LYING AND ASSERTING

Abstract

The paper argues that the correct definition of lying is that to lie is to assert something one believes to be false, where assertion is understood in terms of the notion of the common ground of a conversation. It is shown that this definition makes the right predictions for a number of cases involving irony, joking, and false implicature. In addition, the proposed account does not assume that intending to deceive is a necessary condition on lying, and hence counts so-called bald-faced lies as lies. "This is the peer-reviewed version of the following article, which has been published in final form at http://www.journalofphilosophy.org/. This article may be used for non-commercial purposes only."