempting (Rathgauz); caressing (Pozharova); crafty (Tarutin); radiant (Balmont); beautiful (Fet); ghostly (Nadson); sweet (Yur.P.); charming (Yur.P.) Epithets of literary Russian speech. M: Supplier to His Majesty's court... Dictionary of epithets

deception- DECEPTION, colloquial. deceiver, colloquial reduction inflated and unraveled. reduction inflated, unraveled reduction blew and cooled down reduction blew to deceive/deceive, colloquial. inflate / inflate, unwind circle/circle, colloquial go around/bypass, colloquial... ... Dictionary-thesaurus of synonyms of Russian speech

Deception- (lat. fraus, fraudis; eng. deception/fraud) in civil law deliberate misrepresentation by one party of a transaction to the other party for the purpose of completing the transaction. O. can refer both to elements of the transaction itself and to the circumstances... Encyclopedia of Law

Books

• Deception, Roth Philip. "Deception" is the most provocative (after "Portnoy's Disease") work by Philip Roth, the most famous today American writer. In the novel, a married American, middle-aged Jew named...

Mary Agnes Donohue
Bruce Joel Rubin

Jack N. Green

Lua error in Module:Wikidata on line 170: attempt to index field "wikibase" (a nil value).

Lua error in Module:Wikidata on line 170: attempt to index field "wikibase" (a nil value).

Lua error in Module:Wikidata on line 170: attempt to index field "wikibase" (a nil value).

USA 22x20px USA

Lua error in Module:Wikidata on line 170: attempt to index field "wikibase" (a nil value).

Lua error in Module:Wikidata on line 170: attempt to index field "wikibase" (a nil value).

Plot

A marriage that seemed perfect collapses after the apparent death of Jack Saunders, Adrienne's husband. After his supposed death, strange events begin to happen to Adrienne that are connected to Jack's past. She begins to get to the bottom of the truth and gradually realizes that she was deceived. Her husband was not who he said he was, and now she and her daughter are in danger.

Cast

In its first week, the box office grossed $4,316,719. With a budget of $30 million, the film only made $28.7 million at the box office, making it a commercial failure.

Write a review about the article "Deception (film, 1991)"

Notes

Links

• "The Beguiled" (English) on the Internet Movie Database 5.9 out of 10 stars
• (English) on the website - Don’t worry, dear Isidora, without you it wouldn’t even be so “fun”! I promise you will see everything, and I am very glad that you have expressed such a desire.
  And smiling contentedly, he turned to the door, but suddenly remembering something, he stopped:
  – Tell me, Isidora, when you “disappear” – does it matter to you where you do it from?..
  – No, Your Holiness, it does not. I don't go through walls. I simply “melt” in one place in order to immediately appear in another, if such an explanation gives you at least some kind of picture,” and, in order to finish him off, she deliberately added, “Everything is very simple when you know how to do it... Holiness.
  Caraffa devoured me with his black eyes for another moment, and then turned on his heel and quickly left the room, as if afraid that I would suddenly stop him for something.
  I understood perfectly why he asked the last question... From the very minute he saw that I could suddenly just disappear, he racked his proud head, how to “tie me somewhere” more firmly, or , for reliability, put him in some kind of stone bag, from which I would certainly have no hope of “flying away” anywhere... But, with my answer, I deprived him of peace, and my soul sincerely rejoiced at this small victory, since I knew for sure that from that moment on Caraffa would lose sleep, trying to figure out where to hide me more reliably.
  These, of course, were just funny moments that distracted me from the terrible reality, but they helped me, at least in front of him, in front of Karaff, to forget for a moment and not show how painful and deeply wounded what was happening to me. I wildly wanted to find a way out of our hopeless situation, wanting this with all the strength of my tormented soul! But my desire to defeat Karaffa was not enough. I had to understand what made him so strong, and what was this “gift” that he received in Meteora, and which I could not see, since it was completely foreign to us. For this I needed a father. But he didn’t respond. And I decided to try to see if the North would respond...

