Everybody learning English knows what a white lie means, but since it is lie, it has always been a controversial topic. A case in piont is when a patient is suffering an incurable desease, should the doctor or others tell him or her the truth.

    People against telling a white lie insist that patients should be informed of the truth so that they can make proper decision on their rest days. And the laws intitle people to know the truth which concerns them, so telling lies to patients in fact invades their legal right.

    Contrary to the belief above, some people hold that telling the patients their true condition risks destroying their hope, which make the illness more serious. Therefore, we should keep them from knowing the truth.

    As far as I'm concerned, I think whether people should tell a white lie or not depends on what kind of person the patient is. If the patient has a strong will and optimistic attitude, telling them the truth will help with the treatment. But if he is the opposite, we'd better not do so. To conclusion, no matter what the final decision is we should keep in mind that the information should be coveyed in a humane way.