It doesn’t seem generally true that communication requires delicate maintenance. Liars have existed for thousands of years, and languages have diverged and evolved, and yet we still are able to communicate straightforwardly the vast majority of the time! Like you said, lying loses its effectiveness the more it is used, and so there’s a counter-pressure which automatically prevents it from taking over.
It seems to me that there are numerous instances, from the Challenger o-rings to Iraqi WMDs to Lysenkoism, where telling lies has become normalized. Usually followed shortly by catastrophe. You could argue (and I would agree) that such catastrophes are simply part of the “automatic counter-pressure” that allows language to continue to exist. But there’s an understandable desire to find other mechanisms that don’t require as much suffering and death.
I think Adele’s framework is slightly better than Zack’s here, but I perhaps agree with you hthat I struggle to use either to describe Lysenkoism, for example, or the expressing the belief that a RBMK reactors are infallible.
Simpler concepts like wish-fulfillment and Yarvin’s Observation (below) seem better at explaining virtual signaling behavior and impression management to me.
″...in many ways nonsense is a more effective organizing tool than the truth. Anyone can believe in the truth. To believe in nonsense is an unforgeable demonstration of loyalty. It serves as a political uniform. And if you have a uniform, you have an army.”
It seems to me that there are numerous instances, from the Challenger o-rings to Iraqi WMDs to Lysenkoism, where telling lies has become normalized. Usually followed shortly by catastrophe. You could argue (and I would agree) that such catastrophes are simply part of the “automatic counter-pressure” that allows language to continue to exist. But there’s an understandable desire to find other mechanisms that don’t require as much suffering and death.
Not all lies are the same.
I think Adele’s framework is slightly better than Zack’s here, but I perhaps agree with you hthat I struggle to use either to describe Lysenkoism, for example, or the expressing the belief that a RBMK reactors are infallible.
Simpler concepts like wish-fulfillment and Yarvin’s Observation (below) seem better at explaining virtual signaling behavior and impression management to me.