In the last few decades, the genre of documentary film, due to its growing commercialization, has begun to penetrate an increasing number of obvious lies, that is, custom-made disinformation and staged scenes. In response, in feature films, as if as a parody, the genre of pseudo-documentary appeared, where all this is finally brought to the point of absurdity. This genre became especially popular in the era of universal informatization. Considering that no one warns the viewer what is being shown fake information, only framed in the form of documentary, and sometimes it is directly stated that the information is supposedly “documentary”, it becomes completely obvious that the boundary between truth and falsehood in modern mass media products has turned out to be completely blurred. Mockumentary lies on screen are widely promoted and win numerous awards. In pursuit of profit, entire television channels, such as Ren-TV and NTV, began to specialize in showing pseudo-documentaries.

Pseudo-documentary, along with such phenomena as astroturfing and the activities of “web brigades,” can be part of information wars, in which lies and substitution of facts are widely used to provide the desired presentation to the interested party and form a certain opinion among as large a part of society as possible. This is especially dangerous in states where there is no freedom of the media, which would allow citizens to select the most reliable information by analyzing several sources.

Lies as a psychological phenomenon[ | ]

The phenomenon of lying is widely studied in psychology and psycholinguistics.

There are many author's definitions of lies: J. Mazip offers a complex integrative definition of the phenomenon. Deception (or lying) is a deliberate attempt (successful or not) to hide and/or fabricate (manipulate) factual and/or emotional information, by verbal and/or nonverbal means, in order to create or support in another an opinion that the communicator himself or herself has. considers false.

O. Fry: A lie is a successful or unsuccessful deliberate attempt, made without warning, to form in another person a belief that the communicator considers incorrect.

B. De Paulo proved that lying is a very common communicative phenomenon in everyday life, which includes a variety of situations and lying tactics. The author proposes a three-factor model of lies, which includes the following components: content, type and referent. The content of a lie can be emotion, action, justification, achievement and fact. There are different types of lies: direct lies (untruths in pure form), exaggeration and sophisticated lies (omission or distortion of important details). The referent of a lie is the one about whom (or what) the lie is said (self-oriented and other-oriented).

Sometimes a lie is the unintentional creation and retention of an opinion that the transmitter may consider true, but the inconsistency of which is proven, confirmed and known, but for this case the term “delusion” is more often used. P. Ekman defines lying as “a deliberate decision to mislead the person to whom the information is addressed, without warning of his intention to do so.”

Lying as a psychiatric phenomenon (pathological deceit)[ | ]

In general, pathological deceit (pseudologia fantastica) is understood as falsification, a very complex structure, extensive in time (from several years to whole life), which is not caused by dementia, insanity and epilepsy. The need to attract attention to oneself and inspire admiration for one’s personality in others is combined with an overly excitable, rich and immature fantasy and immoral defects.

Many researchers consider pathological deceit as essential attribute and a consequence of severe mental and “social” illnesses. For example, Dick and his colleagues classify drug addicts and alcoholics, people with narcissism, psychopathism and sociopathy as pathological liars.

Types of lies [ | ]

By (McCornack, Burgoon) lying acts as manipulation of information. Based on the communication code (Grice), McCornack, in his opinion, identified common types of lies:

Implicit (in the public consciousness) types of lies[ | ]

1. Lying in order to evade responsibility (for example, the criminal denies his guilt);
2. Lying to avoid serious problems which will inevitably follow if you do not resort to lying, but can be prevented by deception (for example, cheating during a test as a way to avoid a bad grade);
3. Lying as a way to commit the “lesser of two evils” (for example, lying as a way to avoid participating in a crime).

Oathbreaking can only indirectly be classified as a type of lie, and even then not in all cases, since breaking an oath is not necessary condition tell information that is not true (that is, lie). During the oath, a person might consider one fact to be true, but over time, the person's beliefs and views could change, and he switched sides, believing another fact to be true. It is in cases of changed truth for a person that perjury is not a type of lie.

