The Analysis of False Judgement According to Being and Not-Being in Plato’s Theaetetus (188c10–189b9)

The version of the paradox of false judgement examined at Tht. 188c10–189b9 relies on the assumption that to judge falsehoods is to judge the things which are not. The presentation of the argument displays several syntactic ambiguities: at several points it allows the reader to adopt different syntactic connections between the components of sentences. For instance, when Socrates says that in a false judgement the cognizer is “he who judges the things which are not about anything whatsoever” (188d3–4), how should the clause “about anything whatsoever” be construed? In common with “he who judges” and “the things which are not” (in which case the cognizer would be “he who judges about anything whatsoever the things which are not about it”), or exclusively with “he who judges” (in which case the cognizer would be “he who judges about anything whatsoever the things which are not”)? The most plausible answer is that both construals are envisaged. Accordingly, the argument has two branches corresponding to these two alternative construals. In particular, it attempts to show that in both cases the cognizer will address what does not exist – an impossibility. The idea that a false judgement is concerned with what is not about its reference has a clear echo in the Sophist. The way in which the problem is handled in the Theaetetus provides a hint that can help to find a solution for the hotly debated issue of the interpretation of the Sophist’s account of false statement.

Lie for Me: Developmental Trends in Acquiescing to a Blatantly False Statement

A pair of studies demonstrates that simply asking children to make a blatantly false accusation in the guise of helping others can result in both immediate and long-term false claims. In the pilot study, the initial willingness to make a blatantly false statement was associated with some children making false statements a week later despite being told that the first interviewer had made mistakes during the initial interview. On a positive note, the majority of participants accurately stated that they did not have first-hand knowledge of their accusation's accuracy. Across both studies, the rate of false accusation rates was high. The main experiment demonstrated that children who were young, possessed the lowest verbal intelligence or who were from the lowest SES homes made the most accusations. These findings illustrate not only the dangers of encouraging children to make false statements, but the ease and durability of making such false statements.

17. Defamation

This chapter discusses the tort of defamation. This area of law has undergone significant legislative change following the enactment of the Defamation Act 2013. Only a false statement can be defamatory. It is up to the defendant to prove that the statement is true in order to avoid liability. Defences include honest opinion, publication on a matter of public interest and privilege (where the statement is made in the performance of a duty). Remedies include an injunction to prevent publication, and a permanent injunction to prevent further publication and damages.

15. Intentional interferences with the person

This chapter examines intentional interferences with the person, including the torts comprising trespass to the person—battery, assault and false imprisonment—the tort in Wilkinson v Downton [1897], and the statutory tort of harassment. The trespass to the person torts seek to protect an individual against an infringement of their personal or bodily integrity, that is, against the infliction, or fearing the infliction, of unlawful force (battery and assault) and the unlawful restriction of a person’s freedom of movement (false imprisonment). The three trespass to the person torts have the same characteristics: the defendant must have intended both the conduct itself and consequences of their action; the defendant’s action must cause direct and immediate harm; and they are actionable per se, that is, without proof of loss. The chapter also considers the tort in Wilkinson v Downton, which provides a remedy for physical and psychiatric harm deliberately caused by a false statement, and the Protection from Harassment Act 1997, which imposes both civil and criminal liability for harassing conduct.

9. Misrepresentation

Poole’s Casebook on Contract Law provides a comprehensive selection of case law that addresses all aspects of the subject encountered on undergraduate courses. A contract may include a statement that is a mere puff, a representation, or a contractual term. In the case of a representation, the maker asserts the truth of certain facts and thus induces the contract. In case of an actionable misrepresentation (an unambiguous false statement of fact which induces the other party to enter into the contract), the contract may be rendered voidable; that is, liable to be set aside or rescinded. In some instances, the injured party may claim for damages designed to restore him to his original position. This chapter examines the identification of actionable misrepresentation, duties of disclosure, types of misrepresentations, rescission as a remedy, damages for misrepresentation, including the damages available in s. 2 of the Misrepresentation Act 1967, and the effect of contributory negligence in any damages award. Finally, the chapter examines exclusion of liability for non-fraudulent misrepresentation and the effect of ‘non-reliance’ clauses in contracts. In the consumer context, it also notes the criminal offences in certain instances of misrepresentation under the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) and the extension to include civil remedies for misleading actions.

