Why Honesty Matters

“Honesty is a virtue”, we always hear. But what are we actually saying? What’s the importance of honesty being considered a virtue? Do we value it like we should? When we’re young, honesty is one of the first lessons we’re taught, after we lie a time or two (or 10) to get out of a consequence we don’t like. But it doesn’t always stick, and many people don’t end up learning the value of honesty until they’re adults and the consequences are much bigger. So how can we all better understand honesty and its importance to our character? Here to teach us about it is Christian Miller, professor of philosophy at Wake Forest University and director of the Honesty Project, and a science contributor at Forbes.