Article: the virtue of honesty requires more than just telling the truth
by Betsy Chapman
As we continue with pre-posted content during the break, today I want to catch you up on an article by our own Christian Miller, AC Reid Professor of Philosophy and author of Honesty: The Philosophy and Psychology of a Neglected Virtue (2021), Moral Psychology (2021) and The Character Gap: How Good Are We? (2017), among other books. He has written an article about how the virtue of honesty requires more than just telling the truth. Here’s an excerpt:
“So what is honesty? It is a character trait that leads us to think, feel and act in honest ways. Let’s focus on the acting for a moment. Naturally, honesty stands in contrast to lying. But it is much broader in scope than that. It also is opposed to cheating, stealing, promise breaking, misleading, bullshitting, hypocrisy, self-deception, and still other forms of wrongdoing. It works against all of them, and so is extremely broad and impactful in scope.
What do all these behaviors have in common? What is at the core of honesty that enables it to cover so much moral ground? The answer, I think, is that honest behavior is a matter of not intentionally distorting the facts as the honest person sees them.”
You can read the full article here. It’s fascinating stuff, and I am grateful to Dr. Miller for his work on character and honesty.
In addition to today’s preposted content, we have some breaking news to share as well:
Texas A&M made the decision to end their season immediately and opt-out of the 2021 TaxSlayer Gator Bowl.
Wake Forest is collaboratively working with the Atlantic Coast Conference, TaxSlayer Gator Bowl officials and others leaders across intercollegiate athletics to find an opponent for the No. 17 Demon Deacons to play in next Friday’s game.
Please stay tuned to GoDeacs.com and Wake Forest’s social media platforms for the latest news and information surrounding the Demon Deacons football team’s postseason game in the next 24 hours.
