Is withholding information equivalent to lying? 🤔

Great question! Many times I keep my mouth shut because I feel that if I feel that in telling the person something they will later either use it against me or make me regret it....so that's not really lying, it's self-preservation.

I tend to feel intent matters here. If information is withheld for the selfish purpose of deception, it’s an equivalent to lying, as the only difference there is that you left a blank rather than filling it in with fiction.

If I know Ted in Accounting has a crush on you and I don’t tell you, that feels more like minding my own beeswax than lying.

Well sometimes there a reasons for that.

Maybe a person knows how someone will reacting to hearing a certain bit of info so they're protecting them from themselves.

Maybe its not the right time. Maybe they need to see or do something before its the right time to find out?

During a sort of interigation, maybe i dont want you to know what i know until you say what i need you to say?

Thier are sometimes good reasons to withhold informtaion.

Lying is blatantly giving the wrong information to either hide or trick someone, usually for personal gain or to get out of a situation.

It depends on the context. If it is information that no other party has the right to know and which doesn't affect anyone else adversely then it's in no way equivalent to lying. Withholding information could be described as privacy in that context.

Withholding info is my thing 😇

There's a reason you "swear to tell the truth, the WHOLE truth, and nothing but the truth" in Court.

Context is of matter, even if it's not lying it could be obstruction in fact finding and thereby suppress truth.

No. We are under no obligation to tell knowledge to anyone just because they want it. Even the law states.. "you have the right to remain silent".

Yeah it's dishonest .. as my uncle would say "a half truth is a whole lie"

Only when asked for, in my opinion

@CourtneyL🤔no as you have not directly told a lie you have witheld information that maybe more betrayal

Only answer what they ask and be vague

Witholding information is different from lying.

Lying is giving false and/or misleading information, whereas witholding information constitutes as not offering any information of any kind at all.

How is withholding any information that the entity the information is about asked not to leak anywhere equivalent to lying?

If the intent is to deceive, yes.

Withholding or not disclosing is the same.

It's called lying through omission

Lack of Candor is half a scootch from lying in my book.

Lying by omission…Intent matters here.

It’s dishonest certainly.

it's Dishonest which is Lying's twin

just like outright lying....... its deception

No

Yes

No