• Slander
  Dissemination of knowingly false defamatory information about someone, or (more in the narrow sense) knowingly false denunciation of a crime. Like perjury, it is a criminal offense. It is considered one of the most reprehensible types of lies. However, if the distributor of defamatory information does not know that this information is false and accepts it as the truth, such actions are qualified as gossip, and not as slander.
• Self-incrimination
  A form of lying, the opposite of slander: a person’s assumption of responsibility for an act knowingly committed by another person. Self-incrimination is often part of perjury. In the legislation of a number of countries, self-incrimination is a criminal offense and is equated to perjury and deliberately false denunciation of a crime.
• Bluff
  A statement about the speaker having some object or intention that he actually does not have. Bluffing is a tactical technique, and can at the same time be classified as another type of lie. For example, using a bluff in various games(usually card or sports) is considered part of the game and is acceptable; the bluff of a criminal demanding money from a cashier while holding a protruding finger in his pocket (masked by the criminal as a gun) is a lie; the bluff of a policeman who puts his finger in the back of a criminal instead of a gun is a white lie.
• Misrepresentation
  A misleading statement does not contain an obvious lie, but nevertheless its purpose is to try to make the hearer believe that something is true that is not true. It is constructed in such a way that all the facts in it are true, but are selected in such a way and in such a sequence that they push the listener to the wrong conclusion. Omissions and contextual lies are examples of misrepresentation. In general, misleading is too broad concept, since any form of lying contains an element of misrepresentation. So, in “Tartarin of Tarascon” by Alphonse Daudet, Prince Gregory of Montenegro told Tartarin that he lived in Tarascon for three years and at the same time almost never went outside. Subsequently, Tartarin found out that Gregory spent three years in a Tarascon prison. In fact, Gregory did not deceive Tartarin, since he actually lived for three years in Tarascon and did not go outside, but nevertheless he misled him, creating with his words the impression that he was not in prison at that time.
• Manipulation of facts
  A special case of misrepresentation involving qualitative manipulation true facts, which are presented in such a way that they lead to deliberately erroneous conclusions.
• Exaggeration (understatement)
  Occurs if the statement is qualitatively true, but the given quantitative characteristics are not true.
• Playful lies
  An overt lie that is part of a joke, which is usually obvious to all participants in the communication. An example of a humorous lie is sarcasm; A more complex example is the fables found in the folklore of many nations. In many countries, lying as a joke is traditional during the April 1st holiday. On this day, people often tell others that they have “painted clothes”, “white backs”, that they “got a bad grade” (used among schoolchildren). The question of whether a playful lie is a “real” lie is often disputed, and many philosophers have differing opinions about it.
• Contextual lie
  Speaking the truth out of context can create a false impression. A colorful example is given in the book by Richard Feynman:

• Exalted
  an exaggerated statement usually found in advertising or campaign materials, such as “our powder washes impeccably clean”, “candidate N is the only hope for democracy”, etc.
• False due to outdated information
  An example of such lies are letterheads and business cards that contain outdated addresses or telephone numbers; a billboard of a bankrupt company that has not yet been removed, etc. It is often not perceived as a lie, since such information was initially reliable.
• Lying due to ambiguity of information
  A type of misrepresentation in which information is given in an ambiguous form, allowing for more than one interpretation, while only one of the possible interpretations is correct. Sometimes it is not perceived as a lie, since the information provided contains the correct answer. However, more often than not, an ambiguous message is constructed in such a way that it encourages the listener to choose an erroneous interpretation.
• False denial
  Correction correct information to a deliberately false one; the belief of an interested party that previously communicated information was erroneous when in fact it was correct. It is often combined with other types of lies, as it can serve different purposes.
• Pathological lies
  Unmotivated lies; lies for the sake of lies. Although this type lies and is called “pathological”, it remains controversial whether psychopathology really takes place here. It has not been conclusively established how much a pathological liar can control his lies, and, therefore, whether such a person can be considered fully capable and whether he can perform certain tasks. social functions(for example, to be involved in court as a witness, to act as a guarantor in financial transactions, etc.). There is a hypothesis according to which pathological liars believe their own lies, which brings pathological lies closer to children’s lies and suggests that pathological lies are just children’s lies that have been preserved in humans until mature age. However, this has not been proven. Practice shows that the overwhelming majority of pathological liars are quite sane and capable of taking responsibility for their words.
• Self-deception
  A specific type of lie, which consists in the fact that the subject of the lie is also its object, in other words, a person convinces himself of the truth of a deliberately false judgment. Let's say a student who is poorly prepared for an exam convinces himself that he is well prepared (knowing deep down that this is not so). The basis of self-deception is wishful thinking. According to a number of psychologists, self-deception is a psychological defense mechanism in cases where admitting the truth can mentally wound a person or cause moral discomfort. Some psychiatrists compare self-deception with pathological lying on the basis of belief in a deliberately false statement. Philosophically, opinions vary widely about whether one can truly deceive oneself, which is why some doctors and philosophers avoid the word “self-deception”, replacing it with “autosuggestion.”
• Involuntary lies (“innocent” lies, naive lies, unintentional misrepresentation)
  Involuntary misrepresentation associated with the speaker’s belief in the truth of an erroneous statement is therefore only indirectly related to types of lies. For example, a child is convinced by his parents that a stork brings children, and tells his friends about this, who want to know where children come from. Often such a lie is a consequence of the fact that the speaker himself was deceived by someone. Therefore, such a lie is sometimes called “innocent” (because the blame for the lie falls on the one who told the speaker false information) or naive (as a sign of the naivety and gullibility of the speaker who repeats someone else’s lie). In most cultures, lying unintentionally is not considered a “real” lie and is not frowned upon. Thus, if a witness who gave false testimony in court was mistaken, he will not be held liable for perjury.

