Hence these essays. The first and most important factor in clear thinking is absolute integrity. Good thinking is tough, hard work, easily distorted by a wide variety of bad habits. Intellectual integrity is the only defense against the many internal demons that would turn us away from the truth. It only takes one failure of integrity to corrupt one's thinking.
Most people use a narrow definition of integrity.
Joe Typical figures that, so long as he never tells an outright lie, then he has preserved his integrity. Innocent until proven guilty. This works fine if your only concern is how you appear to other people. It permits a variety of deceitful behaviors, such as allowing another person to continue in a mistaken belief, or failing to tell someone something that they should know. Most people engage in such behaviors.