Lies as Play-acting: The Peculiarity of "White Lies" in Wittgenstein's Work

Ulrich Arnswald (University of Innsbruck, University of Innsbruck)

Lying is a sophisticated form of communication. To be able to lie, you have to know the truth and the untruth. Wittgenstein captures this knowledge very precisely when he writes: "Lying is a language-game that needs to be learned like any other one." (PI I 249)

To the extent that successful communication requires truthfulness, truthfulness is an essential virtue. However, the question arises as to whether all communication must be based on truthfulness. Wittgenstein asked himself this question at a very young age, as the following autobiographical note reveals:  

"Very early in life I recognized the greater strength of character of my brother Paul. When he had been slightly sick and was recovering and was asked whether he would like to get up now or would prefer to stay longer in bed, he would calmy say that he would rather stay lying down; whereas I in the same circumstances said what was untrue (that I wanted to get up) because I was afraid of the bad opinion of those around me." [Brian McGunness: Wittgenstein: A Life: Young Ludwig (1889-1921). London: Duckworth 1988, p. 47f.]

This note is not only suitable for invalidating the widespread prejudice against lying, but also raises the question of the "white lie" in Wittgenstein for the first time, i.e. the lie that is intended to achieve a favorable result on the basis of an untrue statement. The question he raises, "Why should one tell the truth if it is more advantageous to lie?" represents the core question of a so-called white lie.  

However, this raises further questions about the nature of white lies, which do not necessarily have to be disadvantageous for the person being lied to, even if they are advantageous for the liar. White lies give the liar a creative power that he would not have without the lie. At the same time, however, there is no doubt that he has to lie in order to make use of this opportunity. While the following applies to any normal lie: "You can’t be reluctant to give up your lie & still tell the truth." (CV, p. 44e), this does not work for the white lie, because the truth of the white lie is the untrue statement that contains the truth of one's own intention, but is made impossible by abandonment.  

White lies are therefore not "speaking against one's own mind with the intention of deceiving", but are always deliberate "untrue language games" that are not intended to deceive, but rather to consciously shape. They are therefore not hypocrisy, as they do not have to feign false feelings of a deliberate lie, but always only convey a consciously planned white lie as an untrue statement. In his late work, Wittgenstein also makes statements about the lies of actors on stage, which provide an insight into this particular form of lying as a "white lie".