Are Half-Truths Whole Lies?

Telling the truth comes so naturally to some people. Some people, like me, spill so many details about my daily life that the chance of my lying is zero to none-- simply because no one could make up so much crap with the ability to recall it in the same way, time and time again, unless it is indeed true.

On the other hand, lying comes very naturally to others. Unfortunately, many chronic liars do not see themselves as such. Or, ironically enough, they lie about lying.

Most people will agree on the fact that a total fabrication of a story is indeed a lie. After this, however, the lines are not so easily drawn. Why? The problem with admitting that you are a liar is directly related to self-justification. Nothing alters the facts faster than self-justification.

Because of this attempt to create logical support for the reason one lies, several different categories of liars have evolved from the Blatant Liar. Now, we have the Half-Truth Liar, the Convenience Liar, the Exaggeration Liar, the Hindsight Liar and the Omission Liar. (For full descriptions of these categories, go to the bottom of this page.) Other people have coined terms such as "Mercy Lies" and the famous "Little White Lie." Still the question remains, is there a point where a lie is undeniably labeled as such other than for the blatant fabrication of facts?

Philosopher Immanuel Kant said that truth was subjective, yet he thought lies of all types were bad. So is there a clear, concise point where truth is defined and lying identified?

In the attempt to define truth and label a lie, some questions should be asked--
*To what extent is truth really truth?
*Is omission of details the same as fabrication of them?
*What is the difference in half truths and whole lies?
*Can we accept only partial facts if all those facts are indeed completely true?

A general problem results from the lack of universal acceptance of a single definition of "lying." Therefore, there is also a specific problem between two people, when for the sake of a relationship, need to have the same approach to identifying what is true. For if one believes that the omission of facts does not automatically define a lie while the other person believes it does, then conflict is automatically created.

My own conclusion is that while there is no universal definition, it is still very important that truth's definition be the same if only between two specific people. Therefore, it is extremely important for the sake of relationships--romantic or otherwise--that what constitutes a lie be defined. For if those two people have distinctly different interpretations of what constitutes a lie, then one of them will always be a liar.
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Types of Liars

Blatant Liar-The most undisputable of all liars, this person fabricates the facts. Whether small or large details, this liar does not represent the truth with his words.

Half-Truth Liar-This liar tells partial truths, but either misrepresents the facts or only tells the part of the truth that is beneficial to his/her account (and lies about the parts that do not benefit him/ her.)

Convenience Liar-This is the liar who lies to please people or avoid conflict. This person often creates an answer that could be true, but really isn't yet. But it will potentially or could have potentially happened as described.

Exaggeration Liar-This is a common type of liar. So common that most won't even acknowledge it as such. "I caught a fish that weighed XX lbs..." "I make $_________ a year at my job."

Hindsight Liar-This liar looks back on his/ her account of a story and realizes that embellishment of the story will make it more interesting to the listener, more humorous or a generally better story. So the details are elaborated in hindsight in such a way that you recognize as a repeat listener, that the story changes with every recount.

Omission Liar-This liar tells complete truths. He/ she just doesn't tell all of them when recalling a story. For example, girlfriend to boyfriend: "A have dinner plans tonight with a friend..." Omission: "who I hooked up with all through college."