To mark the event of World Philosophy Day 2014, Oxford University Press is making available a selection of free downloads of notable philosophical works. May we recommend ‘Just go ahead and lie’ Analysis (2012) 72 (1): 3-9, by Jennifer Saul, who is head of the Philosophy Department at the University of Sheffield.
“The view that lying is morally worse than merely misleading is a very natural one, which has had many prominent defenders. Nonetheless, here I will argue that it is misguided: holding all else fixed, acts of mere misleading are not morally preferable to acts of lying, and successful lying is not morally worse than merely deliberately misleading. In fact, except in certain very special contexts, I will suggest that – when faced with a felt need to deceive – we might as well just go ahead and lie.”
Also see: Lying – what is it, truly?