A History of Lying
Wherever there is life, there are lies.

Slick-suited politicians lie on the podium, ready to tell voters what they want to hear. Cheating lovers, swindling businessmen, double-crossing villains – all liars.  But nature lies too – the cheetah crouching in the tall grass waiting to pounce, its spots and straw-coloured fur blending in with its surroundings, the chameleon with its adaptable skin, the octopus hiding in its cave.

Juan Jacinto Muñoz-Rengel uncovers the slippery history of lies, some dark and elusive, others thunderous and dazzling.  From primeval forests to modern politics, he explores the uncomfortable truths of our white lies, fudged facts and blatant deceptions. For centuries, philosophers, writers and poets have grappled with the paradox of what’s fact and what’s fiction. So who can we really believe?  Our friends?  Our partners?  Our leaders?  Can we even trust ourselves?

Truly, this is the only book in which the abundance of lies on its pages is a sign of success. Or maybe it isn’t.  Who can really tell?

1144496873
A History of Lying
Wherever there is life, there are lies.

Slick-suited politicians lie on the podium, ready to tell voters what they want to hear. Cheating lovers, swindling businessmen, double-crossing villains – all liars.  But nature lies too – the cheetah crouching in the tall grass waiting to pounce, its spots and straw-coloured fur blending in with its surroundings, the chameleon with its adaptable skin, the octopus hiding in its cave.

Juan Jacinto Muñoz-Rengel uncovers the slippery history of lies, some dark and elusive, others thunderous and dazzling.  From primeval forests to modern politics, he explores the uncomfortable truths of our white lies, fudged facts and blatant deceptions. For centuries, philosophers, writers and poets have grappled with the paradox of what’s fact and what’s fiction. So who can we really believe?  Our friends?  Our partners?  Our leaders?  Can we even trust ourselves?

Truly, this is the only book in which the abundance of lies on its pages is a sign of success. Or maybe it isn’t.  Who can really tell?

14.95 In Stock
A History of Lying

A History of Lying

A History of Lying

A History of Lying

Hardcover

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Overview

Wherever there is life, there are lies.

Slick-suited politicians lie on the podium, ready to tell voters what they want to hear. Cheating lovers, swindling businessmen, double-crossing villains – all liars.  But nature lies too – the cheetah crouching in the tall grass waiting to pounce, its spots and straw-coloured fur blending in with its surroundings, the chameleon with its adaptable skin, the octopus hiding in its cave.

Juan Jacinto Muñoz-Rengel uncovers the slippery history of lies, some dark and elusive, others thunderous and dazzling.  From primeval forests to modern politics, he explores the uncomfortable truths of our white lies, fudged facts and blatant deceptions. For centuries, philosophers, writers and poets have grappled with the paradox of what’s fact and what’s fiction. So who can we really believe?  Our friends?  Our partners?  Our leaders?  Can we even trust ourselves?

Truly, this is the only book in which the abundance of lies on its pages is a sign of success. Or maybe it isn’t.  Who can really tell?


Product Details

ISBN-13: 9781509551415
Publisher: Polity Press
Publication date: 11/07/2022
Pages: 200
Product dimensions: 5.50(w) x 8.60(h) x 0.80(d)

About the Author

Juan Jacinto Muñoz-Rengel is a Spanish writer.  Born in Malaga in 1974, he is the author of El gran imaginador (The Great Imaginator), El asesino hipocondríaco (The Hypochondriac Hitman) and El sueño del otro (The Other’s Dream) and he has received more than 50 national and international awards for his short stories.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgements


One

Minus Six

An Even Earlier Time: Nature

Two

Reality as Simulacrum

The First Big Lie

Magical and Mythical Thinking

God the Deceiver

The Lies of the Church

The Lies of Atheism

The Formation of Societies

Espionage and Counterespionage

Political Lies

Business and Economics

A Brief History of Forgery

Art as Fabrication

Literature as Fabrication

The Masters of Scepticism

The Lies of Science

The Present, Hyperreality and Post-Truth

Love

Death

So, What Is There?


Bibliography
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