9. Misrepresentation

Course-focused and comprehensive, Poole’s Textbook on Contract Law provides an accessible overview of the key areas on the law curriculum. False statements of fact that induce a contract are known as actionable misrepresentations. In case of a misrepresentation, there are different legal remedies for breaches of contract. A misrepresentation renders the contract voidable (liable to be set aside using the remedy of rescission) so that the contract will be treated as if it had never been made, whereas a breach of contract will have no effect on the existence of the contract (in the absence of a repudiatory breach that will terminate the contract when future contractual obligations will be discharged). The chapter identifies actionable misrepresentations and, in particular, loss in instances where there is a duty of disclosure in English law. There are three types of actionable misrepresentations, dependent upon the state of mind of the one who makes the false statement: fraudulent, negligent, and innocent. This chapter looks at the legal remedies for actionable misrepresentations such as rescission, the availability of damages for different types of misrepresentations, and the provisions of the Misrepresentation Act 1967. It also examines the effect of the Consumer Protection from Unfair Trading Regulations 2008 (CPRs) as amended on this area of law, the criminal offences and civil remedies for consumers, as well as the relationship of misrepresentation to other areas of law. Finally, it looks at clauses that seek to exclude or limit liability for misrepresentation or to deny any actionable misrepresentation, e.g. ‘non-reliance clauses’.

Social steerability modulates perceptual biases

Verbal hints can bias perceptual decision-making, even when the information they provide is false. Whether individuals may be more or less susceptible to such perceptual influences, however, remains unclear. We asked naive participants to indicate the dominant color in a series of stimuli, after giving them a false statement about which color would likely dominate. As anticipated, this statement biased participants’ perception of the dominant color, as shown by a correlated shift of their perceptual decisions, confidence judgments and response times. Crucially, this perceptual bias was more pronounced in participants with higher levels of susceptibility to social influence, as measured by a standard suggestibility scale. Together, these results indicate that even without much apparatus, simple verbal hints can affect our perceptual reality, and that social steerability can determine how much they do so. Susceptibility to suggestion might thus be considered an integral part of perceptual processing.Statement of relevanceAt a time when fake news soar, understanding the role that simple verbal descriptions play in how we perceive the world around us is paramount. Extensive research has shown that perception is permeable to well-orchestrated manipulation. Comparatively less attention has been paid to the perceptual impact of false information when the latter is imparted simply and straightforwardly, through short verbal hints and instructions. Here we show that even a single sentence suffices to bias perceptual decision-making, and that critically, this bias varies across individuals as a function of susceptibility to social influence. Considering how here perception was biased by a single, plain sentence, we argue that researchers, communicators and policy-makers should pay careful attention to the role that social suggestibility plays in how we build our perceptual reality.

How Repetition Affects What Kids and Adults Believe

How do you know that something is true? Is it because you learned it in school? Is it because you heard it before? Our brains can remember a lot of information, but we do not always use this information when deciding what is true. Sometimes we use shortcuts like, “Have I heard this before?” rather than thinking about what we know. These shortcuts can lead us to make mistakes—like thinking that a false statement is true just because you have heard it many times. Researchers call this the illusory truth effect. People are more likely to believe information they have heard multiple times. This happens even when people should know that what they are hearing is wrong! They already have the correct information stored in memory, but repetition makes them think that false information is true. In this article, we discuss why this happens, and how this might affect kids like you!

The First Half of Stepan Nechayev’s Life: Writer and Decembrist

The events that took place between 1825 and 1826 (Nicholas I’s accession to the throne, the Decembrist revolt, and a large-scale investigation) led to a new historical era in Russia. These events divided the life of the Russian nobility, or at least the lives of many of its representatives, into “before” and “after”. Stepan Dmitrievich Nechayev (1792–1860) did not put forward revolutionary ideas, nor was he a member of later Decembrist societies. He was not under investigation. However, his life was split in two. Before 1826, Nechayev was known as the author of numerous poems, aphorisms, travelogues, and translations. His Love of the Public Good encouraged him to serve the people’s enlightenment selflessly, erect a monument to the heroes of the Battle of Kulikovo, and participate in literary, academic, and charitable societies. Nechayev was also a member of the Union of Prosperity. Usually, investigators were not interested in persons who had left Decembrist societies before 1821. But Nechayev signed a false statement according to which he had never been a member of such societies. For such acts of perjury, other members of the Union of Prosperity were sentenced to a month’s imprisonment in the Peter and Paul Fortress. Nechayev also had artistic and friendly relationships with Decembrist writers A. A. Bestuzhev, K. F. Ryleev, and V. K. Küchelbecker, who played key or prominent roles in the preparation and realisation of the armed revolt on 14 December 1825 in St Petersburg. What saved Nechayev was his three-month official trip to Perm province, during which he successfully collected information about Old Believers and sectarians. Thus began the second half of his life, in which Nechayev held high positions, such as chief procurator of the Synod and senator, made no dangerous acquaintances, and abandoned the dream of literary fame.