Self Deception And The Common Life

Author : Lloyd H. Steffen
Publisher : Peter Lang Incorporated, International Academic Publishers
Page : 424 pages
File Size : 53,7 Mb
Release : 1986
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : UOM:39015012814094

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Self-deception and the Common Life by Lloyd H. Steffen Pdf

Self-Deception and the Common Life investigates the topic of self-deception from three points of view: philosophical psychology, ethics, and theology. Empirical evidence and an «ordinary language» analysis support the case that the linguistic expression 'self-deception' is literally meaningful and that the language of the common life can be trusted. After critically analyzing the cognition, translation, and action accounts, along with the contributions of Freud and Sartre, Steffen proposes a new synthetic «emotional perception» account, one that avoids paradox. Giving attention to relevant moral issues, he argues that self-deception is not immoral, but represents a peculiar form of akrasia. Finally, because theologians employ 'self-deception' to describe the cognitive component of sin, Steffen considers the logic of theological self-deception. His study seeks an «intimate acquaintance» with self-deception and exemplifies a method of analysis relevant to constructive theological inquiry.

Author : Robert Trivers
Publisher : Basic Books
Page : 384 pages
File Size : 47,7 Mb
Release : 2011-10-25
Category : Science
ISBN : 9780465028054

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The Folly of Fools by Robert Trivers Pdf

Explores the author's theorized evolutionary basis for self-deception, which he says is tied to group conflict, courtship, neurophysiology, and immunology, but can be negated by awareness of it and its results.

Author : Michael Lewis,Carolyn Saarni
Publisher : Guilford Press
Page : 244 pages
File Size : 41,7 Mb
Release : 1993-02-05
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 0898628946

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Lying and Deception in Everyday Life by Michael Lewis,Carolyn Saarni Pdf

"I speak the truth, not so much as I would, but as much as I dare...."-- Montaigne "All cruel people describe themselves as paragons of frankness.'" -- Tennessee Williams Truth and deception--like good and evil--have long been viewed as diametrically opposed and unreconcilable. Yet, few people can honestly claim they never lie. In fact, deception is practiced habitually in day-to-day life--from the polite compliment that doesn't accurately relay one's true feelings, to self-deception about one's own motivations. What fuels the need for people to intricately construct lies and illusions about their own lives? If deceptions are unconscious, does it mean that we are not responsible for their consequences? Why does self-deception or the need for illusion make us feel uncomfortable? Taking into account the sheer ubiquity and ordinariness of deception, this interdisciplinary work moves away from the cut-and-dried notion of duplicity as evil and illuminates the ways in which deception can also be understood as a adaptive response to the demands of living with others. The book articulates the boundaries between unethical and adaptive deception demonstrating how some lies serve socially approved goals, while others provoke distrust and condemnation. Throughout, the volume focuses on the range of emotions--from feelings of shame, fear, or envy, to those of concern and compassion--that motivate our desire to deceive ourselves and others. Providing an interdisciplinary exploration of the widespread phenomenon of lying and deception, this volume promotes a more fully integrated understanding of how people function in their everyday lives. Case illustrations, humor and wit, concrete examples, and even a mock television sitcom script bring the ideas to life for clinical practitioners, behavioral scientists, and philosophers, and for students in these realms.

Author : Gregg A. Ten Elshof
Publisher : Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing
Page : 160 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2009-06-22
Category : Religion
ISBN : 9781467439701

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I Told Me So by Gregg A. Ten Elshof Pdf

Think you’ve ever deceived yourself? Then this book is for you. Think you’ve never deceived yourself? Then this book is really for you.

Author : Daniel Goleman
Publisher : Simon and Schuster
Page : 294 pages
File Size : 41,8 Mb
Release : 1985
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9780684831077

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Vital Lies, Simple Truths by Daniel Goleman Pdf

A penetrating analysis of the dark corners of human deception, enlivened by intriguing case histories and experiments.

Author : The Arbinger Institute
Publisher : Berrett-Koehler Publishers
Page : 193 pages
File Size : 54,5 Mb
Release : 2002
Category : Business & Economics
ISBN : 9781576755020

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Leadership and Self-deception by The Arbinger Institute Pdf

Explains why self-deception is at the heart of many leadership problems, identifying destructive patterns that undermine the successes of potentially excellent professionals while revealing how to improve teamwork, communication, and motivation. Reprint.

