The Objectivist Stance on Honesty.
Created | Updated Jul 31, 2003
Objectivism
Objectivism is a philosophy which claims to fully represent reason. It says that life is the moral standard of man's life, and that individual rights and capitalism are the correct politics. For more information about the essentials of Objectivism, you can visit: http://www.bbc.co.uk/dna/h2g2/brunel/A455311
Its founder was Ayn Rand.
Below is a brief treatise representing the Objectivist view on lying.
Definition of Honesty
Honesty: is the refusal to fake reality - to pretend that facts are other than they are.
The Dishonest Man
The dishonest man believes that he can profit by faking reality. Since a man lives in reality, he must conform to reality; such is the argument for honesty. Any other course is incompatible with the requirements of survival; therefore, it is bound to lead the perpetrator to destruction.
The Honest Man
In regard to motive, intellectual honesty means seeking knowledge because one needs it to act properly. Such a person intends to practice any idea he accepts as true. The honest man does not indulge in illusions; he does not pretend anything. The first thing a dishonest person loses is his independence. Using the common example of a con man, he depends on his ability to manipulate others; not on his ability to create. Therefore, he requires others to survive. An object gained- any object- by irrational means immediately loses any evaluative standing because it clashes with reality. “The end justifies the means” is an incorrect statement. The immoral means invalidate the ends.
Virtues
Virtues are not their own reward or a species of self torture, but a selfish necessity in the process of achieving values. Conventionally, being honest to one self and to one’s fellows is considered a form of altruism. In fact, it is a form of egoism because it is remaining true to that which exists.
Lying to Protect Someone From the Truth
Lying to protect someone from the truth is not justified. The moral status of a lie is not affected by its intended beneficiary. A lie that undertakes to protect men from reality endorses the same anti reality approach that are characteristic in all other lies. A man does not do service to his fellows by being an accomplice in his blindness.
Some lie for tack; for example they might say: "your not ugly" to someone who is ugly; in doing this they are faking reality, and being an accomplice in his friend's blindness. To survive, man must conform to reality. In lying to his friend, he is being fundementally anti-reality and therefore anti-life.
The Moral Principle of Honesty
The moral principle of honesty is an absolute- within its own context. Lying is not wrong in itself. Lying is absolutely wrong - under certain conditions. It is absolutely wrong to lie in order to gain a value (money, a piece of pie…). But lying to protect one’s values from criminals is not wrong. If a man’s honesty becomes of service to evil, then he would be defeating his own purpose in being honest by letting his honesty be used in serving the ends of evil.
