TOEFL® essay: There are times when lying is acceptable

[Lola]

Do you agree or disagree with the following statement?
There are times when lying is acceptable.

Yes, there are times when lying is acceptable, but only when it's a white lie that is not going to harm anybody. For example, say an acquaintance of yours,someone who is not a close riend, were to ask you about his/her clothes or hairstyle.Even if you felt that the clothes or hair was unfashionable or ugly, you might choose no to say the truth.After all, what is to begained from upsetting someone over something not really important? The same goes for when someone gives you a gift that you don't like, or when you go too someone's house for dinner and hate the food.Other times, in a work situation perhaps, you may realize that by telling the truth about something small you might be putting someone else's job at risk.In such a case, telling a white lie may do more good than harm. I think it is fine to tell a small, harmless lie for a good cause. I do not agree, however, that lying is a good thing to do in general.I just realize that there are those times when lying may be necessary,maybe to spare somebody's feelings or for some other compelling reason.In those cases,lying is more than acceptable.

[Alan]

Hi,

Yes, there are times when lying is acceptable, but only when it's a white lie that is not going to harm anybody. For example, say an acquaintance of yours,someone who is not a close Friend, were to ask you about his/her clothes or hairstyle.Even if you felt that the clothes or hair was unfashionable or ugly, you might choose 'no' to say the truth.After all, what is to be gained from upsetting someone over something not really important? The same goes for when someone gives you a gift that you don't like, or when you go TO someone's house for dinner and hate the food.Other times, in a work situation perhaps, you may realize that by telling the truth about something small you might be putting someone else's job at risk.In such a case, telling a white lie may do more good than harm. I think it is fine to tell a small, harmless lie for a good cause. I do not agree, however, that lying is a good thing to do in general.I just realize that there are those times when lying may be necessary,maybe to spare somebody's feelings or for some other compelling reason.In those cases,lying is more than acceptable.


Well done
Alan
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English as a Second Language
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[Marita]

From when we were small, we were always told that lying is bad and that we should always be honest no matter what happens. However, right now, lying seems to be a way of life. People lie everyday for unimportant things like how someone looks to more serious things like saving a person’s life. Lying is certainly not something good but there are some situations when lying is acceptable and it’s a better decision.

A lie can be acceptable if it is said to avoid hurting someone’s feelings and lower his self-esteem. For example if a girl asks her friend weather or not she looks good in her new outfit, her friend would be justified to lie and say that she does, even though she doesn’t, as she would be lying to avoid hurting her friend’s feelings. Telling a white lie is always acceptable if it is to prevent an unreasonable fight between two friends and avoid hurting someone’s feelings.

In addition, lying can also be acceptable in medical situations in order to encourage a patient and make him fight for his life. If a patient that is ready to be operated asks his doctor if he would be okay, although the chances of survival may be little, it would be acceptable for the doctor to lie and say that everything would be alright as it will encourage the patient to keep fighting for his life. Instead if the doctor had said the truth, the patient would have been discouraged and he wouldn’t be willing to fight for his life anymore which could have had fatal results.

Moreover, telling a lie so as to save a person’s life is again acceptable. For example when in war, people are forced to lie in order to save their lives. In such situations telling the truth would have meant the end of a person’s life and nothing is more important than life so lying is absolutely acceptable as it is done for good.

As a conclusion, I would say that the truth is a good thing, but sometimes it’s not the best one. Being honest is not always the right decision to make because a lie, even if it is a white lie, can sometimes bring better results than the truth would and in such situations lying would absolutely be acceptable.