Levels of lies [ | ]

Researcher Cardiff University School of Psychology UK Susan Leekam classified lies depending on their level/degree of complexity. .

• First level of lies- this is the manipulation of another person without the intention (even without thought) to influence his beliefs. The deceiver who resorts to this kind of lie, in most cases, does not realize that by telling a lie, he can influence the beliefs of others. Children most often resort to this type of lie, either trying to hide their misdeeds in order to avoid punishment, or inventing their good deeds in order to demand a reward for them. Such a simple deception is often revealed, because children often neglect important details, which can expose them (for example, leaving cookie crumbs).
• Second level of lies includes the deceiver's awareness of the interlocutor's beliefs. Now the liar must remember that with the help of an incorrect statement (lie) one can manipulate the beliefs of the interlocutor, which the interlocutor himself, having accepted incorrect statement for truth, on its basis all subsequent ones will be assessed. Liars who reach this level of deception are much more effective at deceiving others than level 1 liars. For example, a car seller can evaluate a potential buyer and, to a certain extent, deceive him into paying extra for additional options(e.g. fuel economy, safety, dash cam) of the vehicle he is selling.
• Third level of lies is achieved by a liar who is aware that he influences the beliefs of his interlocutor with his words and understands that the interlocutor evaluates his own beliefs. In other words, it evaluates how sincere the deceiver is. Thus, a skillful lie involves convincing the interlocutor that the deceiver himself believes in his words and that his intentions are sincere. A skilled liar constantly “reads” the nonverbal behavior of the interlocutor and, in response to his reaction, uses verbal and nonverbal communication to appear more sincere. This skill significantly increases the ability to manipulate people and influence their beliefs. Also, this skill can be a sign of a subtle sense of tact, diplomacy and persuasiveness. An example of the application of this skill is the behavior of the aforementioned car salesman, who “reads” the effect his product has on a potential buyer. If the salesperson senses mistrust, he will immediately change his behavior to appear more sincere and trustworthy.

The levels of lying described above represent a kind of level of complexity. The higher the level, the more complex and sophisticated skills a liar must have to successfully manipulate. Most people can learn level 2 lies, but not everyone can master level 3 lies.

There is another, even more complex level of deception, which can be called advanced lies. Such perfection of deception is achieved by relatively few, but those who are subject to it include charismatic politicians, preachers, professional salesmen, poker players and swindlers. These people, especially scammers, use special psychological tricks to quickly convince the victim of their sincerity, to the point that the person even trusts his life to strangers. People who master these skills have their own proven techniques that allow them to control their nonverbal behavior and communicate simultaneously on a subconscious and verbal level.

Lies and emotions[ | ]

The quality of a lie is closely related to the emotions experienced by the liar (Paul Ekman):

Noble Lie[ | ]

The policy of “noble lies” was also advocated by Plato, who in his work The State assumed that in an ideal state, philosopher kings would spread lies in the name of the common good.

IN modern world A similar mythical philosophy is propagated by Leo Strauss, his followers and other supporters of neoconservatism.

see also [ | ]

What is deception?

