A World Without Lies: A Critical Study on the Social, Psychological, Political, and Ethical Implications of Absolute Truthfulness
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Lying is a pervasive element of human communication, deeply embedded in interpersonal relationships, social interaction, political processes, economic transactions, psychological adaptation, and cultural practices. Although deception is generally regarded as morally questionable, it also performs important functional roles by maintaining social harmony, protecting individual privacy, managing interpersonal relationships, mitigating conflict, and facilitating social adaptation. The ability to distinguish truth from falsehood constitutes one of the defining characteristics of human communication and social organization. Conversely, truthfulness has long been regarded as one of the fundamental virtues of ethical communication and civilized society. Against this backdrop, this study critically examines the hypothetical scenario in which all human beings suddenly lose the ability to lie. Rather than treating this question merely as a philosophical thought experiment, the paper presents a systematic interdisciplinary conceptual analysis of the potential social, psychological, political, economic, ethical, and communicative consequences of absolute truthfulness, exploring how the disappearance of deception might fundamentally transform individuals, institutions, and society as a whole. The study adopts a qualitative conceptual research design grounded in critical interdisciplinary analysis and philosophical thought experimentation. It does not rely on empirical data; instead, it synthesizes established theories and scholarly literature from communication studies, psychology, sociology, political science, economics, philosophy, ethics, and classical Indian thought. The analysis is organized through a thematic comparative analytical framework, which systematically examines the functions currently served by deception and evaluates how their absence might reshape human behaviour and social institutions. Existing theoretical perspectives on trust, impression management, self-deception, governance, organizational behaviour, media ethics, and moral philosophy provide the analytical foundation for assessing both the potential benefits and unintended consequences of a lie-free society.
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