Five Approaches to Explaining "Truth" and "Deception" in Human Communication

Bibliographic Data

ID2939873
AuthorsSusan D Blum (0000-0002-5609-040X, corresponding author)
Year2005
Volume61
Issue3
Pages289-315
Publication date2005-10-01
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessNo
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournal of Anthropological Research (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 0091-7710 • E-ISSN: 2153-3806
PublisherUniversity of Chicago Press (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.3998/jar.0521004.0061.301
OpenAlexW2043053156
LanguageEN
Citations received7
References cited16

This article identifies five approaches through which I have attempted to understand the topic of deception and truth. (The "topic" itself changes along with the frame, however.) It traces an intellectual journey through anthropological explanation, tacking back and forth among views that (1) deception in public life is prevalent in China because of a particular set of assumptions about language use and interaction, (2) deception is conceived more honestly in China than in, say, the U.S., (3) deception is prevalent and lamented in contemporary China, and its historic particulars must be considered in evaluating the newness of what is considered a problem, (4) deception occurs throughout human societies but with varying degrees of concern and frequency, and (5) deception is a fundamental part of the human capacity for language, though all societies struggle between the ease of deception and the desire for honesty and trust

China · Deception · Environmental ethics · Epistemology · Honesty · Political science · Set (abstract data type) · Sociology · Computer Science · Language, Discourse, Communication Strategies · Law · Philosophy · Psychology · Rhetoric and Communication Studies · Social Psychology · Swearing, Euphemism, Multilingualism

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