Honesty

The principle of honesty says that one must refuse to fake reality - to pretend that the facts are not what they are. It is loyalty to reality and rationality, and requires that one live by the ideas he accepts as true - to mean what he says.

However, as with all moral principles, honesty is an absolute in a specific context: it is a guide to action that applies within a specific set of conditions. It is a guide to life-sustaining actions; thus one cannot be expected to act for his own destruction or to cause harm to others. And such actions, in turn, must have reference back to the principle; i.e. the principle must always be upheld.

Thus, to be honest is to fully obey the principle within the relevant context. Virtues are broad abstractions, not concrete-bound rules or commandments.

That is why lying, generally a form of dishonesty, is not necessarily immoral. But the conditions that can make it moral are not subjectively determined - without reference to the principle. Thus, it is immoral to lie in order to gain a value, but not to preserve one.

An example of “preservation” is lying to prevent a criminal from harming you or someone you value. One’s virtue should never become a means to serving the ends of evil.

It is moral to lie to government to protect one’s rights.

It is moral to withhold information from someone - even a loved one - if such information would prove harmful to him; or due to age is better provided at a later time for his own well-being.

Such examples may seem like, but should not be confused with, “white lies.” The latter is defined subjectively as a minor or unimportant lie, without regard for the principle of honesty.
But it does follow that when lying morally, one is not actually being dishonest - faking reality or relying on an irrational principle. He is acting for the good: for the good of himself, of the person to whom he is lying, and of the honesty principle itself.