LEARNING TO LIE: THAT'S NO LIE

Learning to Lie: That's no lie

David Doolittle
COLL100: Introduction to Online Learning
American Military University
Alyssa Harvey

LEARNING TO LIE: THAT'S NO LIE

Learning to lie: That's no lie

When do you think was the first recorded lie? If you had said Eve lying to God in the garden
of Eden about eating from the tree of knowledge, you would probably be in consensus with most
of western civilization. However, the first recorded lie per se would have to be before that. Now
that evolution has proved with conclusive evidence man evolved from primates, the first lie would
have had to be between two early neanderthal humans in a language lost to time. One can wonder
what that scenario must have been. Honestly it was probably for similar reasons people lie today.
A desire to gain an upper hand in a social situation personal gain or to avoid the consequences of
the truth.
Caveman Jack had taken caveman Jims fur made rug. Obviously Jim knew Jack had taken
his rug because there was no one else around their cave environment. When asked Jack fervently
denied he took the rug because it gave him a higher social status, the rug would provide warmth
during the winter, and caveman Jim might harm him if he told the truth. So in knowing this, is the
story of Eves lie a false one? No it is not. But it is more than a scripture, the story is an allegory
for human nature. Eating from the tree of knowledge was the only thing God told Adam and Eve
not to do in Eden and if they did they would be removed from the garden.
Therein lies the consequence for lying about the action. Both of them understood if they
ate from the tree they would gain abilities they did not have. It would be considered personal gain
to hide this truth from God. These abilities would put them above the animal kingdom around
them, their society, a form of societal rise. But only if one of them lied when confronted about
how they obtained this position. Since our very onset of social order we as humans have lied. But
how did we learn to lie and is the reason as distinct as the three factors listed above? Modern
science has discovered tantalizing new evidence paramount to answering these questions.

LEARNING TO LIE: THAT'S NO LIE

As a newborn comes into the world, nothing is more innocent. The child opens its eyes for
the first time but its brain has not developed the ability to speak immediately. It can observe the
environment its placed in for the next couple years entirely. Taking in every detail of the pure
world, only making obnoxious screaming noises crying or laughing. The most purest of emotions
the developmental brain contains those basic functions. But does it contain the ability to lie? The
human brain developments functionalities throughout its lifetime. A developmental functionality is
being defined as the cohesion of movements and memories. Movements are the physical motions
of the bodies muscles caused by a series of nervous system signals (Martini, F., 2009).
The nervous system is broken up into two division; the central nervous system and the
peripheral nervous system. The brain is part of the central nervous system, the brain and spinal
column. Most muscles are contained in the peripheral nervous system, which is connected to the
spinal column. Memories are created through the repeated use of nervous system signals to create
movements, then bonded synaptic electrical connections are cemented in the brain (Kampa, B., et.
al, 2011). A synapse is the connection point in which nervous system signals are transmitted
between nervous system cells (Martini, F., 2009). A newborn has limited movements and
memories, when it learns to speak however a wide variety of functionalities become available to it.
This part of the brain is contained in the left side, or hemisphere, in a few particular areas. These
areas include; brocas area, wernickes area, the angular gyrus, and the limbic system (Martini, F.,
2009). Once the nervous system cells in all these areas are fully developed the brain develops the
ability to speak then understand (Martini, F., 2009). Could one of these functionalities with
speaking and understanding, be the ability to learn to lie? Two recent studies one physiological
and philosophical provide contrasting viewpoints to the subject.
In 2004 neuro psychologists at the University of Sheffield in the United Kingdom conducted
a study using magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to determine if higher functioning of the brain

