I'm not quite sure what the question is here, BB. In answer to "How important is the truth?" I would say that truth is of paramount importance. One should always seek the truth in any matter.

But in the instance you cite, the dean apparently did something dishonest (falsified her resumé to get the job), and depending on the standards of the institution, that could very well be a firing offense. In other cases, perhaps not. For example, an acquaintance of mine falsified her resumé to get a job that she both wanted and needed. Had she not, she wouldn't have got the job. It turned out that she was more than competent, her employer was very pleased with her work, and the matter never came up. In this case, does the end justify the means? On the other hand, if someone hires on to drive a school bus, claims he has a drivers' license which he doesn't, then proceeds to drive a bus-load of children off a bridge, then it matters very much.

Dodging the truth from time to time tends to grease the wheels of society and preserve domestic tranquility, i.e., "What a lovely party, Myrtle. Thank you for inviting me." [Inwardly: "What a boring evening. Never again!"] or "No, Abigail, that skirt doesn't make your butt look big." [Inwardly: "Don't blame the skirt, Abigail; your butt makes your butt look big!"].

In the search for scientific truth, it goes without saying that truth is of primary importance. The same in politics. In a democratic republic such as the United States purports to be, keeping the populace—the electorate—informed is essential to the health of the "body politic" and the populace a whole, and sometimes, the world at large. But as we know, politics is an area in which the truth is a rare commodity.

I hate to make a brief for moral relativism, but I'm afraid that the importance of the absolute truth depends a lot on the situation.

Difficult question. Philosophers have been wrestling with this one for millennia.

Don Firth