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Why honesty is better than dishonesty

Economics.

Robin: Holy squidshit, Batman, what the hell does that mean?

Opportunity costs, guy. The costs--in time and other resources--that come as the result of lies caused consistent honest interaction to be selected for in groups. This made a drowsy sort of sense for a minute a while ago out of how individuals can benefit via lies--it's because honesty was selected for as a trait essentially of the group and if the individual isn't part of a group, the basis upon which honesty is selected for isn't there, allowing the traits of Bartle test Clubs to be more beneficial or less detrimental.

I'm really tired right now; so, if that didn't make sense worth much of a damn, then its nonsensibility is sensible.

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Permalink Reply by Louis Davout on August 13, 2009 at 7:35am

Makes perfect sense. Thanks.

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Permalink Reply by Tarquin St John Sh'gn'sty on August 13, 2009 at 11:46pm

Benjamin Franklin wrote 'honesty is the best policy". He wasn't being altruistic,simply pragmatic.

If a persons [or company] deals honestly with me they gain my trust.I am likely to deal with them in future,I avoid people and businesses who cheat me.

You know the old saying "fool me once, shame on you.Fool me twice,shame on ME"

Put bluntly:Honesty is good business.Unfortunately far too many businesses conflate "legal" with ethical",especially big companies. That may be one reason they receive so little sympathy when they go down the gurgler,or when someone rips THEM off.

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Permalink Reply by Louis Davout on August 14, 2009 at 2:32am

I think you meant "Fool Me Once, Shame on – Shame on You. Fool Me Twice. Fool Me – Won’t Get Fooled Again"

"Unfortunately far too many businesses conflate "legal" with ethical",especially big companies" I totally agree.

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Permalink Reply by Andrew Mylko on August 27, 2009 at 3:50pm

Lying, and it's close cousins (like deceit and non-disclosure) seem to be wonderful tools for gaining power and wealth.

Honesty is altruism, and it's for suckers. Virtue is for stubborn, romantic fools. The "truth" (whatever that is) sucks. Living a truly examined life only brings pain and sadness. Awareness isn't pleasant - it's a burden.

But some of us just have to live it :)

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Permalink Reply by Mike Harvison on August 31, 2009 at 10:50pm

Lying may be advantageous, or not, depending on your time horizon.

In an environment where the quarterly earnings are the only standard, lying, cheating and stealing offer some advantages. In a community there are serious disadvantages for deceit.

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Permalink Reply by Jim Mo. on August 31, 2009 at 6:35pm

I suspect that the honesty is the best policy in game theory is limited to the environment where in the players are most likely to suffer retribution. For me, this means that corporate moguls and celebrities, etc. need only worry about honesty among their peers, that is the group of people who have the ability to met out meaningful retribution against them. For us media-addicted voyeurs who are mostly outside of that circle of influence, we can become outraged at what we see and hear, but we often have little or no influence to enact damaging retribution. Unless you want to dedicate your life to the cause like Erin Brockovich, etc. (and you don't disappear mysteriously...)

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Permalink Reply by Nightfall on September 2, 2009 at 1:09am

I adopted honesty for a variety of reasons, mainly because a lie usually demands you remember what you lied about. I can't remember where I put my car keys. It is far less time demanded of me to just tell the truth.

Second is reputation. Even if you only lie to one of the 'little people', there is still consequences. Lie to enouhg little people and the big people will learn of it. Or one of the little people may annoyingly not stay little. It happens. Being trusted makes life a hell of a lot easier.

Third is Catagorical Imperative. Lying to others implies it is okay to lie to you. I -->HAAAAAAATTTEEEE<-- being lied to.

Fourth is my own particular set of morals. I will live by my moral standards whether it benefits me materially or not. At the end of it all, I must be authentic to myself, even if it means dying. I can conceive of living in no other fashion.

Fifth, I usually find that people who lie rarely benefit from it, in the long run. Just an empirical observation.

I am sure there are a host of other reasons that I am forgetting. But this handful covers most of it.

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Permalink Reply by Secular Forces 2013 on September 13, 2009 at 8:56am

then why are hardcore racist religions so bent on lying their way to the top of their make-believe mountain?
oh yeah, because these folks are hardline racist thieves upon our system...

get to steppin'

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Permalink Reply by jaspar_rules on September 13, 2009 at 12:47pm

Sometimes lying can be advantageous for personal reasons. For example, until something changes between me and my parents, I will never tell them I'm atheist. And sometimes I have to lie about what I believe when I'm talking to them.

On a lighter note, if I ask my friend 'do these jeans make me look fat?' I really hope she says 'no' whether or not it's the truth :)