“Consider the place of lies in the social economy of life.  We all know that lies can keep the peace in domestic life, save embarrassment (to others as well as yourself), calm the frightened, reassure when reassurance is vital, cover important information that the enemy might be seeking, and much more.  Lying is not always a bad thing and is sometimes a good thing; though it very much matters what the circumstances are and what case can be made in justification of it. Given the very high value placed on truth, the demand for a good justification is a pressing one”. A.C Grayling, Prospect, February 2015, edited)

Who hasn’t sent a deliriously positive thsnk you to a hostess for what was a terminally boring evening? Who hasn’t expressed heartfelt thanks for yet another Christmas present of plain grey socks? These are the signifiers of a civilised world – the ‘thankyou’ is for the effort and the thought. Cavemen quickly learned that to thank a neighbour for standing guard all night for the community against wolves or sabre-tooth tigers encouraged the sentry to repeat the exercise; not to say “thank you” tended to do quite the opposite.

But I do hear muttering about modern children simpy not being taught to say/write/phone or even text a thank you for a present or an outing. Can this possibly be true? Please comment.