Philosophy in Pubs (Oxford City Centre)

Honestly. Really, Truthfully?!

When work colleagues state what is important for good working practice, or when someone on a dating site lists what is important to them, you will often hear the word 'honesty' used.
But do people really want honesty, I mean, honestly? Humans often mute outright criticism of the boss and ease into a potential future relationship without saying everything directly as they see it.
So, what is the moral philosophy around being honest or truthful. And are these two things, truth and honesty, the same.

Firstly, let me speak openly (see what I did there?) For most of us the human experience is complex and the word honesty is vague.
Not so for the philosopher Immanuel Kant. For him, anything other than stating how it is, or at least exactly as one saw it, was problematic. Damaging to us as well as to those we commune with.
But you don't have to look at more than a couple of day-to-day scenarios to recognise that saying what you think all the time is often not good.
For instance. Telling someone about to go into an interview that their suit is ugly, or an athlete about to start a race that you think they will lose. Both might be true, but is this 'honesty' just a subjective view, rather than a definitive truth. And however you look at it, saying such things feels unhelpful and unkind.
Perhaps then, we send out signals of support, of appreciation, of deference, because it helps us all 'rub-along'? Raising the question, is compliance better than conviction?
Nietzche, hardly a Kantian moralist, would frame our actions between on the one hand, the 'herd mentality' and on the other, being proud and clear on what we think. He wanted us to be less sheep, more Superman, But is framing often subjective views as being about truth verses lies unhelpful. perhaps it's okay to be a little dishonest if the alternative is crass directness?

Is it about adjusting to context then, simple pragmatism, or might we be guilty of being disingenuous, storing up potential problems for later. Using the earlier example, is it really a good thing to let someone continue to wear the ugly suit, reducing their job prospects, or not prompting a change in an athletes training regime to help them move up a gear.

Part one. What do we mean by truth, what do we mean by honesty, dishonesty and lies? Its the meaning round!

Part two. Is dishonesty acceptable, socially important even? What would the world be like if everyone was always honest? Its the application round!

I would like to say that through this session we will find the answer. Honestly? We won't. But that's philosophy for you and we will have fine trying :-)

Oxford Philosophy in Pubs is community philosophy. It is part of a national movement to encourage people to think about some of the 'big ideas' in life. No expertise necessary, only the desire to do what Wittgenstein described as 'untangling the knots in the way we think about things'.
It is a collective activity, not a debating club.
Everyone attending, and there is often a wide range of people present, is encouraged to listen to and engage with the topic. We hope it is fun and provides plenty of food for thought.
The organisers are trying to find ways to collect money from attendees towards the costs of running the sessions, mostly the costs of using this Meetup site. Not sure we have found the best system yet. At the moment it's free at the point of use, though any cash offered will be gladly accepted on the night by any of the organisers.

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