Virtuous Living (12 of 13): Honesty
by Joseph Rowlands
The last virtue I want to talk about is that of Honesty. Rand described Honesty as "the recognition of the fact that the unreal is unreal and can have no value".
The moral principle here is that reality is real, and that to gain values, you have to act according to it. That to live, you have to have a respect and working relationship with reality, and what is true. False ideas, if acted upon, will not produce the intended results. Any falsehood that you accept will hinder your efforts at living. Any falsehoods you promote will put you in conflict with reality.
The value that honesty seeks to gain is the value of a life that is at peace with reality. It is the value of relying on the truth and what is real to live your life, and never creating a conflict between your actions reality. This harmony with the truth allows you to focus only on what is real, and not spend time and energy on the unreal. It provides you with the ability to trust reality and the truth, and never create a conflict between your life and reality.
It is also required in order to seek any values. Only be acting in accordance with reality can you expect to achieve your ends. The ideas you act on must be true or you will fail.
The Passive form of this virtue says you should never lie. You shouldn't lie to yourself because reality doesn't care what lies you tell, and will keep on functioning the same regardless. Which means, you'll only hurt yourself by deceiving yourself.
It also says never lie to others. Lies generally need to be covered with lies, causing webs of deceit that require a lot of mental energy to keep up. Also, you begin to fear people who are smart and rational, for fear that they'll discover something wrong. You make virtues appear to be vices, and you seek men of lower quality to make it easier to get away with your lives. And of course, you always have to keep two ideas in your mind. What is real, and what am I saying is real?
The Active form of honesty is different. It also says you shouldn't lie, but it asks that you nurture your relationship with reality and the truth. In this view, the truth is your friend. You should learn to trust it, and make it your nature to deal and think in terms of what's real.
You should also be open about the truth. The truth is not something that should be ignored or kept hidden. By being open with others, you provide them information that they can act upon. Instead of having to guess motives and opinions, you can come to terms with the facts.
Of course, telling the truth is not so easy if you have something to hide. So Honesty suggests another kind of action. It suggests you never act in a way that makes you want to hide or avoid the truth. Don't have an affair with the secretary if you wouldn't want your wife to find out. To treat the truth as your friend, you need to make it your friend. Act in a way that encourages you to be honest.
An example I know is a friend of mine who was considering working part time at another company then her main work. She thought that her boss might get angry if he were to find out about the situation, since they might be considered competition. Practicing the virtue of honesty, she went into her boss's office, and told him exactly what she was considering, and what his opinion on it was. Not only was he understanding, but he gained trust in his employee, knowing that she would be responsible and clear with him. In this way, she kept her commitment to the truth, and made it her ally instead of her enemy.
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