from The Road Less Travelled
by M. Scott Peck
So the expression of opinions, feelings, ideas, and even
knowledge must be suppressed from time to time in these and
many other circumstances in the course of human affairs. What
rules, then, can one follow if one is dedicated to the truth?
- First, never speak falsehood.
- Second, bear in mind that the act of withholding the truth is
always potentially a lie, and that in each instance in which truth is
withheld a significant moral decision is required.
- Third, the decision to withhold the truth should never be based on
personal needs, such as a need for power, a need to be liked [!] or a
need to protect one's [personal reality] map from challenge.
- Fourth, and conversely, the decision to withhold the truth must
always be based entirely upon the needs of the person or people from
whom the truth is being withheld.
- Fifth, the assessment of another's needs is an act of
responsibility so complex that it can only be executed wisely when one
operates with genuine love for the other.
- Sixth, the primary factor in the assessment of another's needs is
the assessment of that person's capacity to utilize the truth for his
or her own spiritual growth.
- Finally, in assessing the capacity of another to utilize the truth
for personal spiritual growth, it should be borne in mind that our
tendency is generally to underestimate rather than overestimate.