Lying or not?

[rosconeko]

Lets say for example someone believes a certain something to be true and they tell this to many people. In actual fact it is not true, but they do not know this. Would it be lying? And can that person be held accountable?

I'm not talking about gossiping, but about beliefs etc...

 

[Nick]

I do not think that is lying. I consider lying to be not telling the truth and knowing that what you are telling isn't the truth.

Say for example, that I believed that global warming was happening, and there was scientific proof today that could justify my positon. But it actually happens that global warming is not true, and new scientific evidence comes out in a few years that states this. I would not have considered myself lying, as I told the truth as I knew the truth to be.

Take this definition from wikipedia:

A lie (also called prevarication), is a type of deception in the form of an untruthful statement, especially with the intention to deceive others, often with the further intention to maintain a secret or reputation, protect someone's feelings or to avoid a punishment. To lie is to state something that one knows to be false or that one has not reasonably ascertained to be true with the intention that it be taken for the truth by oneself or someone else. A liar is a person who is lying, who has previously lied, or who tends by nature to lie repeatedly.

 

[rosconeko]

Perhaps 'lying' is not the correct word. Bearing false witness maybe? Thanks for your reply. You got what I meant!