The Art of Deception

[TylerRouss]

Hey guys, for my writing class I am planning to do an essay on the morality of deception in magic. In other words, why we feel its okay to deceive or sometimes outright lie in our magic. I am not precisely asking for help, I have a pretty clear idea of how I'm going about it. However I'd be very interested in hearing your opinions on the topic.

I might also further this idea either in this or another essay and talk about how magicians perfect the construction of a deceptive event or illusion (In a non-revelatory manor of course), and its similarity to the con. A very untalked about darker art alongside magic. We often idolize the cheat, and some of us have respect for the art of pickpocket, but few ever discuss magics similarities to the con. I'd also be interested in hearing what you have to say in regards to that notion.

Also any and all resources on this topic are VERY welcome.

 

[Qlancy]

By lying do you mean doing something along the lines of Uri Geller.

 

[krab]

By lying do you mean doing something along the lines of Uri Geller.

I'm thinking more along the lines when you go to see a magician you know the magician is going to lie to you. Tell you things you know can't be real but for the few minutes to hour that you are watching them you suspend your disbelief and enjoy the act.

 

[Austin24]

It really is amazing how magic can transcend disbelief and reason and take people to another world.

 

[Colin]

Magic is an 'honest' deception. You make the audience aware that you are about to do the impossible and ask them to believe, but there is no malice. The lying in magic is not an ethical problem if it is being done as pure entertainment, it is like an actor asking you to believe they are a character in a play/movie.

The Con or Cheat are the exact opposite because every move is done with explicit malicious intent. When done right the mark never knows that anything has happened other than they have lost their money.

 

[TylerRouss]

Some interesting stuff here guys. To clarify, I am not referring to lying in the nature of Uri Geller, but more so in the nature of say "and now your card goes into the middle of the pack" or "you really held the pack the entire time!"

Colin, the problem with that comparison is that it only holds consistently true for stage or parlor acts. Many magicians that are busking or at restaraunts face people who have zero expectations when it comes to magic, and have absolutely no idea that its considered "normal" or "okay" for you to lie to their face. They'd be pissed if they found out you had just lied to them, and the card box wasn't really "normal" after they had challenged you about it a time or two. Or not even that, but if they even found out it wasn't really their card they just shuffled into the pack.

While the con are opposite in intent and consequence, the actions and the thought process behind those actions is incredibly similar.

 

[Colin]

I agree that people that have not paid specifically to see a magic show are likely to have lower expectations but there is still no moral ambiguity if you are presenting something as a magic performance. Deception is necessary in both a trick and a cheat but if you are talking morals the reason it is okay by society standards in the case of a magic trick and not for cheating is one causes joy and the other sorrow. It is morally wrong to hurt someone so it is wrong to second deal yourself a winning hand of poker and take someones money however if you present it as a demonstration of your skill with a deck people will leave happy and, if you are skilled enough with both your slights and performance, willingly hand over their money either in the form of a ticket price or if you are busking as a tip.

The general lay audience really doesn't spend much time thinking that a magician is lying to them. For the most part they either wander away wondering how you did that or they quickly forget all about it. And while it is often hard for magicians to remember that the general public really do not see magic very often I think it is pretty fair to say that a high percentage of people have learned at least one simple card or coin trick in there lives so understand that in the context of a trick you are likely to say something that isn't true.

The definition of trick is 'a cunning act or scheme intended to deceive or outwit someone.' so if you walk up to that restaurant table and ask if you could show them a card trick you are asking them for permission to deceive them. So if the essay is about morals you are fine ethically speaking if you are entertaining.

And I am not arguing that someone might be mad if they found out you used a gimmicked cardbox or did a double lift. Totally possible, all I am saying is if it happened during a trick or magic routine you have done nothing morally wrong.

 

[TeeDee]

I actually don't think that we "decieve" our audiences, under the most useful definition of the term. We create interactive works of fiction for them to enjoy. Elements might be true, elements might be untrue, elements might be exaggerated for dramatic effect, but the ultimate aim is to convey truth rather than lie. It's similar to the way in which a painting of a landscape is an artistic rendering rather than a fraudulent copy of the real landscape.

 

[c.t]

deception, illusion, lies, all the same really, at the end of the day you do something and they think you did something completely different, all we do as magicians is just use that against them for entertainment

 

[Temitopesmith]

the post regarding the magic being a honest deception is quite right ans well described as well .. in fact, the true words has been given towards what the magic is known for

 

[4ofClubs]

I think an interesting area to explore would be equivoque and equivocal tricks. The nature of omission and re-framing as it applies to magic and lying would be an interesting area to explore...it is deceptive, to be certain, but it is not really LYING in the same way as "I have here an ordinary deck of cards..." is.

Would you consider posting the essay when it is finished?