We all think lying is wrong. Yet we often lie to make ourselves look good, to avoid embarrassment, to avoid hurting others. In fact we lie routinely. A 2002 study found that 60% of us lie on average three times in a ten minute conversation.
Is it time to accept that lying has a central role in all social discourse? Should we stop pretending that it is inexcusable for politicians to lie, and accept that spin is part of their job? Might deceit even be the key to the success of our species? Or is the prevalence of lies a sign of a society in disrepair and decline, undermining trust and meaning, and should we do all we can to reverse this malign practice?
Journaist and author David Aaronovitch, author of Freedom In the Age of Alternative Facts Santiago Zabala, and philosophy of the mind specialist Åsa Wikforss lock horns over whether telling the truth still matters at all.