The theory of lie: from the sophists to socrates

Abstract

The last third of the 20th century and the first decade of the 21st century show the growth of scientific and especially, scientific-promotional papers on the problems of the particularities and forms of existence of deception and lie in European culture and social life. The concepts have emerged, proving the necessity and value of certain forms of lies for the preservation of the state, the family, and the implementation of the real practice of human communication: the existence of such activities as diplomacy, business, art and others. In some psychological and pedagogical papers define the idea of the importance of lie and deception for the development of the child’s intellectual abilities, and the success of the adult in the society. With almost unlimited amount of such literature of different theoretical levels, synthesizing the «philosophical and cultural studies of lies and deception» are much less. The papers devoted to the emergence of the first attempts of the theoretical explanation of the established practice of lying and deceiving with the help of rationally constructed theoretical constructions are not enough. This article is an attempt to fill this gap partially.