Topics Ethics

Question To accuse someone of lying what evidence must one have? Let us assume that someone argued that Saddam Hussein had WMD. We now know that to be incorrect. What is the missing element to evidence that s/he was lying other than a personal statement from her/him to that effect?

Accepted:
January 31, 2008

Comments

Lying involves an intentional act of deception. If someone truly believed that Iraq before the US invasion possessed WMD and asserted as much, this wouldn't be a case of lying. We all make claims from time to time that turn out to be false, but we are not (usually - see below) morally culpable. However, it's lying if one makes a false claim believing it to be false, or at least not believing it to be true. (Of course in some circumstances one might be morally culpable for one's ignorance, or for making a claim that has serious consequences without sufficient justification. So if someone in a position of authority went around claiming that Iraq had WMD without solid evidence, even if they believed it, they would be morally blameworthy. But that doesn't mean they were lying.)