Contents
I. HONESTY’S DECLINE
1) Beyond Honesty
A Whole Lotta Lyin’ / Whatever Happened
to Honesty? / Post-Truthfulness / Euphemasia / Ledger Book Morality
2) A Brief History of Lying
The Liar’s Edge / Early Ethics /The Insider’s
Guide to Honesty / Lie Regulation / Civil Society
3) The Honesty Connection
Community / Situational Dishonesty /
Ethical Memories / Impression Management
4) Whistler’s Druthers
Myth America / The Reinvented Self / Roots?
5) Great Pretenders
Petty Fibbery / A Matter of Degrees / Imposeurs / Fields of Unfulfilled Dreams / Behind the Mask
6) Why Lie?
Insecurity / Recreation / Duping Delight / Adventure / Taking Charge
7) Sex, Lies, and Sex Roles
Sex Studies / Telling it Crooked / Erotic
Deception / Relationships
II. ENABLING DISHONESTY
8) Mentors and Role Models
Therapists / Lawyers / Politicians / Entertainers
9) It’s Academic
On Campus / Larger Truths / Po Mo Profs / Heirs of Protagoras /
Applied Postmodernism
10) Narrative Truths, and Lies
Narrative Truths / New Journalists / Driven Narratives / Creative Journalism /
Ripple Effects
11) Masked Media
Hollywood Ethics / From Beaver to Baghdad / Narratives, Storylines, and
Dramatic Arcs
12) Peter Pan Morality
Origins / Looking-Glass Ethics / “I Was There” / The Boomer Code
13) Deception.com
Techno-Aided Deception / No One Knows You’re a Dog / The Tangled Web /
Enhanced Reality
III. CONSEQUENCES AND CONCLUSIONS
14) The Suspicious Society
Truth Bias to Lie Bias / Just Checking / Pinocchio’s Revenge / Wired Up /
Lies and Consequences / Credibility Gaps
15) The Price of Prevarication
No Respect / Lieaholism / Craving Truth
16) The Case for Honesty
The Post-Ethics Honesty / The Well-Intentioned Liar /
Honest Parenting / The Social Value of Honesty / Positive Trends /
Honesty Redux
Notes
Acknowledgments
Index