We need a certain tendency to communicate in order to sustain the society we live in. For our society to operate smoothly over the long term, we rely on specific epistemic virtues to support the information system. The first is accuracy, which means acquiring accurate knowledge about what we observe. The second is sincerity, which involves telling others what we genuinely believe without hiding the truth or lying. If we fail to gain accurate knowledge about our observations, we cannot provide reliable information to others. Similarly, if we lack sincerity—choosing to lie or withhold information—we ultimately endanger our society.

为了维持现有的社会，我们需要某种沟通的倾向。而要让我们的社会长久运转，我们需要特定的认知美德来支撑整个信息系统。第一种美德是准确，即对所观察到的事物获取准确的认知；第二种美德是真诚，即向他人如实陈述自己的信念，不隐瞒也不撒谎。如果我们无法对观察到的事物获得准确认知，就无法向他人提供可靠的信息。同样，如果我们不够真诚，选择对他人说谎或隐瞒信息，我们最终也会危及我们的社会。