什么叫诚实_什么是诚实？

下面的内容摘自同学在牛津PPE面试的题目，没有标准答案。

4. What is a lie?

We know that to tell a lie is to state something that we know is to be true, consider the following scenarios:

A. Sean said to an empty room that no money was stored in his safe. (While he knew that there was.) Is this a lie?

B. Sean said to an empty room that no money was stored in his safe. (While he knew that there was.) A thief hiding in the corner heard Sean’s statement. Is this a lie?

C. Paul told Ophelia that there were no more cupcakes in the cupboard. (While he knew that there was.) Is this a lie?

D. Paul told Ophelia that there were no more cupcakes in the cupboard. (While he knew that there was.) In fact, Robert ate all of the cupcakes left in the cupboard so there really wasn’t anything left. Is Paul’s statement a lie?

E. Phil starred as a pirate in a show. On the stage, he stated “Yesterday was January 31st, 1452.” (Of course, he knew that it wasn’t) Is Phil’s statement a lie?

After considering these scenarios, do you have a new definition of a lie?

这里写的是什么是谎言，也就是不诚实。实质上诚实并不是一个拥有确定定义的词语，换言之，不花言巧语妖言惑众也算诚实，在不得不撒谎的情况下撒谎也不应当算作不诚实。如果为了说实话而害死自己乃至许多人，那么这只能算愚蠢而不是所谓诚实，换言之，不能只将说实话作为检测诚实的标准。

事实上每个人对诚实都有自己的定义，在不同场景下也有不同的定义。在我看来，在正确(适当)的情形下不会因为不应当的理由，比如牟不义之利，撒不必要的慌那么就已经算得上是诚实了。

过度的诚实则会害人害己，这只能算脑子不灵光而不是诚实。