The Concept of Honesty - Research Paper Example

?Honesty Instructions for Paper on Explaining a Concept The paper should be at least 1200 words, but not more than 3500. This paper is due (even if it snows) on March 30. 10 points for correct MLA. MLA must be basically correct or I will not grade the paper. 15 points for including at least three definitions of the concept from three different sources. Example: a scholarly work, an interview, a magazine article, a newspaper, a dictionary. 30 points for examples to illustrate the concept 10 points 6 sources 20 points for explaining in your own language what the concept really means and how it relates to society 15 points for strong organization and thesis. You will lose one point for every error noted. I will be grading grammar, spelling, sentence structure, paragraph structure, transitions and punctuation. Please attach these instructions to your paper and also write or print the word count on the last page. I will deduct two points for each of these requests if not completed. The Concept of Honesty In developing the concept of honesty, one finds that by going from the initial definition of the word honest to the cultural differences expressed in one different language, the true concept, of honesty requires the existence of human relations. The purpose of this paper is to prove the thesis that Honesty in the dictionary sense is not the best policy. The online dictionary definition of honesty implies "fairness and straightforwardness of conduct". The second definition is keeping to the facts: sincere. (Merriam-Webster) Fairness and sincerity are a contradiction. If an older child beat up his brother because his brother broke one of his games, the parent would admonish the violent reaction of the older brother over the younger brother's breaking the toy. Our society does not adhere to violence. The broken toy could have been an accident or a deliberate act. If his parents were sincere, they would ascertain as to why he broke the toy. If both boys were at fault, fairness would dictate that both would be punished. It is rarely the case as the punishment is different for each child and culturally given to the older of the two. In reality, honesty is governed by a set of rules which go beyond our comprehension of the word. Most of us think that honesty exist. It exist if the rules are followed. In the second source, Mr Dougherty analyses Cringe comedians. He entitles his article Honesty is the best policy. (Dougherty ) People no longer want to spend time thinking through the significance of thought provoking jokes. We are in the "now" society. If it is not attained within 30 seconds, it is not worth it. Cringe comedians come up with one line jokes attacking the truths of life. They twitter their way thru the commentary of life's problems. Life can be split into two twits: alleviating the fears of life by throwing freezing water to chill the problem. A comedian who basis all his one line cringes on self deprecation makes at least one person in the audience feel that there is one person who is better off than the comedian . or the comedian has mastered the art of persona and gives members of the audience what they want to hear as each one has a different concept of honesty. The first comedian uses self deprecation to alleviate fear and the second comedian uses self deprecation to share honest aspects of the "persona". There are people in the audience who can relate to both sorts of tweets. The word tweet is used in a derogatory fashion to show the rapidity in which cringe comedians respond to humor. The concept of honesty is used as the dictionary describes as "straightforwardness" . This limits the point that there is a set of rules to the concept of honesty. As the previous source is somewhat weak, the following source is from a journal. The concept of honesty can be broken down into mathematical equations. A fundamental principal of man is that all human relations are based on the concept of honesty. As this is a rather grandiose principal, the writer has broken it down into equations. The concept of Honesty: motivation, truthfulness and impartiality can be divided into two categories. These two categories, communication and action are the basis of all human relations. To put it into more explicit terms, please look at the following two equations: (Geocmen 2006) Human Relations=actions +communication=concept of honesty Human Relations = relying on a mutual goal= concept of honesty If we apply fairness as one of the definitions, the ability to differentiate between right and wrong imply impartiality. This proves to be a contradiction in the initial meaning as it introduces a secondary motive of benefit and consequence. As both of these are taken into consideration, it is impossible to be honest. On the other hand, sincerity shows the ability to think of others first and not to have ulterior motives. These contrasting views are used to argue that the concept of honesty take into account the 'ego', thus setting up the potential foreground to initiate lying. The concept of honesty = the concept of lying. To be honest is using the ego; it therefore cannot be impartial and sets ground to the concept of lying. A white lie takes into account the feelings of the person in front of you. This is the concept of honesty which is the concept of benevolence. In the concept of honesty , lies can be decided as morally wrong or can be decided as acceptable if they take into account the other person's feelings. This is also a contradiction Two theories shows the contradiction continues in the ownership of property. Private property is considered theft if it is considered part of a social institution that all land and good belongs to a society or institution. This corresponds to the second equation that Human relations represents a society dependant on mutual goals Private property is not considered theft if you contend that it is an unalienable right to own property and have a right to labor. This correspond to the equation that Human relations equals actions and communication which equals the concept of honesty. (Goecmen) One can wonder if the concept of honesty changes in different cultures. As part of this assignment, an article was found entitled The Concept of Honesty in Tagalog. Mr Aguilar used 9 different dictionaries to prove his point. (Aguilar) The equivalence of honest is the word "tapat" but this word also means "faithful, "sincere" "upright" and "trustworthy". (Aguilar) These words are expressed by additional terms. In English, to be honest and upright implies truthfulness. To be faithful and sincere can be two complete different traits. One can be faithful without being sincere and sincere without being faithful. In each case, the adjective implies the use of the adjective "honest". To be completely honest and upright, one can get hurt and be hurt by other. This is in complete contradiction to the dictionary definition given in the beginning of the article. Tagalog has four synonyms of the word "honest", in the Roget 21st Century Thesaurus, there are more than 34 words associated with the word. (Aigular)The two main words in the 21rst century are "truthfulness" and "candidness". There is a continuous concern of the search of truth and fact whereas in Tagalog, the concept of honesty takes into account relationships and truth and correctness. Tapat is honest and tapatan is a confession of love and devotion. To be honest confirms the concept that honesty cannot exist without relations. All four concepts must be taken into account in tagalog. Westerners base honesty with uprightness and faithfulness. Honesty does not mean sincerity in the Philippines. The whole person who must face the truth is considered to be in a relation and cannot be hurt. This person needs to be kept at peace with himself and the person who is in front of him. The concept of honesty in Tagalog is more encompassing taking in account all elements of both individuals and the consequences. To conclude, the concept of honesty is multi-dimensional as it depends on whether we are taking into account the implicit or the explicit facts. The tagalog language shows that honesty encompasses all elements of human character. The English language creates doubt and questions of morality. How can one be judge in court for having lied, if all the facts are not taken into account. A perfect example, father who is suffering from a painful cancer has asked his daughter to practice euthanasia. Accord to one concept of honesty she is guilty of murder. If you speak Tagalog, she is sincere in her act. Word Count 1275 Aguilar, Mila. The Concept of Honesty in Tagalog,2002 Web pdf Web March 27 2011. http://homepage.mac.com. Dougherty, Thomas, Cringe Comedy: Honesty is the Best Policy. Stage Time Magazine Web March 25 2011. http://www.stagetimemag.com. Goecmen, Dogan. honesty. October 28 2006 Web March 25 2011. http://ricardo.ecn.wfu.edu. Mazar, Nina. The Dishonesty of Honest People: A Theory of Self-Concept Maintenance , Canada: University of Toronto edt: PDF Web March 26 2011. http://www.rotman.utoronto.ca. Merriam Webster Dictionary. Honesty. An Encyclopedia Britannica Company Web March 27 2011 http://www.merriam-webster.com. Why are some people so brutally honest? Web March 27 2011 http://www.wisegeek.com. Read More