Telling The Truth: For Advantage Or On Principle

To tell the truth entails to keep faith. According to the motivation of action, we can distinguish between telling the truth for advantage and telling the truth on principle. The former's motivation is to pursue private advantage, while the later the obligation of honesty or the virtue of honesty.There is a difference between Saying that an action is morally good and Saying that an action is morally right. In detail, the later concerns whether the action corresponds to some moral principle or the action of a virtuous man, while the former concerns the agent's motivation. Thus, only is telling the truth on logos morally good action, telling the truth for advantage is not.Telling the truth on logos is the unity of cognition about honesty and honest character, where cognition about honesty provides telling the truth on logos with intellective premises, and honest character is the moral basis for telling the truth on logos. Cognition about honesty belongs to the category of intellectual virtue, and in the main owes both its birth and its growth to teaching, while honest character comes about as a result of habit by system of honesty. In order to bring up a person's honest character, therefore cause him or her to tell the truth on logos, the principle of honesty should be established as a basic principle in the civil and commercial law, and also in the administrative law. Moreover, the problem of justice about major social institution should be taken into account. Otherwise, the principle of honesty as a civil and commercial law, or as an administrative law cannot run efficiently.