Honesty

Honesty, the quality of being honest, is a value which can be defined in multiple ways. In the context of human communication, people are generally said to be honest when they tell the truth to the best of their knowledge and do not hide what they know or think. Apart from being truthful, honesty is also generally thought to involve abstaining from unfair behaviour, such as stealing or cheating on a test.

Some people think that this definition is too simplistic, or that it is specific to western culture. For example, some people think that not telling the truth is acceptable in some situations, and that persons who lie in such circumstances are not being dishonest. Examples of such situations are lying as a part of etiquette ("little white lies") or lying under grave risk of bodily harm to self or others. There are some that seek a much more comprehensive ethical certainty about what one says, such as Immanuel Kant.

Some people think that education is especially important for the promotion of honesty, because they think that it is impossible to be considered honest without acquiring some terminology with which to state truth as understood by the society. In their opinion, ignorance can itself generate dishonesty.