To lie or not to lie, that is the question. But is it, when couched in such global terms, a sensible or well-formed one? Can we really make sense of the justification, not of this or that particular lie or genre of lies, but of our capacity for deception itself? Barnes thinks so; though he admits that 'attempts to determine the optimal point on the continuum stretching from no lies to ubiquitous lying have so far had only limited success.' His subtitle - 'Towards a Sociology of Lying' - is not auspicious but he has much of interest to say and our worst fears are only intermittently realised. One such occasion is when he reminds us of T.S. Eliot's view that 'human beings can tolerate only a limited exposure to reality', and though he does not urge researchers to get to work on it ('How much reality do you think human beings can stand - 1. not much. 2. enough. 3. lots?'), nevertheless feels it appropriate to point out that 'Eliot's caveat may apply to honesty in the marriage relation but rock-climbers would opt for complete trust and truthfulness.'

LRB 22 September 1994 | PDF Download