Lying is a Selfish Act

The act of lying is pervasive as described in the TED presentation done by Jeff Hancock, “The Future of Lying”. Hancock also states that there are several reasons why an individual may tell a lie but the main reason is to preserve the relationship between another. Lying can be seen a selfish act and even though Hancock states that one of the main reasons for lying is to maintain relationship between others this idea can be debated. An individual may aim to maintain a relationship because that particular individual do not want the person to execute actions that may then affect him/her in the long run. An example of this claim can be an employee not wanting to lie to his/her boss because the employee does not want the boss to find out the truth and then firing the individual depending on the severity of the lie. Therefore, isn’t telling a lie mainly for personal gain. The concept and reasons for telling a lie may vary. However, when the lie is analyzed, the individual can always be found having personal gain, and this can be present in every reason of lying. Therefore, the conclusion can be drawn that just like most other acts, an individual lie for merely personal gain.