Sissela Bok Livres

The aim here is not to create a traditional autobiography, but rather to share the journey of my experiments with truth, which inherently reflects my life. True identification with all living beings requires self-purification; without it, the principle of Ahimsa becomes a mere illusion. A pure heart is essential for realizing God. Self-purification must permeate every aspect of life, and its infectious nature means that personal purification can lead to the betterment of one's environment. However, the journey toward self-purification is challenging. Achieving perfect purity demands freedom from passion in thought, speech, and action, transcending love and hatred, attachment and aversion. Despite my relentless striving, I acknowledge that I have not yet attained this triple purity. Consequently, the praise of the world does not affect me; rather, it often feels like a sting. I find the conquest of my subtle passions to be more daunting than any physical battle. Since returning to India, I have confronted the dormant passions within me, which has been humbling yet enriching. I recognize the difficult path ahead and the necessity of diminishing my ego. True salvation comes when one willingly places oneself last among others, as Ahimsa embodies the ultimate humility.

Is it ever all right to lie? A philosopher looks at lying and deception in public and private life—in government, medicine, law, academia, journalism, in the family and between friends. Lying is a penetrating and thoughtful examination of one of the most pervasive yet little discussed aspects of our public and private lives. Beginning with the moral questions raised about lying since antiquity, Sissela Bok takes up the justifications offered for all kinds of lies—white lies, lies to the sick and dying, lies of parents to children, lies to enemies, lies to protect clients and peers. The consequences of such lies are then explored through a number of concrete situations in which people are involved, either as liars or as the victims of a lie.