Is it best to always be honest?
Philosopher David Hume believes that morals are good for society because
they promote virtues and cooperation in a community. Examples of these virtues
include honesty, loyalty, and generosity. There are also vices such as
dishonesty, injustice, and revenge. These morals are useful for the individual
and the society as a whole. It would be an ideal society if everyone worked
together in cooperation and everyone benefited. Self-interest is benefited by
this society as well because the society is working for the individual as the
individual works for society.
We use sentiment and reason to find which virtues are true
virtues. Hume says in An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals, “for if
we can be happy, in the course of this enquiry, as to discover the true origin
of morals, it will then easily appear how far either sentiment or reason enters
into all determinations of this nature”(15). Sentiment and reason help us to do
so when we experiment in our daily lives.
If we look at the virtue of honesty, is it best to always be
honest? In my life, I have found situations where it is better to not be
completely honest or to not say anything at all. Sometimes it is better not to
hurt the individual by telling the truth. For example, when teaching children,
it is better to point out the positives rather than the negatives.
I have been teaching young children how to swim for years.
When I am trying to help them improve on their swimming skills, it is best to
point out the positive aspects of their talent. I do not want to be completely
honest and tell them that they are not doing something right. Instead, I point
out what they did correct and advise them on what they could improve. For this
example, I will use the name Sam. If Sam
is floating incorrectly, I do not tell him that he is bad at floating. I instead
tell Sam that he has done a good job keeping their head straight and praise him
for that. Then we try it again to work on what is not perfect about the float.
Young children need praise to keep them positive about their swimming abilities
and help them improve.
Why is it best to not tell the truth in every situation?
It is better for the student and for me to not tell the
whole truth. It is better for the student because they will remain positive,
and better for me because I can help them learn better when they are in a good
mind set. I used reason in this experiment by knowing that if I hurt the
swimmers self-esteem by being honest, it would affect their swimming skills in
a negative way. I also used sentiment to come to this conclusion because I did
not want the student to have their feelings hurt. This makes it beneficial to
everyone not to tell the whole truth. Honesty is a great virtue to live by, but
it is not always well received. It is not best to always be honest because
complete honesty can hurt the individual and society in some situations.
-JRM
Word Count: 536
Works Cited:
Hume, David. An Enquiry Concerning the Principles of Morals.
Ed. J.B.
Schneewind. N.p.:
Hackett, 1983. Print
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