Truthfulness and Honesty
Truthfulness is the foundation of all human virtues; without it, no other virtue can be securely built.
Abdu'l-Bahá called truthfulness the foundation of all human virtues because deception corrupts every other quality — a generous person who lies about their generosity, a just person who deceives about their judgments, defeats the purpose. Truthfulness in every degree — thought, word, and deed — is the prerequisite for genuine moral life.
Truthfulness is the foundation of all human virtues.
The Bahá'í prioritization of truthfulness connects it to Kantian ethics while grounding it in divine rather than rational authority.
The Promulgation of Universal Peace
Written about in
- What the Bahá'í Faith says about what to say and what to leave unsaid
Abdu'l-Bahá called truthfulness the foundation of all human virtues, which sets the floor before any question of tact arises: nothing you leave unsaid may make what you do say false. The tradition asks for truthfulness in thought, word and deed, so a technically true sentence arranged to mislead has already failed.