A human being possesses several attributes and personality traits. In the entire existence of a human being, he follows several things and adapts to several things. Those things can either be bad or good. Those adaptations can either be a vice or a virtue. Both vice and virtue are two of the many things that define a human being in his entire existence.
Whenever a person interacts with another person, he represents himself and carries out himself in a certain way, and that brings out those traits and vices in front of others. These qualities are adopted by a person from several resources. For instance, a person can get influenced by another person and can adopt a certain quality or a habit or even a vice. However, these qualities differ slightly from each other and have a special place in a person’s life. Two of such qualities are 1. Honesty and 2. Integrity.
Honesty vs Integrity
The main difference between honesty and integrity is the thing that they deal with. Honesty deals with the words and phrases that a person says. On the other hand, integrity deals with the actions and the things that a person does during a certain time.
Honesty is one of the most important attributes of human life. An honest person will always be considered a good person because he/she would choose to be honest in any situation. It is an ethical principle of a person. The value of honesty is remarkably expressed in several religions, cultures, and communities.
A person who is consistently honest and unbiased in his/her conduct is said to have integrity. A person’s integrity ought to be questioned, doubted, and put to the test whenever he/she is found in suspicion of a certain thing. Integrity deals with the actions of the person and not words. It is also one of the important attributes of a human being that has immense value.
Comparison Table Between Honesty and Integrity
| Parameters of Comparison | Honesty | Integrity |
| Meaning | The state of being truthful and sincere. | The state of being consistently honest and sticking to a moral or ethical code throughout. |
| Person’s Conduct | A person is truthful and sincere. | A person strictly adheres to a moral or ethical code. |
| Emphasis On | Words | Actions |
| Implication | A person does not follow a moral or ethical code. | A person does follow a moral or ethical code strictly and adheres to that. |
| Guarantee | Honestly does not guarantee integrity. | Integrity does guarantee honestly. |
What is Honesty?
The state of being truthful and sincere towards a certain thing or with a certain person is known as honesty. Honesty is the best policy is said by many people, and many people agree with the statement. Many people like to be honest because being dishonest hurts people or things eventually in a way or another.
Honesty is one of the most important attributes of human life. An honest person will always be considered a good person because he/she would choose to be honest in any situation. It is an ethical principle of a person. The value of honesty is remarkably expressed in several religions, cultures, and communities.
Honesty deals with words and phrases that a person speaks, and a person who is free of deceit are said to be honest. Various intellects, scholars and philosophers have stated different sayings regarding honesty. One of the most popular sayings regarding honesty is “honesty is the best policy”.
There are various fictional stories and moral stories that entail people, to be honest. There are several folk tales and other literary material that entail people to be honest in their entire existence. Along with other life lessons, being honest is one of the crucial lessons and right from a child’s early stages of life, parents and other folks try to make them understand the value of honesty.
What is Integrity?
The state of being consistently honest and following a certain ethical or moral code is known as integrity. If a person sticks to the ethical or more code and is honest in an uncompromising manner, then he/she has integrity. It is one of the most important attributes of a human’s life.
A person who is consistently honest and unbiased in his/her conduct is said to have integrity. A person’s integrity ought to be questioned, doubted, and put to the test whenever he/she is found in suspicion of a certain thing. Integrity deals with the actions of the person and not words. It is also one of the important attributes of a human being that has immense value.
Many intellects and philosophers have quoted various sayings regarding integrity. If one’s actions are accurately honest, truthful, sincere in his actions with great consistency, then a person has integrity. If ever a person’s integrity is questioned, doubted or tested, then that person is suspected. It is indeed a tough job to maintain integrity.
There are various fictional stories and moral stories that entail people to adhere to their integrity. There are several folk tales and other literary material that entail people to be honest and stick to their integrity in their entire existence. Along with other life lessons, being honest and sticking to their integrity is one of the crucial lessons and right from a child’s early stages of life, parents and other folks try to make them understand the value of it.
Main Differences Between Honesty and Integrity
- Honesty deals with words, phrases, and whatever a person speaks. On the other hand, integrity deals with actions and a person’s conduct and behaviour.
- Integrity guarantees honestly, but honesty does not guarantee integrity.
- Every person that has integrity is honest, but not every person who is honest necessarily has integrity.
- Honesty does not imply that a person sticks or adheres to a moral or ethical code. On the other hand, integrity does imply that a person sticks or adheres to a moral or ethical code.
- An honest person’s conduct deals with being truthful and sincere; on the other hand, a person who has integrity behaves in a way where he/she sticks or adheres to a moral or ethical code.
Conclusion
If a person is honest or has integrity, he or she is valued by all the people around him or her. These attributes either make a person or the vices either prove that the person is different in their behaviour. These attributes must be imbibed by a person in themselves.
A person must be honest in their conduct because being dishonest is not a good thing. If a person lies to another person about a certain thing, then he or she gives that person temporary comfort, but that person does not understand that he or she is going to hurt them even more by hiding the actual thing. That is why it is always better to be honest in the first place.
References
- https://psycnet.apa.org/record/1964-05839-001
- https://www.journals.uchicago.edu/doi/abs/10.1086/292912