The noble lie is a concept originated by Plato as described in The Republic. However, the concept has far greater scope and has been used by many commentators to talk about much more modern issues in politics.
Plato’s ‘Noble Lie’, albeit arguably a notion of ideological propaganda, is often where the debate begins concerning ‘expertise’. Plato did not believe most people were clever enough to look after their own and society’s best interest, so the few ‘clever’ people of the world needed to lead the rest of the flock. Therefore, the idea was born that only the elite should know the truth in its complete form and the rulers, Plato said, must tell the people of the city ‘The Noble Lie’ to keep them passive and content, without the risk of upheaval and unrest.
Strauss noted that thinkers of the first rank, going back to Plato, had raised the problem of whether good and effective politicians could be completely truthful and still achieve the necessary ends of their society. By implication, Strauss asks his readers to consider whether it is true that noble lies have no role at all to play in uniting and guiding the people.
Aristotle believed that politics should be a noble pursuit to which ethics is an introduction. The last chapter of the Nicomachean Ethics states “Since then our predecessors have left this matter of legislation uninvestigated, it will perhaps be better ourselves to inquire into it, and indeed into the whole question of the management of a state
Is it ok to lie to make people feel good about something, like the economy?
This is a re-post thing - for more good comments - LINK
what a relief I thought they were lying to hurt us
AntwortenLöschen,but they lie to us for our own good
thank god
from their point of view however.
Yes, I feel all better, now that I know I'm being lied to for a noble purpose. lol
AntwortenLöschenThe problem is that they no longer see it as a lie since it is "for the greater cause of humanity".
AntwortenLöschenQuestion to anyone - if you had inside knowledge of an incident, say, the accidental release of a biological weapon from a military lab - and to announce it publicly would cause mayhem and panic in the conurbations nearby... would you say anything?
AntwortenLöschenOr... would you tell relatively harmless lies to someone you love in order to prevent hurting them?
Thanks for re-posting, Good. I do like this piece.
Why do I get the impression that my answer is going to result in a lengthy response that will have minimal application to the above piece and be more a statement of views on Israel, religion, global warming or some similar point of view? Oh well, I'll do it anyhow.
AntwortenLöschenI'd tell the people about the accidental release. They have a right to know what's about to happen. I believe in transparency, whether it be in the example you gave or in government. Granted, it means that you are open to criticism by the public, the media, and the rest of the world. But that's the only way a democracy can work.
And if I'm wrong about my suspicion of this question, I apologize. I get so used to people asking questions with obvious answers as a lead-in to a rant.
Why do I get the impression that my answer is going to result in a lengthy response that will have minimal application to the above piece and be more a statement of views on Israel, religion, global warming or some similar point of view? Oh well, I'll do it anyhow.
AntwortenLöschenI'd tell the people about the accidental release. They have a right to know what's about to happen. I believe in transparency, whether it be in the example you gave or in government. Granted, it means that you are open to criticism by the public, the media, and the rest of the world. But that's the only way a democracy can work.
if the effect is relatively small it may be told
AntwortenLöschenif it is about a mayor disaster involving millions they will shut up about it ,because it cannot be handled
people die easier at home than running around like chickens without a head
If it's just going to make me ill, I might agree with you, byderule. But if it's going to cause my death, I'd want to know that I was about to die.
AntwortenLöschenIf you don't believe in making peace with a supreme being, you'd still want to try to make your peace with loved ones. And given the scenerio above where your government has responsibility for the accident, they should at least have the decency to give you warning so you can get your affairs in order.
sure we would all like to know ,
AntwortenLöschenbut will the authorities comply
did you see the trailer of 2012,
In the face of an imminent global disaster it is very likely ,if possible ,that they will try to keep it from us.
And it makes sense from a government´s point of view .
Although Panic ,destruction, Chaos ,would not matter to anything anyhow if the whole show was going up
But don´t worry we are being lied to enough,and always have been.
Just adding my 2p. I get what this blog is about, but at first when I saw it on Good's own blog, not having heard of the Plato saying before, I thought it was about the kind of lies I refer to in my question.
AntwortenLöschenI think it depends on the intent. I'd like to believe in transparency, and I'm against politicians lying to us to save their Masonic Brothers' hides, or for financial gain and things like that. But I don't believe the public have 'need to know' on quite a lot of things. I tend toward agreeing with Plato that an intellectual elite can be 'trusted' (for want of a better word) with 'the whole truth'. Trouble is, that privilege will always end up being abused, and becomes subject to greed. Bilderberg's a good example. Even if it did start out as a group to forge better relations between USA and Europe after WW2 - a noble cause, perhaps... it has become more about the rich staying rich at we plebs' expense.
No, I wouldn't call that a rant. And it wasn't pre-meditated. Just an outline of how I understood this item.
Just adding my 2p. I get what this blog is about, but at first when I saw it on Good's own blog, not having heard of the Plato saying before, I thought it was about the kind of lies I refer to in my question.
AntwortenLöschenI think it depends on the intent. I'd like to believe in transparency, and I'm against politicians lying to us to save their Masonic Brothers' hides, or for financial gain and things like that. But I don't believe the public have 'need to know' on quite a lot of things. I tend toward agreeing with Plato that an intellectual elite can be 'trusted' (for want of a better word) with 'the whole truth'. Trouble is, that privilege will always end up being abused, and becomes subject to greed. Bilderberg's a good example. Even if it did start out as a group to forge better relations between USA and Europe after WW2 - a noble cause, perhaps... it has become more about the rich staying rich at we plebs' expense.
No, I wouldn't call that a rant. And it wasn't pre-meditated. Just an outline of how I understood this item.
I dislike it when that happens. Religion in particular, this group is not about, except where it is a factor in territorial disputes such as Northern Ireland or Palestine. We've had a global warming thread here, and a few about loosely related subjects, some economics I think... I thought of deleting them, fine tuning the feel of the group, but there was no need. They weren't bad.
AntwortenLöschenI dislike it when that happens. Religion in particular, this group is not about, except where it is a factor in territorial disputes such as Northern Ireland or Palestine. We've had a global warming thread here, and a few about loosely related subjects, some economics I think... I thought of deleting them, fine tuning the feel of the group, but there was no need. They weren't bad.
AntwortenLöschenEverything I say is getting posted twice. I wish Multiply would sort that out
AntwortenLöschen