LEARNING TO LIE: THAT'S NO LIE

was required to lie (Spence, S., 2004). If so the developmental areas alone were not what was
required for a human to learn to lie, but developed functionalities throughout the brain. In this
case Spence and colleagues were looking for activity in the prefrontal cortex, specifically the area
which inhibited action. This would indicate lying could be a learned trait in the earliest stages of
adolescence as the brain doesnt fully develop these regions for use until then (Understanding
The Effects, 2009). Sean spence speculated by being giving the ability of learning to lie in
adolescence, that learning to lie was a functionality of environment and not development (Spence,
S., 2004). Spence and colleagues hypothesized this connection was established psychologically in
the environment coinciding between the child and his mother, when the child learns they could
hide thoughts from the mother (Spence, S., 2004). Subjects of varied ages were asked a series of
questions inside an MRI scan and outside. Some of the questions regarded questionable lifestyle
choices. When the subjects were in the MRI scan they were more likely to tell the truth and
outside more likely to lie (Spence, S., 2004). The MRI scan was meant to act as an authority
figure or mother in this experiment. When they lied to questions that made them uncomfortable
while being under the authority of mother participants showed significant activity first in the
areas of the prefrontal cortex associated with inhibition, then the functionalities associated with
speaking, and finally areas associated with understanding (Spence, S., 2004). Proving lying can
only be learned in adolescence if speaking is a functionality of the ability to learn to lie. But what
if speaking is not the significant variable in learning to lie?
Animals in the wild often act in deceptive ways. A prey whom conceals its appearance with
camouflage, or a predator whom overtly attracts its prey, are acting deceptive. When considering
the difference between deception and lying, it is consecutive of the later. Deception is an action of
knowingly convincing the recipient of a communication that it is the truth, when in fact lying

LEARNING TO LIE: THAT'S NO LIE

(Deception, n.d.). The communication explained does not have to be in the form of verbal
words. Thus a lie can come from something that does not have the ability to speak.
Evolutionarily plants developed before animals, and do not yet have a proven thought
process. Plants do however respond to stimuli. This wasnt a mistake by any means. The Venus
Fly Trap evolved from a genus totally unlike its current state. The scientific name for the Venus
Fly Trap is Dionaea muscipula (Volkov, A. G., et al., 2008). It has long been believed contacting
the hairs inside the pad of a Venus Fly Trap is the mechanism which causes the fly to be trapped.
Even so it is initially the colorful reddish orange pad which attracts the prey. Sometime during the
evolutionary process the Venus Fly Trap developed a deceptive trait of color to be able to
convince prey they were actually on a flower.
With enough energy provided through photosynthesis and nutrients gathered in capturing
of flies the venus fly trap was able to extend its evolutionary lifetime past all other members of its
genus through sexual reproduction (Gibson, T., and Waller, 2009). Deception then would be a
functionality of evolution and sexual reproduction. It would not be a trait of the brain, humans, or
even animals in this instance. Scientists working with the Venus Fly Trap expanded the ability of
lying in evolutionary deception to the chemical level (Schulze, W., 2001), proving maybe
deception and lying are not a characteristic of either thought, brain activity, stimuli, or evolution.
This would mean lying could be at the philosophical foundation of all things.
Experimental botanists in 2001, at the Center for Molecular Biology in Plants in Tubingen
Germany, wanted to test their hypothesis behind the evolutionary mechanism of fly capturing in
the Venus Fly Trap. Dr Schulze and his colleagues intended to see if the mechanism was triggered
into higher reciprocity by an imbalance in chemicals (Schulze, W., 2001). The intended conclusion
would be the change in chemicals composition of the earths environment fueled the development
of sexually independent evolutionary traits such as the pad, hairs, and trapping mechanism solely

