Truth about truth !!!

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.