Lying is democratic, we all lie: women and men; children, young and old; riches and Poors; educated and ignorant; mothers, fathers, sisters, brothers. In short, there are perhaps more lies on the planet than truth. Alberto Siracusano, who knows a lot about the mechanisms of the psyche, tells us this: he is a full professor of Psychiatry at the University of Rome Tor Vergata. He lies for a thousand reasons: to hide a fault, to harm or help someone, to obtain an advantage, to hide an inadequacy, etc. The brain, as usual, is to blame. Some scientists maintain that lying thinking starts from a “general command”, others believe that various “operational centers” are located throughout the brain. In fact, a theory that explains the universal mechanisms of lying is still missing: the functioning of the lying mind can only be studied on the single individual. However, it seems that, when lying, the frontal lobe, temporal lobe and amygdala come into play together.
Deceiving is an art; with practice you can refine it. The liar must be skilled at mixing truth, fiction, deception, mimicry and acting. At various stages of life, lies play a different role. In the elderly they are often linked to “fear of loss”, fragility of memories, difficulty in managing emotions. In children they also play a positive role, they are often signs of growth: by lying, little ones experience a secret mental space, hidden from adults, and refine a “creative value”, overcoming the limits imposed by reality: fantasies and games are often based on lie. Lies and secrets become important as we grow up, because they influence relationships with peers and adults, and create complicity in friendships. For Freud, not even in dreams are we sincere, and Jacques Lacan recognized that no communication, even with the best intentions, can tell the whole truth: “I love you and I will always love you” can be a non-truth, because “always” may not last.
The liar fears being discovered: this is why he gives few details. The body reveals the lie: stereotyped, controlled mimicry; the liar’s face does not participate, his gaze is fleeting, his posture rigid. Today technology is also being used to increase the rate of lies: the smartphone (“I didn’t hear the call, my phone was on silent”), the fake news of social media, those of artificial intelligence. Will we survive this? Maybe. Of course, each of us will have to increasingly strive to find a point of balance between truth and lies. It will not be easy.
Giuseppina La Face
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