In extreme cases, irrational persons bring force against us, as if a gun could compel us to believe what they wish us to believe. Those who initiate force against others have renounced all intention of recognizing the truth (a point that will become abundantly clear later in the course). The principle of honesty, therefore, simply does not apply to our dealings with them. Included in this category are dealings with persons who wield the threat of force, since the latter is equivalent to direct force, as we saw in our study of praxeology (p. 4.5:10). Honesty, as we remarked earlier, does not require that a mother reveal the location of her child to the would-be kidnapper (p. 3.4:4)—or, more generally, that we cooperate in any manner with persons who would substitute force for reason. One should consider only one's practical interest in such encounters, much as if one confronted any other wild animal.