Stephen Carter The Inssufficiency Of Honesty Summary

Integrity and honesty are often thought to coincide: many people believe that is true. Author Stephen L. Carter wrote â€Å"The Insufficiency of Honesty†, which was published in the Atlantic Monthly in 1996. He argues that a person can have honesty without ever reflecting back on whether or not what they believe is necessarily true, which is not exactly integrity. Carter builds his credibility in his writing by stating that he was giving a university commencement address, citing statistics and using prominent sources. He also gives well thought out examples to help strengthen his argument that one can be honest without having integrity. In his writing, Carter first explains what he means by honesty by giving his definition and then Sissela†¦show more content†¦She says that she understands. In due course she does wind up pregnant. If we believe, as I hope we do, that the man would ordinarily have a moral responsibility toward both the child he will have helped bring i nto the world and the childs mother, then his honest statement of what he intends does not spare him that responsibility.† This example is one of many that he makes in his appeal to pathos. A man has a responsibility to his child, whether he stated he didnt want it before or not. Carter explains that if honesty were to be substituted for integrity, then he were to say that he had no intention do something, then he is not obligated to do it. However, Integrity does not allow us to avoid such a thing. This builds his appeal to pathos by giving an example that many of us face or have faced in the real world. Carter effectively makes appeals to both pathos and logos in the middle sections. This content has many examples that will make the reader contemplate both sides of an example that help adequately explain how someone can be honest well lacking integrity. He uses an appeal to pathos when he speaks of the dying husband and how he finally unburdens himself while he was dying by telling his wife that he was unfaithful once thirty five years ago. However, now the wife will not be able to exactly remember hi m in quite a loving way as before. However, the husband has unburdened himself and can now die with an easy conscience, but his