The Wired Word discussed rather deeply and extensively the ramifications of not telling "The Truth, the Whole Truth, and Nothing but the Truth". However, I don't think civilizations, societies, groups, or individual interactions as we know these entities could function if we adhered to the "total truth" concept. We would have to be trained from birth to accept the other sins we commit, to be able to forgive and forget, be extremely forgiving of criticism and very aware of the nuances of our speech in order for people to function together. Take for example: In marriage, the simple question of "Do you like my dress?" Possible honest responses of "I have no opinion, I haven't time to think about it, I don't know anything about clothes, I don't pay much attention to clothes" generally will create antagonism, and risk bearing the cost of a new dress, further delay in selecting another dress, or an in depth discussion of "why". These situations can all be avoided by the simple falsehood "Your look great!" Substitute "mother" for dress and one may not be able to answer at all.
Also, relative to the "dress" question, the person asking the question may not be asking a real question at all, but rather is seeking assurance of her/his appearance or choice because she/he already knows that her/his other-half has very little about style.
And there is the question from a gravely ill or terminally ill person regard health "Am I going to get well?
There is the politician who wants to get elected but has little in common with his area voters. ls that person going to tell the voters that he will say almost anything they want to hear to get elected?
Now, I regard half-truths, misleading statements, and weasel-wording to be the same as a falsehood. And misleading actions can also be lumped with falsehoods. How about the church attendee who habitually dozes off during services and who's only contribution is to the body count?
And finally, the automatic greetings and farewells we offer to friends, acquaintances, and strangers every day. These are habitual, because we utter them without thinking. Here, an unaware utterance is known as a courtesy, a mannerism intended o make people feel good. Yet we offer them often while thinking about something else. Soooooo, where is the cutoff point? I think we have to weigh the consequences, particularly who profits from the falsehood. I do not think society as we know it could function without some level of falsehood acceptance.