What is deception and why is it dangerous? How to avoid becoming a victim of deception and is deception always obvious?

Beware of deception

Don Quixote - everyone famous hero novel of the same name, written by Miguel de Cervantes, Spanish writer XVI century. This novel tells the story of Don Quixote reading legends and tales of fearless knights in shining armor who rush to the aid of damsels in distress.

He soon begins to believe that he, too, is a noble knight. One thing is good famous passage he is described as fighting windmills, which in his imagination appear as monstrous giants. Don Quixote convinces himself that by striking them, he will serve God faithfully, but in the end he finds himself in a very pitiful position.

Certainly, fictional story Don Quixote may make someone smile, but when a person deceives himself, this is a serious matter. Think, for example, of an alcoholic who thinks he can drink as much as he wants, but ends up ruining his health and destroying his family. Or about a girl suffering from anorexia: she thinks she eats well and is healthy, while she is slowly dying of hunger.

Can any of us become a victim of deception? Unfortunately yes. The truth is that this danger threatens us all. We can be deceived even about our dearest religious teachings, with disastrous consequences. Why is this so? And how not to fall into the trap of deception?

Why is deception dangerous?

According to one dictionary, the word “to deceive” means “to deliberately mislead someone by telling a lie or resorting to some trick, cunning, or pretense.”

It also conveys the idea that the deceived person is in doubt, ignorance or confusion. Of course, anyone who is deliberately misled is in a very dangerous position.

However, the saddest thing is that quite often a deceived person defends his views, despite convincing evidence that they are wrong.

Perhaps they are so dear to him that he simply turns a blind eye to everything and becomes deaf to any facts that could refute them.

Are we in danger?

Some may ask, “Is it an exaggeration to say that we can all be deceived about religious teachings?” Not at all, because Satan the Devil, whom Jesus called “the father of lies,” seeks to deceive us all (John 8:44).

In the Bible he is also called "the god of this system of things." For centuries, Satan has blinded the minds of millions of people (2 Corinthians 4:4). And today he enters "in
the whole inhabited earth is deceived" (Revelation 12:9).

Satan resorted to deception at dawn human history. He deceived Eve by instilling in her the idea that she did not have to obey the laws of the Creator and that she and her husband could be “like God, knowing good and evil,” that is, they could decide for themselves what is good and what is bad (Genesis 3:1- 5).

This was the first and great deception: although men were endowed with freedom of choice, they were not created with the ability to establish standards of good and evil.

Only God, as Creator and Sovereign, has such power and right (Jeremiah 10:23; Revelation 4:11). How wrong it is to believe that the right to choose between good and evil and the right to determine what is good and what is evil are one and the same! Unfortunately, we flawed humans can easily fall prey to deception.

Could this happen to us?

It is quite possible that religious teachings close to your heart have existed for centuries and are passed on from generation to generation. However, this does not mean that they are correct. Why?

The Bible reports that shortly after the death of Jesus' apostles, dishonest men appeared in the Christian congregation who spoke “perverse things to draw away the disciples after themselves.”​—Acts 20:29, 30.

They cleverly deceived people with “compelling arguments,” as well as “philosophy and empty deceit, according to the custom of men.”​—Colossians 2:4, 8.

Has anything changed since then? Only for the worse. Talking about " last days“- the times in which we live, the Apostle Paul warned: “Evil people and deceivers will do worse and worse, deceiving and being deceived [“they will only sink deeper and deeper into deception themselves and deceive others,” Meaningful translation ]” (2 Timothy 3:1, 13).

Therefore, it would be wise to take seriously the warning of the Apostle Paul: “If anyone thinks he stands, let him take heed lest he fall.”
(1 Corinthians 10:12). Here Paul was speaking about man's position before God.

In fact, thinking that Satan will never be able to deceive us is already a big misconception. No man is immune from “the machinations of the Devil” (Ephesians 6:11).

This is why the apostle Paul expressed his concerns to his fellow believers: “I fear lest, as Eve did when the serpent seduced him with his wickedness, your minds become corrupted, straying from the sincerity and purity that Christ deserves” (2 Corinthians 11:3).

How to avoid becoming a victim of deception?

How to avoid becoming a victim of Satan's deception? How can we make sure we worship God “in spirit and truth”? (John 4:24). To do this, we need to take advantage of what Jehovah God has provided.