LEARNING TO LIE: THAT'S NO LIE

to balance chemical levels in the plant (Schulze, W., 2001). The experimental botanists wanted to
look at a universal chemical in the environment and one used constantly by plants to prove this
hypothesis, so they chose Nitrogen.
Nitrogen is a common chemical element in the earth's composition making up 78% of the
atmosphere (Cool Cosmos, n.d.). It has been relatively stable at this percentage since the
atmosphere took its modern form, removing the factor of anthropogenic influence of the post
industrial age. Dr Schulze and colleagues changed those chemical compositional values in soil by
burning the area surrounding the Venus Fly Trap. The result was the Venus Fly Trap triggered its
trapping mechanism more often (Schulze, W., 2001). Meaning as the atmospheric composition of
Earth formed, which allowed all things to come into existence, it also drove the evolution of the
Venus Fly Trap deceptive trait to allow it to continues it existence. Therein lies the three factors in
a Venus Fly Traps lie mentioned in the introduction; consequence in becoming extinct, being the
surviving member in the predator prey social situation, and nutrient acquisition being a personal
gain for the organism.
Philosophically then if we consider all of Earth our existence, and what we have sensible
understanding of our reality, then everything has the ability to be deceptive or lie. Learning to lie
is not a factor of developmental environment, functionality of the brain, or even an evolutionary
trait. Everything learns to lie by simply being. As humans our brains are simply evolved chemical
processes of the Earths composition. The human nervous systems synaptic process is driven by
chemicals passing across the synapses (Martini, F., 2009). The change in chemical gradient creates
an electrical charge (Martini, F., 2009). Albeit more sophisticated chemical processes, in some
people, but chemically driven none the less.
Perhaps this is why Plato and Socrates argued all knowledge is innate, the concept of
innatism, and we are not learning anything but recollecting something we already knew (Wang, T.,

LEARNING TO LIE: THAT'S NO LIE

2012). If lying is in the nature of all things, then why do we lie? Is it simply because we are in
existence, and are forced to inevitably lie? Only if you believe free will doesnt exist. But then
when given free will, or the fruit of knowledge, we are given the opportunity to lie. It creates an
infinite paradoxical cycle which on one end existence demands we lie and on the other end our
conscious spurs us to tell the truth. Three factors have been reiterated that are persistent in all
layers of living as being the motivations for lying; gaining the upper hand in a social situation,
personal gain, and avoiding consequences. On the human level of existence, removing oneself
from the heavy philosophical discussion of when and how we learn to lie, a further question needs
to be asked. Why is a lie are more often chosen then the truth, when it has been said the truth
will set you free (The CIA Headquarters Buildings, n.d.) ? That right there, is no lie.

LEARNING TO LIE: THAT'S NO LIE

8
References

Deception. (n.d.). Retrieved December 10, 2014, from http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/deception

Gibson, T., & Waller, D. (2009). Evolving Darwin's most Wonderful Plant: Ecological Steps To
A Snap-trap. New Phytologist, 575-587. Retrieved December 5, 2014, from
http://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/j.1469-8137.2009.02935.x/pdf
Kampa, B., Gundlfinger, A., Letzkus, J., & Leibold, C. (2011). Circuit Mechanisms of Memory
Formation. Neural Plasticity, 1-2. Retrieved December 4, 2014, from
http://www.hindawi.com/journals/np/2011/494675/abs/
Martini, F. (2009). Fundamentals of anatomy & physiology (8.th ed.). San Francisco, Calif.:
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(n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2014, from http://coolcosmos.ipac.caltech.edu/ask/64-What-is-theatmosphere-of-Earth-made-ofSchulze, W. (2001). Quantification of insect nitrogen utilization by the venus fly trap Dionaea
muscipula catching prey with highly variable isotope signatures. Journal of Experimental
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Spence, S., Hunter, M., Farrow, T., Green, R., Leung, D., Hughes, C., & Ganesan, V. (2004). A
Cognitive Neurobiological Account Of Deception: Evidence From Functional
Neuroimaging.Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B: Biological
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The CIA Headquarters Buildings. (n.d.). Retrieved December 7, 2014, from
http://www.fas.org/irp/cia/product/facttell/building.htm

LEARNING TO LIE: THAT'S NO LIE

Understanding the Effects of Maltreatment on Brain Development. (2009, January 1). Retrieved
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Volkov, A. G., Adesina, T., Markin, V. S., & Jovanov, E. (2008). Kinetics and Mechanism
of Dionaea muscipula Trap Closing. Plant Physiology, 146(2), 694702.
doi:10.1104/pp.107.108241
Wang, T. (2012, February 1). Empiricism, Rationalism, and Platos Innatism. Retrieved December
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