Your plan to set up your friend Carey with your acquaintance Emerson is finally coming together. You’ve made them a dinner reservation, but suddenly realize that there’s a problem: Carey is always late. You really want this relationship to work— what if you told Carey dinner was at 6 instead of 6:30, so they arrived on time? Is it okay to lie?
Before you watch
fill in the gaps in the video extract with the words in bold below:
crosses whereabouts eager take root
circumstances
rigid unsettling set up relic odd
Your plan to 1. …………….. your friend Carey with your acquaintance Emerson is finally coming together. Both individuals have heard all about each other and they’re 2. …………… to meet for dinner. You’ve just made them a reservation for Friday night, and you’re about to text Carey the details when an 3. …………………. thought 4. …………… your mind. Carey is always late. (…) Carey seems to view punctuality as an oppressive 5. ………… of an earlier era. But what if you told them dinner was at 6:00 instead of 6:30? (…) So, should you lie? What would you do? (…) If Carey shows up on time just this once, the relationship will at least have a chance to 6. …………….. . Your lie will pave the way for a potentially happy relationship. (…) But isn’t it morally wrong to lie? The absolutist position on lying, associated with German philosopher Immanuel Kant, holds that lying is always immoral, regardless of the 7. . ………………… . (…) But suppose a murderer were hunting Carey down. If the killer asked you about Carey’s 8. ……………, it seems 9. ……….. to say that you must tell the truth at the cost of your friend’s life. From this perspective, absolutism seems too 10. …………. .
Now watch the video and check your answers:
Key: 1. set up; 2. eager3. unsettling; 4. crosses; 5. relic; 6. take root; 7. circumstances; 8. whereabouts; 9. odd; 10. rigid
Glossary
- to pave – if something paves the way for/to something else, it makes the other thing possible
- stance – a way of thinking about something
- to overstate – to describe or explain something in a way that makes it seem more important or serious than it really is
- lax – not sufficiently strict, severe
- inherently – in a way that exists as a natural or basic part of something
Practice Makes Perfect
Read:
https://www.newyorker.com/humor/daily-shouts/dear-pepper-sweet-little-lies and decide if the sentences below are
True or False?
- Rarely has Pinocchio embarrassad himself when talking about financial matters.
- Pinocchiowould be eager to lie if he romanced someone.
- Pinocchio minded meeting his wife’s friends and so he lied he was meeting someone that didn’t exist.
- Pinocchiobelieves his wife wouldn’t be bothered by his lies.
Key: 1F; 2F; 3T; 4T
Discuss:
- Why do people lie?
- Is it OK to tell lies white lies?
- Do you often lie?
- What’s the biggest lie you’ve ever told?
- How do you feel when you tell a lie?
- Have you ever cheated on or lied to your partner?
- Have you ever been found out when telling a lie?
Explore it more to create your own teaching-learning experience!
Eye Movements Do Not Reveal Lying
https://www.scientificamerican.com/podcast/episode/eye-movements-do-not-reveal-lying-12-07-12/
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