| |> Straight honesty isn't always a virtue. >I find this an interesting statement. Would you mind providing some clear examples of a real-life situation where honesty isn't a virtue? Umm, certainly. The canonical example goes something like this— Someone knocks urgently at your door. You open it to find your best friend on the stoop, bent over and panting from exertion. He says there is some madman chasing him and for his safety he needs to hide there at your place for a spell. You welcome him in, of course, and he goes to the smallest upstairs bedroom to lie down. Moments later there is another knock on the door. You open it to find someone you've never met before, only slightly less out of breath than was your buddy. "Hello, is <friend's name> here? I'm here to kill him, you see. My rationale is rather not your concern, but as I'm in a bit of a rush, please do tell so that I may finish the job or be on my way."
--
The remainder of the dialog is left as an exercise for the reader. ;-D /* Philosophy major, with emphasis on Kantian ethics */ |
We might go down a rabbit hole here but your example (mad man, Anne Frank, whatever) doesn't clearly demonstrate that honesty isn't a virtue. It's a clear example of a real life situation, sure, but it doesn't show that telling the truth wouldn't be virtuous.