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When is it okay to lie, and why?

Book review written by Marianne Solberg
The philosophy of lies
Forfatter: Lars Fr. H. Svendsen
Forlag: Kagge forlag
LIE: There are no limits to how many lies leaders can tell the people as long as the lies are useful to the state, and other lie perspectives from the philosophy of the new book.

The Norwegian philosopher Lars Fr. H. Svendsen's new book The philosophy of lies begins with a Nietzsche quote: "Not that you lied to me, but that I no longer believe in you has shaken me." It is thus not the lie itself (or the problematic effect of it) that Svendsen wants to investigate. The opposite of a lie is not the truth, but the truth, he writes.

The various philosophical perspectives are treated in an easy-to-understand, clear and interesting way in chapters such as «The ethics of lies», «Lying to oneself» and «Lies and friendship».

The lies in the personal are treated as in Montaigne when Svendsen writes about the breach of trust in the interpersonal relationship: «The lie is in truth. . .

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Marianne Solberg
Solberg is a new critic in Ny Tid.

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