To Thine Own Self Be True (commentary)

To Thine Own Self Be True
By John Trent

"To thine own self be true, and it must follow, as the night the day, thou canst not then be false to any man." ~William Shakespeare, Hamlet

What is it to be a person of integrity? We speak of attributes such as professional, intellectual and artistic integrity. However, the most philosophically important sense of the term generally relates back to our basic character. What we beleive.

As I contemplated Shakespeare’s line from Hamlet, I was thrust back to the days of my youth. From my earliest memories, I recall being taught the principles of right from wrong. “Don’t do this” or “Always tell the truth” were simple, but powerful statements that ensured my understanding of this important learned behavior. Our parents, schools, churches, society, and our own personal experiences taught us to act with integrity or so I thought. Often, more than not, our definition of integrity became our moral compass.

On the other hand, Saint Thomas Aquinas suggests that humans already have this characteristic deep within their psyche when he wrote, "Three things are necessary for the salvation of man: to know what he ought to believe; to know what he ought to desire; and to know what he ought to do." Again, so what is integrity? Is it learned or are it's elements implied; thus leaving it for our own self-determination? In my most humble opinion,yes,we are what we've learned, but we each are guided by our own free will.

To know the answer, we must look past our circumstance and look deeply into ourselves. By doing so, we will find our true nature, our integrity, and the path to salvation. No mattter what our culture or society teaches, to become an integral being we must be willing to extend our virtue to the deserving as well as those who are not; then, you will be able to experience the true essence of integrity.