Mutual deceit is a situation wherein lying is both accepted and expected or that the parties mutually accept the deceit in question. This can be demonstrated in the case of a

poker Poker is a family of comparing card games in which players wager over which hand is best according to that specific game's rules. It is played worldwide, however in some places the rules may vary. While the earliest known form of the game w ...

game wherein the strategies rely on

deception Deception or falsehood is an act or statement that misleads, hides the truth, or promotes a belief, concept, or idea that is not true. It is often done for personal gain or advantage. Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda and sleight o ...

and bluffing to win.

Concept

The idea of mutual deceit has been used during the ancient times.

Homer Homer (; grc, Ὅμηρος , ''Hómēros'') (born ) was a Greek poet who is credited as the author of the ''Iliad'' and the ''Odyssey'', two epic poems that are foundational works of ancient Greek literature. Homer is considered one of the ...

and

Hesiod Hesiod (; grc-gre, Ἡσίοδος ''Hēsíodos'') was an ancient Greek poet generally thought to have been active between 750 and 650 BC, around the same time as Homer. He is generally regarded by western authors as 'the first written poet i ...

, for example, cited it along with

theft Theft is the act of taking another person's property or services without that person's permission or consent with the intent to deprive the rightful owner of it. The word ''theft'' is also used as a synonym or informal shorthand term for some ...

and

adultery Adultery (from Latin ''adulterium'') is extramarital sex that is considered objectionable on social, religious, moral, or legal grounds. Although the sexual activities that constitute adultery vary, as well as the social, religious, and legal ...

to describe the attributes of the

Greek Greek may refer to: Greece Anything of, from, or related to Greece, a country in Southern Europe: *Greeks, an ethnic group. *Greek language, a branch of the Indo-European language family. **Proto-Greek language, the assumed last common ancestor ...

gods that men found reproachful. These were evident in the way the gods mistreated each other, a position that was also noted by

Plato Plato ( ; grc-gre, Πλάτων ; 428/427 or 424/423 – 348/347 BC) was a Greek philosopher born in Athens during the Classical period in Ancient Greece. He founded the Platonist school of thought and the Academy, the first institution ...

as part of his criticism of the poets in the ''

Republic A republic () is a "state in which power rests with the people or their representatives; specifically a state without a monarchy" and also a "government, or system of government, of such a state." Previously, especially in the 17th and 18th c ...

''.

Blaise Pascal Blaise Pascal ( , , ; ; 19 June 1623 – 19 August 1662) was a French mathematician, physicist, inventor, philosopher, and Catholic Church, Catholic writer. He was a child prodigy who was educated by his father, a tax collector in Rouen. Pa ...

also used mutual deceit to describe human society, citing man's capability for "disguise, falsehood, and hypocrisy both in himself and in regard to others". Mutual deceit today is considered one of the most cited exception to telling the truth, particularly when the receiver of the information recognizes that the message being communicated is untrue. Mutuality, however, is essential and that if the participants do not know the rules or do not accept them, then it is not considered mutual deceit.

Applications

Mutual deceit can be demonstrated in a film when an actor assumes a role. For example, if he plays Romeo in ''

Romeo and Juliet ''Romeo and Juliet'' is a Shakespearean tragedy, tragedy written by William Shakespeare early in his career about the romance between two Italian youths from feuding families. It was among Shakespeare's most popular plays during his lifetim ...

'', the audience watching understands what is happening – that the actor is not what he claims to be. Here, the untruth is given because everyone understands the fiction. In business, mutual deceit is phrased as a form of collusion that constructs a double reality for those inside of or participating in it. It is aligned with the notion that truthfulness does not have an intrinsic value in business. It is distinguished from the notion of dual morality, which holds that personal values, particularly on the part of managers, must be set aside in order to focus on generating profits for shareholders. In mutual deceit, the untruths are permissible because they do not constitute lies. The reason is that if the source of information knows that those who receive it understands that it is untrue, then, no deception occurs. The ''spot exchange'' market also has some mutual deceit characteristics. Participants understand and accept that the seller underreport their true willingness-to-accept while buyers do the same for their true willingness-to-pay. In some cases, even if the buyer does not accept that the seller lies, he is implicitly doing so by entering or participating in the market.

Karl Marx Karl Heinrich Marx (; 5 May 1818 – 14 March 1883) was a German philosopher, economist, historian, sociologist, political theorist, journalist, critic of political economy, and socialist revolutionary. His best-known titles are the 1848 ...

, in his criticism of

capitalism Capitalism is an economic system based on the private ownership of the means of production and their operation for Profit (economics), profit. Central characteristics of capitalism include capital accumulation, competitive markets, pric ...

, cited mutual deceit as an offshoot of every new product created within the bourgeois society. The idea is that when such economic system creates a new need, man is willing to offer a new sacrifice in order to satisfy his own ego. This theme has been explored further in Marx's discourse of the power of money and its relationship with man's needs.

References

{{reflist Lying Deception Communication of falsehoods Ethics Disinformation Psychological warfare techniques