In this exceptionally brilliant book, ranging effortlessly from Herodotus and Thucydides to Diderot and Nietzsche, Bernard Williams daringly asks--and still more daringly answers--one of the central questions of philosophy: what is the point of telling the truth? Lucid, penetrating, and profound, Williams' reflections are vitally important not for philosophers alone but for anyone interested in human thought and creativity. -- Stephen Greenblatt, Cogan University Professor of the Humanities, Harvard University This is a major, wide-ranging, and comprehensive book. A philosophical investigation that is also a literary and historical study, Truth and Truthfulness asks how and why we have come to think of accuracy, sincerity, and authenticity as virtues. Bernard Williams' account of their emergence is as detailed and imaginative as his defense of their importance is spirited and provocative. Williams asks hard questions, and gives them straightforward and controversial answers. His book does not simply describe and advocate these virtues of truthfulness; it manifests them. -- Alexander Nehamas, author of "Virtues of Authenticity"

Commended for Association of American Publishers' Best New Book in Philosophy and Religion 2003.

Bernard Williams was Knightbridge Professor of Philosophy at the University of Cambridge (1967-1979) and Provost of King's College. He held the Monroe Deutsch Professorship of Philosophy at the University of California, Berkeley (1998-2000) and was White's Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of Oxford (1990-2003). He was Fellow of All Souls College, Oxford until his death in 2003.

Chapter 1: The Problem 1. Truthfulness and Truth 1 2. Authority 7 3. Nietzsche 12 Chapter 2: Genealogy 1. Real and Fictional 20 2. Naturalism 22 3. The State of Nature Is Not the Pleistocene 27 4. How Can Fictions Help? 31 5. Shameful Origins 35 6. The Genealogy of Truthfulness 38 Chapter 3: The State of Nature: A Rough Guide 1. The Division of Labour 41 2. Plain Truths 45 3. Space, Time, and Indeterminacy 53 4. Value: The Story So Far 57 Chapter 4: Truth, Assertion, and Belief 1. Truth Itself 63 2. Assertions and Truth 66 3. Assertions and Knowledge 76 4. Beliefs and Truth 79 Chapter 5: Sincerity: Lying and Other Styles of Deceit 1. Value: An Internal Connection? 84 2. Trust 88 3. Trustworthiness in Speech 93 4. Dispositions of Sincerity 96 5. Fetishizing Assertion 100 6. Deserving the Truth 110 Chapter 6: Accuracy: A Sense of Reality 1. The Elaboration of Accuracy 123 2. Methods and Obstacles 126 3. Realismand Fantasy 135 4. Truthfulness and Freedom 141 Chapter 7: What Was Wrong with Minos? 1. Introduction 149 2. Thucydides 151 3. "Legendary Times" 155 4. The Past and the Truth 161 Chapter 8: From Sincerity to Authenticity 1. An Ambiguous Invention 172 2. Rousseau 173 3. Diderot and Rameau's Nephew 185 4. Steadying the Mind 191 5. Authenticity and Other People 199 Chapter 9: Truthfulness, Liberalism, and Critique 1. Truth and Politics 206 2. Democracy and Liberty 210 3. The Marketplace of Ideas 213 4. Critique 219 5. The Critical Theory Test 225 Chapter 10: Making Sense 1. Narratives 233 2. Structures and Explanations 241 3. Audiences 250 4. Needs 258 Endnote. The Vocabulary of Truth: An Example 271 Notes 279 Bibliography 309 Acknowledgements 321 Index 323