by G. Stolyarov II

Created on: December 21, 2006   Last Updated: May 14, 2007

Virtually every system of ethicsObjectivist or notwill acknowledge in no uncertain terms that honesty is one of the chief human virtues. What is meant by the term "honesty" varies widely, however. A popular misconception of honesty equates the virtue with always "telling it like it is" and not holding back any of one's thoughts about a person, idea, or situationno matter what the consequences of those thoughts. This view and its real-world applications are antithetical to genuine honesty.

If we acknowledge that the individual's life is the standard of all value, then every virtue must be identified in terms of its benefit to the individual's life. With honesty, then, the best place to start is with Polonius's advice to Laertes in Hamlet: "Above all, to thine own self be true." Honestyviewed from a rational, individualistic contextis identical with being true to oneself.

From this understanding, we can derive the proper components of honesty and the way in which it ought to be manifested in the real world. Honesty begins with being true to oneself, which means

1) Always striving to accurately understand reality and one's genuine self-interest;

2) Always striving to act on one's best understanding of reality and one's genuine self-interest;

3) Never engaging in deliberate self-deception in order to "feel good" or to attain a benefit that one's best understanding of reality acknowledges is unattainable or contrary to one's self-interest.

A person who is true to himself will diligently seek out information about the aspects of reality with which he needs to interact in order to benefit himself. He will acknowledge what he knows and apply it; he will acknowledge what he does not know and seek it out. He will put what he knows into practice to maximize benefits to himself, given his best understanding of reality. In doing so, he might fail in his goal or overlook a facet of reality. However, we cannot fault him for doing his bestespecially if he resolves to improve his knowledge and avoid similar errors in the future. The honest individual will recognize that his personal failings and undesirable circumstances are not unavoidably imposed on him by external forces beyond his control; he will refuse to remain a passive victim and will resist negative external pressures.

Note that honesty does not begin with communication with other people; it begins with the self. A person can be perfectly honest with himself and not say a word to another person in a given situation.

Let us

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next Page >>