Truth+Telling


 * Truth Telling**

Truth - Telling can be defined as absolute honesty, veracity, the avoidance of lying, deception, misrepresentation, and non disclosure [1].


 * History and Theoretical Perspectives**

Truth telling originates from religious traditions including the Christian [|Ten Commandments] and the [|Buddhist Eightfold Path] ‘right speech’ [2]. Philosophers have been writing about truth telling for centuries. There are several different theoretical perspectives of truth telling.



Virtue ethicist Aristotle examine truth telling in terms of ‘what a person of good character would do’. In this approach a good person may choose to tell the truth, or tell a lie to be compassionate or courageous. Both can be seen as virtuous characteristics [3].

[|Utilitarians][|Jeremy Bentham] and John Stuart Mill argue that there are some conditions where lying is acceptable, predominantly if it is for the greater good. Utilitarian’s place emphasis on the specific outcome of the ethical decision [4].

[|Thomas Aquinas] claimed that all lies are wrong, however only some lies are moral sins [5]. While German philosopher Immanuel Kant’s[|categorical imperative] states that we are obligated to tell the truth all the time as a sense of duty [6].

[|Professor Mitchell Green], of the University of Virginia, states that truth telling can be defined as a “matter of speaking what one believes to be the truth and, further one can mislead without lying” [7].

Rhetoric scholar, [|Dietrich Bonhoeffer], wrote, “What is Meant By ‘Telling the Truth’?” in [|//Ethics//](1955). He argued that truth telling is a rich and ethical approach to communication and that is ‘intensely situational’ [8]. Scholar [|Ned O’Gorman] argues that Bonhoeffer’s approach is derived from Aristotle’s vision of the good, specifically, socially good [9].


 * Truth Telling in Public Relations **

Truth telling is a fundamental ethical issue and constitutes a basic principle and value of [|public relations] (PR) [10]. Other values of public relations include: non-[|maleficence] (doing no harm to any parties involved or to society), beneficence (doing good) and [|fairness] (social responsibility).



According to the [|Canadian Public Relations Society] (CPRS) and the [|Public Relations Society of America] (PRSA), telling the truth is an important aspect of practicing ethical [|public relations]. The [|CPRS code of ethics] states, “A member shall practice the highest standards of honesty, accuracy, integrity and truth, and shall not knowingly disseminate false or misleading information” [11]. The [|PRSA] member [|code of ethics] states that practitioners are to "adhere to the highest standards of accuracy and truth in advancing the interests of those [they] represent and in communicating with the public" [12].


 * Applications**

Despite PR codes of ethics, truth telling frequently comes up as an issue in PR. There are instances when practitioners knowingly do not tell the truth. An example was the [|Heene family balloon hoax]. The family and its PR agent told media and law authorities that their six-year-old son was missing and thought to be in a run away weather balloon. Authorities subsequently discovered that this was false information; they [|created a baloon hoax] to gain attention [13]. Such actions do not display good intent or foster the wellbeing of society as a whole. Every PR values was violated, including the first value of telling the truth.

1.[] 2.Parsons, P. (2008). //Ethics in Public Relations: A Guide to Best Practice.// 2nd edition Kogan Page Publishers. 3.Waluchow, W. (2003). //The dimensions of ethics: An introduction to ethical theory//. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press. 4.Waluchow, W. (2003). //The dimensions of ethics: An introduction to ethical theory//. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press. 5.[] 6.Waluchow, W. (2003). //The dimensions of ethics: An introduction to ethical theory//. Peterborough, ON: Broadview Press. 7.Green, Mitchell [accessed 6 May 2013] Truthtelling. 6 May 2013 [] 8. O'Gorman, N. (2005). "Telling the Truth:" Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Rhetorical Discourse Ethic. //Journal Of Communication & Religion//, //28//(2), 224-248. 9. O'Gorman, N. (2005). "Telling the Truth:" Dietrich Bonhoeffer's Rhetorical Discourse Ethic. //Journal Of Communication & Religion//, //28//(2), 224-248. 10.Parsons, P. (2008). Ethics in Public Relations: A Guide to Best Practice 2nd edition Kogan Page Publishers – page 21 11. [] 12.http://www.prsa.org/aboutprsa/ethics/codeenglish/ 13.http://voices.yahoo.com/truth-telling-entertainment-public-relations-7823162.html
 * References**