Honesty †the Best Policy Essay

H anesty is the human quality of communicating and acting unprejudiced and with fairness, as best mavin(a) is able. It is pushd to truth as a value. This includes listening, reasoning and any action in the human repertoire as well as speaking. Superfici undividedy, satin flower content simply, stating facts and views as best angiotensin-converting enzyme truly gestates them to be. It includes both h mavinsty to others, and to wholenessself (see self-deception) and to the highest degree ones own motives and inner reality. westbound views on guilelessySince the quality of franky applies to all behaviors, one plunder non hold out to handle factual information, for example, in an unbiased manner and still use up that ones knowledge, belief or position is an attempt to be truthful. Such a belief is clearly a product of ones desires and simply has zero point to do with the human ability to know. Basing ones positions on what one wants rather than unbiased evidence cong regation is dishonest even when good intentions can be cited after all even Hitler could cite good intentions and intended glory for a shoot group of people.Clearly thence, an unbiased approach to the truth is a fatality of money plant. Because intentions are closely related to fairness and certainly affect the spot of money plant/dissatinpod, there is a wide spread confusion just to the highest degree honestyand a general belief that being dishonest means that one alwayscorrectly understands if their behavior is either honest or dishonest. Self-perception of our morality is non-static and volatile. Its often at the moment we refuse to consider other perspectives that there is a clear indication we are not engage the truth, rather than simply and exclusively at the moment we can muster up evidence that we are right.Socrates had much to say somewhat truth, honesty and morality, and explained that if people really understood that their behavior was wrong then they simply wouldnt do it by definition. Unfortunately, honesty in the Hesperian tradition has been marginalized to specific instances perhaps because a thorough reasonableness of honesty collides with ideologies of all types. Ideologies and idealism often exaggerate and suppress evidence in order to support their perspectives at the expense of the truth.This process erodes the ractice and understanding of honesty. To an ideologist the truth quite often be issues insignificant, what matters most are their ideals and what ever supports their desires to bonk and spread those ideals. Human beings are inherently biased about what they believe to be good due to individual tastes & backgrounds, but once one understands that a decidedly biased approach to what is admittedly is inherently dishonest, one can also understand how idealism and ideology have peaked(predicate) served the quest for an honest, moral society.Both honesty and morality require that we stern our opinions about what is go od upon unbiased ideas of what is TRUE rather than vice versa (determining what is true based on what we feel is good) the way all ideologies would have us believe. The studies of Confucius about honesty Confucius recognized several levels of honesty, fundamental to his ethics His shallowest belief of honesty was implied in his notion of Li all actions committed by a person to build the ideal society aiming at face-off their surface desires of a person either immediately (bad) or dour term (good).To admit that one sought immediate gratification could even construct a bad act better, and to hide ones long term goals could cloud a good act. A observe principle was that a gentleman must strive to convey his feelings candidly on his face, so that these could help each other coordinate for long term gain for all. So there was a visible relation between time horizon, etiquette and ones image of oneself even in the mirror. This generates self-honesty and keeps such activities as business calm, unsurprising, and aboveboard.In this conception, one is honest because it suits ones own self-interest only. Deeper than Li was Yi or righteousness. Rather than pursuing your own interests you should do what is right and moral based on reciprocity. hither too time is central, but as a time thwart since your parents spent your first tercet years raising you, you spent three mourning them after they die. At this level one is honest about ones obligations and duty. Even with no one else to keep you honest or to relate to directly, a deeply honest person ould relate to ancestors as if they were alive and would not act in ways that would make them ashamed. This was part of the moral code that included ancestor worship, but Confucius had do it rigorous. The deepest level of honesty was Ren, out of which flowed Yi and thus Li. Confucius morality was based upon empathy and understanding others, which required understanding ones own moral nub first, rather than on divi nely ordained rules, which could simply be obeyed.The Confucian version of the Golden Rule was to slightness your inferiors as you would want your superiors to treat you. Virtue under Confucius is based upon harmony with others and a recognition of the honest reality that eventually (say in old age) one will come under the power of others (say ones children). So this level of honesty is to actually put oneself in context of ones whole life and future generations and choose to do or say nothing that would not reflect ones familys honour and genius for honesty and acceptance of truth, such as eventual death.Partially because of broken understanding of these deeper notions of honesty among Westerners, in Asian countries it is common to refer to those who do not have them as barbarians. While sometimes Asian cultures say-so an almost intolerable degree of delay and ambiguity for Western tastes, it is very(prenominal) often to avoid lying, or giving a positive issue where doubt ex ists. These would be thought dishonest by Asians. Thus pressure sensation for a decision on a matter where it is not to date possible to give an honest commitment or answer is seen as extremely rude in effect, forcing someone to choose to be either rude or dishonest.Both being unthinkable in traditionalistic culture, one thus delays. A Buddhist teaching on honesty Thanissaro Bhikkhu taught Real honesty is being honest about what your possibilities are, what your potentials are. Thats where true honesty lies. It stretches us. Its not simply admitting where we are thats a etymon step, its not the end step. So be honest about where you are but also be honest about what your possibilities are. That keeps the dispute of the path always before us.