Author : Robert Trivers
Publisher : Unknown
Page : 0 pages
File Size : 40,5 Mb
Release : 2011
Category : Deception
ISBN : 0713998261

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Deceit and Self-deception by Robert Trivers Pdf

In this foundational book, Robert Trivers seeks to answer one of the most provocative and consequential questions to face humanity- why do we lie to ourselves? Deception is everywhere in nature. And nowhere more so than in our own species. We humans are especially good at telling others less - or more - than the truth. Why, however, would organisms both seek out information and then act to destroy it? In short, why practice self-deception? To biologists this has long been a mystery. Our sense organs have evolved to give us a marvellously detailed and accurate view of the outside world. So why should natural selection then lead us to systematically distort what we know? After decades of research, Robert Trivers has at last provided the missing theory to answer these questions. What emerges is a picture of deceit and self-deception as, at root, different sides of the same coin. We deceive ourselves the better to deceive others, and thereby reap the advantages. From space and aviation disasters to warfare, politics and religion, and the anxieties of our everyday social lives, Deceit and Self-Deception explains what really underlies a whole host of human problems. But can we correct our own biases? Are we doomed to indulge in fantasies, inflate our egos, and show off? Is it even a good idea to battle self-deception? With his characteristically wry and self-effacing wit, Trivers reveals how he finds self-deception everywhere in his own life, and shows us that while we may not always avoid it, we can now at least hope to understand it.

Author : Robert Trivers
Publisher : Penguin Books
Page : 399 pages
File Size : 50,9 Mb
Release : 2014-01-30
Category : Deception
ISBN : 0141019913

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Deceit and Self-Deception by Robert Trivers Pdf

We lie to ourselves every day: about how well we drive, how much we're enjoying ourselves - even how good looking we are. In this ground-breaking book, Robert Trivers examines not only how we self-deceive, but also why, taking fascinating examples from aviation disasters, con artists, sexual betrayals and conflicts within families. Revealing, provocative and witty, Deceit and Self-Deception is one of the most vital books written this century, and will make you rethink everything that you think you know. 'Original and important . . . remarkable, thick with ideas.' Financial Times 'One of the great thinkers in the history of Western thought.' Steven Pinker 'A swift tour of links between deception and evolutionary progress . . . fascinating.' Economist 'I devoured it from cover to cover . . . exhilarating.' Guardian 'A powerful book . . . essential for anyone who wants to try to counter their own unconscious biases.' Independent

Author : Mark H. Stone
Publisher : Phaneron Press
Page : 116 pages
File Size : 52,5 Mb
Release : 2002-01-01
Category : Self-deception
ISBN : 1930847319

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Life-Lies and Self-Deception by Mark H. Stone Pdf

Author : Lawrence C. Becker,Charlotte B. Becker
Publisher : Taylor & Francis
Page : 734 pages
File Size : 51,9 Mb
Release : 2001
Category : Philosophy
ISBN : 0415936756

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Encyclopedia of Ethics: P-W by Lawrence C. Becker,Charlotte B. Becker Pdf

A revised, expanded and updated edition with contributions by 325 renowned authorities in the field of ethics. All of the original articles have been newly peer-reviewed and revised, bibliographies have been updated throughout, and the overall design of the work has been enhanced for easier access to cross-references and other reference features.

Author : L.Y Nordenfelt
Publisher : Springer Science & Business Media
Page : 304 pages
File Size : 42,7 Mb
Release : 1994-04-30
Category : Medical
ISBN : 0792328248

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Concepts and Measurement of Quality of Life in Health Care by L.Y Nordenfelt Pdf

This volume brings together a number of scholarly studies on the definition, assessment and measurement of human quality of life. The book contains fundamental analyses of basic concepts such as welfare, wellbeing, happiness and quality of life itself, but contains also discussions on the application of such concepts for measuring purposes mainly in a health care context. Although the approach to these problems in the book is predominantly philosophical, there are also some studies which take a different, mainly sociological and medical, point of view. Most of the authors have a Scandinavian origin and their essays mirror the current debate on quality of life in northern Europe. The book however also contains contributions by distinguished scholars from the U.K., France, Italy and the Netherlands.

Author : Harry C. Triandis
Publisher : Bloomsbury Publishing USA
Page : 274 pages
File Size : 43,5 Mb
Release : 2008-12-30
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9780313364396

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Fooling Ourselves by Harry C. Triandis Pdf

Self-deception occurs because we often see the world the way we would like it to be, rather than the way it is. Our brains so long for things the way we want them, we might not even be aware we are fooling ourselves, explains author Harry Triandis, a widely known Professor Emeritus of Psychology. Across cultures and around the world, self-deception is a phenomenon that has subtle and profound effects on everyday life, explains Triandis, also former president of the International Association of Cross-Cultural Psychology. In this work, he not only explains how and why self-deceptions occur in three areas - politics, religion, and terrorism - but also how to recognize and reduce the frequency of fooling ourselves. Insights here include consideration of personal and societal self-deceptions, as well as extensive understanding of how politics, ideologies, and religions can frame reality for each of us in such a way that it is, in our minds, warped so the stage is well-set for self-deception. This text will be of special interest to general readers drawn to politics and religion, as well as scholars of psychology, anthropology, and sociology.

