On average, people lie two to three times every 10 minutes of conversation (Smith). In Mark Haddon's The Curious Incident of a Dog in the Night-Time, Christoher Boone struggles with lies. From sarcastic comments to a complex web of lies, Christopher struggles to make sense of them. It's because his Aspergers prevents him from recognizing lies. It seems that throughout the novel, everyone has a natural propensity to lie. One explanation for this is that lying is a complex aspect of human nature. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get the original essay Many great philosophers have questioned whether lying is morally right. They answer this question by asking whether lying is still necessary now that the human race has progressed. Plato argued that the leaders of a society must lie to maintain harmony. He also believed that context was important in determining whether a lie was virtuous or not. From this point of view, Plato was willing to let the masses live in a false reality so that there would be no uprising. On the other hand, Saint Augustine believed that no lies could be tolerated. This view is shared by Immanuel Kant who considered a lie to be an attack on morality because it treated people as means rather than humans. Kant's view opposes the human need to get ahead of one's competitors by any means necessary. Hugo Grotius had an interesting view of lying. He believed that something could only be considered a lie if it was harmful (Smith). According to Grotius' definition, a white lie would not actually be a lie. Where this idea gets complicated is when a lie harms a person for the greater good of society. Lying is not a question of right and wrong. There will always be debate about what a lie is and whether it is acceptable. Humans have become master manipulators because lying is a necessity for survival. In fact, children start lying as early as six months old by pretending to cry or laugh (Smith). One of the advantages humans have over the animal kingdom is our ability to communicate through language. Many animals lie without language. For example, some birds trick meerkats into thinking there are predators nearby to trick them into abandoning their food (Thorpe). However, with the development of language, lying for humans became immensely more complicated. One of the reasons humans evolved the ability to lie is because we are social creatures and therefore need to form relationships with each other. One way to form these relationships is to lie so that others will like you (Thorpe). We see this with white lies where we compliment others even if it's not always the truth. Another lie that could strengthen relationships is lying for a friend. This may lead to trouble, but the potential gain is more important to us than the risk of trouble. These lies are mutually beneficial, but there are of course lies that can benefit the liar while hurting the victim (Thorpe). An example from our society is political figures who lie to gain support. They might promise certain things that cannot be kept, making voters a victim. Similarly, in the early days of human existence, tribal leaders had to lie to the masses to gain support. Another example of lying that hurts victims is when a businessman steals an idea from his partner and claims it.