In an article called “For Badness’ Sake” (The Journal of Philosophy 2009) David Sussman defined perverse actions as those undertaken when our normal desire for the good is reversed, expressing wickedness. Lies are like those actions when “most of us know what it is like to pick at a scab or worry a loose tooth simply because of the peculiar way in which doing so hurts”, and hurt is what we do to others when we deceive them.
A former colleague at the College is doing research on how children respond to questions and he found that very often they say things that are the opposite of what they know is the truth. He is now finding out the differences: some might be afraid to be punished, but many just want to lie. Why children do it is the question my colleague is now asking. He needs to continue studying children, but he feels that some want to be perverse and enjoy being “nasty”, and some are very clever and are plotting another action. In a way, the kids are like a lot of adults.
A former colleague at the College is doing research on how children respond to questions and he found that very often they say things that are the opposite of what they know is the truth. He is now finding out the differences: some might be afraid to be punished, but many just want to lie. Why children do it is the question my colleague is now asking. He needs to continue studying children, but he feels that some want to be perverse and enjoy being “nasty”, and some are very clever and are plotting another action. In a way, the kids are like a lot of adults.
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