Author : Shankar Vedantam,Bill Mesler
Publisher : W. W. Norton & Company
Page : 198 pages
File Size : 55,9 Mb
Release : 2021-03-02
Category : Psychology
ISBN : 9780393652215

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Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain by Shankar Vedantam,Bill Mesler Pdf

A Behavioral Scientist Notable Book of 2021 A Next Big Idea Club Best Nonfiction of 2021 From the New York Times best-selling author and host of Hidden Brain comes a thought-provoking look at the role of self-deception in human flourishing. Self-deception does terrible harm to us, to our communities, and to the planet. But if it is so bad for us, why is it ubiquitous? In Useful Delusions, Shankar Vedantam and Bill Mesler argue that, paradoxically, self-deception can also play a vital role in our success and well-being. The lies we tell ourselves sustain our daily interactions with friends, lovers, and coworkers. They can explain why some people live longer than others, why some couples remain in love and others don’t, why some nations hold together while others splinter. Filled with powerful personal stories and drawing on new insights in psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, Useful Delusions offers a fascinating tour of what it really means to be human.

Author : David Nyberg
Publisher : University of Chicago Press
Page : 260 pages
File Size : 45,6 Mb
Release : 1994
Category : Family & Relationships
ISBN : 0226610527

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The Varnished Truth by David Nyberg Pdf

Everyone says that lying is wrong. But when we say that lying is bad and hurtful and that we would never intentionally tell a lie, are we really deceiving anyone? In this wise and insightful book, David Nyberg exposes the tacit truth underneath our collective pretense and reveals that an occasional lie can be helpful, healthy, creative, and, in some situations, even downright moral. Through familiar and often entertaining examples, Nyberg explores the purposes deception serves, from the social kindness of the white lie to the political ends of diplomacy to the avoidance of pain or unpleasantness. He looks at the lies we tell ourselves as well, and contrary to the scolding of psychologists demonstrates that self-deception is a necessary function of mental health, one of the mind's many weapons against stress, uncertainty, and chaos. Deception is in our nature, Nyberg tells us. In civilization, just as in the wilderness, survival does not favor the fully exposed or conspicuously transparent self. As our minds have evolved, as practical intelligence has become more refined, as we have learned the subtleties of substituting words and symbols for weapons and violence, deception has come to play a central and complex role in social life. The Varnished Truth takes us beyond philosophical speculation and clinical analysis to give a sense of what it really means to tell the truth. As Nyberg lays out the complexities involved in leading a morally decent life, he compels us to see the spectrum of alternatives to telling the truth and telling a clear-cut lie. A life without self-deception would be intolerable and a world of unconditional truth telling unlivable. His argument that deception and self-deception are valuable to both social stability and individual mental health boldly challenges popular theories on deception, including those held by Sissela Bok and Daniel Goleman. Yet while Nyberg argues that we deceive, among other reasons, so that we might not perish of the truth, he also cautions that we deceive carelessly, thoughtlessly, inhumanely, and selfishly at our own peril.

Author : Bridget Harwell
Publisher : iUniverse
Page : 178 pages
File Size : 45,5 Mb
Release : 2013-05-06
Category : Self-Help
ISBN : 9781475984538

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Lies by Bridget Harwell Pdf

We lie to ourselves every day, and these lies can lead to significant unhappiness in our lives. In Lies, authors Bridget Harwell and Elizabeth Scott present a collection of more than forty essays based on their daily interactions with clients who have suffered the pain of digging deeply and unearthing the self-deceptions that have limited their lives. Harwell and Scott, two successful, practicing psychologists, compiled the essays to examine the various forms of self-deception, many of which are unconscious attempts at self-protection which can go unnoticed and yet lead to stress and unhappiness. Accompanied by whimsical and evocative drawings, Lies examines a variety of themes, such as guilt, worry, indecision, and the power of relationships. Each piece is followed by a conversation between Harwell and Scott that seeks to add clarity to the discussion. Written in a conversational style that mimics a therapy session, this collection presents strategies for finding the truth beneath the lies we tell ourselves and gives us an opportunity to live a more integrated life, a life of authenticity thats essential for any kind of true happiness.