Truthfulness is speaking the truth, sticking to the truth, acting according to the truth, preaching the truth and, above all, surrendering oneself to the truth. It is, thought from this point of view, what we should do. Therefore, truthfulness, essentially, also entails what we should not do. But there is a controversy over the "should" we are concerned with. That we should be truthful is beyond doubt, but, the problem arises when what is truth is to be defined. Normally, our values and perceptions of truth, to a great extent, are governed by religion. To most people something is true only because religion declares it to be true. This tendency has narrowed the scope of truth. Yet, there is the objective truth which religions as well as philosophy have always pursued and have been able to identify. Truthfulness, therefore, is to persistently pursue these objective norms of behaviour. Simply we can say that being truthful is being constructive, useful, friendly, attractive, and humble. In a word, truthfulness is goodness.
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