Is deception inherently bad?

Maybe

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This is extremely situation dependent. No clear cut answer can be extracted.

 

This.

 

Depending on the situation it can be appropriate or not, its all subjective.

 

Deception use is relative. I cannot think of particulars but I have had scenarios where I left out certain facts in a story for those I'm working with so they would do what they needed to and not worry about what dangerous/stupid thing I was going to do to expedite the task.

 

I think I'm with Indigo.

I'm not sure I fully understand the question though. Are you asking whether a deception performed by another human is bad or simply if deceptions in general (e.g. outlooks on things) are bad?

 

Ethically? Perhaps it is wrong. Morally? I think if the deception is used for the greater good, however relative that is, I think it can be warranted and not bad.

 

Hmm, if it's lighthearted deception that isn't harming another person, or perhaps deception to prevent others from being harmed, I have less of a problem with it.

From a concept like the tales we tell children of around the holidays like Santa Claus or the Easter Bunny, to deceiving someone holding an innocent at gunpoint, those are the sort of areas that I see it as acceptable by my personal standards. The former creates a fun atmosphere for the occasion, and the latter can help subdue someone in an unstable state while protecting another, or a multitude of others from harm, or even death.

Deceit to manipulate others into fulfilling a person's own selfish desires though, that sickens me. In love, in law, in business, it happens in nearly every field and it drives me insane simply to be around. Unless there's a damn good reason, it's something I find completely and totally unacceptable by any standpoint.

 

Nothing is inherently bad or wrong. But you can add it to your own personal set of immoralities. I did.

 

SO well said!!! I approve with my whole heart and soul. Endless gold points for that!

 

I consider it as most times I do omit info is to distort the perceived danger's or any sort of shortened timespan that may send the others off into the deep end

Edit: Finally an example comes to mind! One weekend at camp after a massive wind storm me and two other staff members were tasked with going through the sites and checking for widow makers(tops of trees stuck in high branches) and trees that may fall and hurt people. In one site cleaning up debris we hear a loud bang. I run off and see that a massive tree that was leaning towards the site was starting to break. I run back tell the other two staff(they were 1st year staff and both 15) to go to the far side of the site and clean things up. I told them not to worry about the bang(one of the few times I actually hid the danger using that phrase). About 30 min later i was able to safely drop the tree with the tip falling just in view of them.

 

Yes.

I can easily envision situations in which deception is better than the truth. Whether it is better than the TRUTH, is a different matter, altogether. One is reminded of Moli

 

Deception can be bad, but it's not inherently bad. People often think they will succeed when the odds are against them - but this deception makes them more likely to succeed. If a bad sports team went into every game thinking, "we're probably going" to lose, they may be right, but that doesn't mean they should acknowledge the odds.