As it was in Anna Karenina, Madame Bovary, and Othello, so it is in life. Most forms of private vice and public evil are kindled and sustained by lies. Acts of adultery and other personal betrayals, financial fraud, government corruption—even murder and genocide—generally require an additional moral defect: a willingness to lie.
In Lying, best-selling author and neuroscience Sam Harris argues that we can radically simplify our lives and improve society by merely telling the truth in situations where others often lie. He focuses on "white" lies—those lies we tell for the purpose of sparing people discomfort—for these are the lies that most often tempt us. And they tend to be the only lies that good people tell while imagining that they are being good in the process.
Carol will be moderating this month. Hope you can join us for some thoughtful discussion!
Upcoming books are:
August - Dark Money: The Hidden History of the Billionaires Behind the Rise of the Radical Right by Jane Mayer (Carol)
September - The Demon-Haunted World: Science as a Candle in the Dark by Carl Sagan (Darren)
September is also book selection month. Please bring a book you would like the group to read.
October - Elon “Musk’s Billion-Dollar Crusade to Stop the A.I. Apocalypse” by Maureen Dowd in the April 2017 Vanity Fair - http://www.vanityfair.com/news/2017/03/elon-musk-billion-dollar-crusade-to-stop-ai-space-x