Why Be Honest When Cheating Pays?

About this episode:

Most of us think of ourselves as honest. But would we still tell the truth if lying got us what we wanted—and nobody would ever find out? Philosopher Christian Miller joins Michael Shermer to discuss his new book, The Honesty Crisis, and the uncomfortable gap between having a reputation for honesty and actually being honest.

Christian B. Miller is the A. C. Reid Professor of Philosophy at Wake Forest University. He is the author of over 130 articles as well as several books. Thanks to a $4.4 million grant from the John Templeton Foundation, he directed The Honesty Project, one of the largest research initiatives ever undertaken on honesty. His new book is The Honesty Crisis: Preserving Our Most Treasured Virtue in an Increasingly Dishonest World.