First, he “gave us understanding” by which we can discern truth from lies (1 John 5:20).

And second, he did not leave us ignorant of Satan's plans (2 Corinthians 2:11).

In fact, Jehovah God has provided everything we need so that we can resist Satan's attempts to deceive us. (Proverbs 3:1-6; Ephesians 6:10-
18).

Moreover, God has provided a reliable means by which we can protect ourselves. Which? This is the Bible, his holy Word.

It was to this that the Apostle Paul encouraged his colleague Timothy to turn when questions of faith were raised. Having given a warning about " evil people And
deceivers," Paul told Timothy to defend his religious beliefs based on " sacred scriptures"(2 Timothy 3:15).

Perhaps someone will say that anyone who believes in God and considers the Bible to be his inspired Word is deluded. But in reality those who are mistaken
who stubbornly rejects all evidence confirming the existence of a Creator and the inspiration of His Word, the Bible (Romans 1:18-25;
2 Timothy 3:16, 17; 2 Peter 1:19-21).

Instead of allowing "so-called knowledge" to mislead us, it is better to turn to God's Word to find out what the truth is
(1 Timothy 6:20, 21).

In this we can take an example from the Bereans - the prudent men and women to whom the Apostle Paul preached. “They accepted the word with extraordinary
zeal." The Bereans not only believed what Paul taught, but also “searched the Scriptures carefully every day to see if these things were true” (Acts 17:11).

Don't be afraid to test your beliefs. Before accepting anything as truth, it is worth following the biblical advice: “Make sure of everything” (1 Thessalonians 5:21).

At the end of the 1st century AD. e. The apostle John urged fellow believers: “Dear ones, do not believe every inspired utterance, but test the inspired utterances to see whether they are from God” (1 John 4:1).

Even if a religious teaching appears to be “inspired,” that is, from God, it would be wise to search the Scriptures before accepting it.
this doctrine as truth (John 8:31, 32).

Act on what you learn

However, something more is required. The disciple James wrote, “Be ye doers of the word, and not merely hearers, deceiving yourselves with false reasoning” (James 1:22).

It is not enough just to know what the Bible teaches. You also need to apply what you have learned in life. How? By following God's commandments and avoiding the things he forbids.

Take, for example, the widespread decline in morals. Doesn't this prove that Satan successfully deceives people into thinking that they can flout God's standards of morality with impunity?

This is why the Apostle Paul warned Christians: “Make no mistake: God is not one to be mocked. Whatever a man sows, that he will also reap” (Galatians 6:7).

Do not be like the “foolish man” who, as Jesus said, “hears... [his] words and does not do them.”

Like Cervantes's hero Don Quixote, who was deceived by his own imagination, the man in Jesus' parable was deceived into thinking that he could
build a strong and safe house on a shaky foundation of sand.

Imitate the man who “built his house on the rock.” Jesus called such a person “prudent” because he “hears... [his] words and
fulfills them" (Matthew 7:24-27).

Is deception always obvious?

In the 1930s, Swedish artist Oskar Rutersvard drew and presented to the public several drawings that are today known as impossible figures. If you look at these drawings briefly, something that defies logic and common sense may seem real.

However, upon closer examination, one can see the ingenious techniques invented by the artist to deceive the human eye and mind.

Impossible figures are not the only thing that is not true. About 2000 years ago the Bible warned: Be careful lest someone find you who would take you as prey through philosophy and empty deception according to human traditions, according to the principles of this world, and not according to Christ."(Colossians 2:8).

These words sound especially significant considering that their author himself was once a victim of deception. It would seem that he, a man who had been educated by one of the most famous religious teachers of the day and moved in the highest circles, would be difficult to deceive (Acts 22:3).

This man - Saul of Tarsus - was convinced that anyone who did not adhere to the same religious customs and traditions that he deserves punishment.

Having received authority from the Jewish religious leaders, he considered it his duty before God to persecute Christians who refused to renounce their faith. Saul even approved of the murder of a fellow countryman who was falsely accused of blasphemy (Acts 22:4, 5, 20).

