The Psychology of Honesty: A Q&A with Dr. Christian B. Miller

By Erin Marlow, Communications Specialist in the Office of the Dean of the College

In a time when honesty seems to be in short supply, what role does philosophy and education play in preserving it? Dr. Christian B. Miller, A.C. Reid Professor of Philosophy, will answer such questions in year’s prestigious Poteat Lecture on Thursday, April 3, at 4 p.m. in Pugh Auditorium. Named in honor of Hubert McNeill Poteat, who taught at Wake Forest University from 1911 to 1956 and was widely known and respected as a Latin scholar, this lecture series is designed to recognize and celebrate the many achievements of our faculty in research, scholarly, and creative work. The annual lecture is held each spring and is sponsored by the Office of the Dean of the College and the Graduate School of Arts & Sciences.

Dr. Miller spoke with the Dean’s Office about his upcoming lecture, “Honesty: Preserving our Most Treasured Virtue in an Increasingly Dishonest World.” Register for the lecture online.

Congratulations on being selected to deliver this year’s Poteat Lecture. What does this honor mean to you?

I was completely surprised and humbled when I got the good news! I have always viewed the Poteat Lecture as a very special honor, having seen so many distinguished colleagues deliver the lecture in the past. I don’t think I am worthy of being included in this group, but I am very grateful to Wake Forest. It is yet another reason why I count myself to be so fortunate to be at this wonderful place.

What inspired you to choose honesty as the theme for this year’s lecture, and why do you believe it’s such an important topic to address in today’s world?

The theme of honesty is a natural one for me, as I have been working on the topic for the past 8 years. This has included directing the Honesty Project for five years, which helped to support dozens of scholars in producing new work on the philosophy and psychology of honesty. In recent years, I have become increasingly worried by a number of honesty crises in our society. Examples include the rampant dishonesty surrounding deepfakes, internet infidelity, and student cheating. These crises occur when dishonesty becomes more tempting than it was in the past, and, at the same time, it has become easier to get away with. That is a bad combination; so, in my research, I am trying to call attention to these crises and think through ways of trying to address them.

What have been some of the most rewarding aspects of preparing for the Poteat Lecture thus far?

The lecture will draw from my newest book manuscript, The Honesty Crisis: Preserving Our Most Treasured Virtue in an Increasingly Dishonest World. I have not had a chance to share much of this material yet, so it is exciting (and challenging!) to take a 9-chapter book and see what the most important material to cover is in one lecture. I promise I won’t go on too long!

How do you see the relationship between your research and your teaching? Do students have opportunities to collaborate with you on your research projects?

I see them as very closely intertwined. For instance, I teach a course called Topics in Ethics: Virtue and Character, in which we read some of my research on character and debate it. And regardless of whether it is my work, I always learn a great deal from my students (and hopefully the same is true in the other direction!). As far as research projects go, philosophy is a little different than, say, the sciences or psychology in that we typically don’t have labs or research teams that collaborate together on projects. Having said this, I have directed a number of URECA summer projects, one of which even led to a whole new research project on patience and two publications with more on the horizon.

What do you hope the audience takes away from your presentation?

I hope that they will come away with a greater appreciation of the importance of honesty and why it is such an interesting virtue to study. Plus, a greater awareness of some of the challenges to honesty we are facing today. And finally, I hope the audience gains a sense of hope that these challenges are not insurmountable and that there are some positive ways to move forward as a society.