Honesty Matrix

by Norbert Nopper

When you tell the truth, do you know or believe it?

Epistemology studies the nature of knowledge and belief — in particular, what distinguishes knowing something from merely believing it. The Honesty Matrix below explores a related dimension: whether one is conscious or unconscious of the truth or untruth being told.

Credits

Thanks a lot to everyone who supported me on this path.

The Four States of Honesty

	Consciously	Unconsciously
Truth	Consciously telling the truth	Unconsciously telling the truth (Freudian slip)
Lie	Deliberately lying	Unconsciously lying (White lie)

Explanation

• Consciously telling the truth - One wants to tell the truth on purpose.
• Deliberately lying - One chooses to tell a lie on purpose.
• Unconsciously telling the truth - One is not aware of telling the truth *.
• Unconsciously lying - One is not aware of the untruth being told **.

* Reinterpretation: A Freudian slip reveals an unconscious wish — here reinterpreted as unconscious truth.

** Reinterpretation: A white lie is a minor lie which could be considered harmless, or even beneficial, in the long term — here reinterpreted as unconscious lying, because one cannot know its true long-term impact.

References

Consciousness
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Consciousness

Epistemology
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Epistemology

Freudian Slip
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freudian_slip

White lie
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_lie