Over time, Saul was helped to see the difference between what was right and what was wrong, what God approved and what God condemned. This zealous man, realizing that
he erred, changed his ways and became known as Paul, an apostle of Jesus Christ. Freed from the snares of deception, Paul began to worship
God in His own way (Acts 22:6-16; Romans 1:1).

Like Paul, many sincere people have been deceived by teachings that amount to impossible figures - teachings that, although they seem plausible, have no basis in God's Word.​—Proverbs 14:12; Romans 10:2, 3.

However, these people were helped to see what such teachings really were and what the fruits of their religion were (Matthew 7:15-20).

After receiving accurate knowledge from the Bible, they reconsidered their beliefs and changed their lives to gain God's approval.

You too could follow the example of the Apostle Paul and examine your religious beliefs in the light of God's Word, the Bible.

Jehovah's Witnesses will be happy to help you with this.

Life is the most wonderful gift

Everyone knows what deception is, because everyone has encountered lies and deceived themselves. And people who would never cheat in their lives most likely do not exist at all. And yet, all people can be divided into two categories - honest and dishonest, those who strive for truth, strive to avoid meanness and lies in their lives, and those who use lies as a method to achieve their goals. usually for selfish or overtly negative purposes.

But, despite the fact that all people are quite familiar with the phenomenon of deception, rarely does anyone understand the nature of this vice and really deeply understand the reasons for human lies.

What is Deception (lie)

Deception (lie)– this is not true, a deliberate or unintentional distortion of information due to any motive. Moreover, the motives can be either openly negative (slander and betrayal) or selfish (to make a profit), or quite adequate and even positive ( For example when a warrior, while being tortured in enemy captivity, while remaining loyal to his homeland, knowingly gives false information).

The main reasons (motives) why people lie:

At the first place, oddly enough, it’s worth it! People lie because they are afraid! They are afraid of the unexpected, unknown, or negative reaction of others to the truth. They lie to hide something. They lie because they are afraid that others will find out about some of their other vices and weaknesses that they keep secret.

In second place It's probably worth the benefit. People lie or fib because they count on some undeserved dividends. For example, they want to create a false impression (show off), to gain trust in order to obtain some benefit.

The essence of deception is this: it is designed to protect and hide others' shortcomings, weaknesses and crimes.

What do you think is the most common type of Deception? – Self-deception! Most of all, people prefer to lie to themselves! Why? Because with the help of self-deception you can justify any of your shortcomings, vices or weaknesses. What is it for? Everything is so trivial that you don’t want to do anything about it. After all, if a person has recognized a shortcoming in himself and said, “yes, I have this in me and it’s very bad,” then we need to do something about this shortcoming, we need to change, work on ourselves, get rid of the problem. And most people don’t want to do this. Probably, most of all, people do not want to change, so they prefer to deceive themselves, and others if necessary.

What are the exceptions or when is Cheating allowed?

• During war and hostilities, deception towards the enemy is permissible (according to Spiritual Laws).
• To save a life (not always, of course, but sometimes deception is justified).
• To maintain a secret, an oath (obligations), classified information, a person has the right to remain silent, that is, not to give information, and this is not considered deception.

What are lies and deceit replaced with?

If lying and deception are a vice and a great disadvantage, then this is a great advantage and something with which deception must be replaced.

A person of dignity and honor – strive to be sincere and truthful in everything. A dishonest and vile person lies left and right.

– gives from other people and organizations. Deception and deceit kill trust and lead to the fact that no one is with the liar. honest man doesn't want to have anything to do with it. After all, lies always emerge sooner or later and destroy all bright connections, feelings and relationships. And strength lies in the Truth, no matter how you look at it! If a person is sincere and truthful, he has nothing to fear, he has nothing to hide, and this makes him incredibly strong.

What does Lies lead to (inevitable consequences of deception)?

In personal life a lie kills all bright feelings, love and union, and of course completely destroys trust between two people.

In business and any other significant activity, deception destroys trusting partnerships, leads to dismissal and loss of opportunities, and therefore money. In some cases, For example in respected corporations, if you are ever caught lying, your career is over, your reputation is ruined, and you are blacklisted throughout the country. This means that you will not be hired anywhere else for a prestigious position in your profession. In dark business, on the contrary, much is built on deception, but retribution also comes quickly (either prison or their own people are buried).