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Hardly anyone would doubt that honesty is an important virtue. However, there have been insufficient philosophical studies on what constitutes the nature and value of honesty as a distinctive virtue.
An adequate account of an honest person’s characteristic motivating reason should be able to explain, first, why an honest person’s honest actions merit moral praise.
Honesty’s characteristic motivating reason
People say, ‘honesty is the best policy.’ Indeed, in real-life situations, there can be many reasons to perform ‘honest’ actions. It makes you (or at least makes you appear) more trustworthy, strengthens your relationships, and provides consistency to your life. Honest actions can also manifest different sorts of virtuous traits. It manifests benevolence when you tell the truth to protect someone’s well-being; it manifests fair-mindedness when you avoid deception because you think it would be unfair. However, if honesty is a virtue that is distinguished from other virtues such as benevolence or fair-mindedness, what would be the characteristic moral ground that serves to motivate a person who possesses this virtue to perform honest actions? To pursue self-interests? To promote others’ well-being? Or simply to be or become an honest person? To understand honesty as a virtue…
