Self-deception

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The terms self-deception or self-deception encompass a variety of ways of thinking and behaving in relation to self and self-awareness . Self-deception has been the subject of philosophical consideration since ancient times , with definition and numerous aspects being controversial. At present, self-deception is the subject of research in cognitive psychology , specific patterns of self-deception in pathological form also in psychiatry . As an everyday unconscious or subconscious phenomenon, it is also the subject of many literary works that deal with authenticity , delusion and self-awareness .

to form

Self-delusions vary in extent, from harmless cognitive distortions to pathological disorders of consciousness . They appear in various forms, for example as a falsification of memories or as a planning fallacy . Both short-term cognitive states and long-term phenomena can be described as self-deception. An extreme case of the psychologically necessary self-deception is the lie of life , which was primarily processed and made known literarily by Henrik Ibsen .

Cognitive dissonances , for example, may be the cause - different perceptions, thoughts, attitudes, wishes or intentions that are incompatible with one another - or confirmation errors that are based on the tendency to search for, select and interpret information in such a way that one's own expectations to be met. The psychoanalysis leads to self-deception defenses back.

Self-delusions often affect the perception and evaluation of oneself, the so - called self - image (see also self-concept and self-worth ). Hence, they also play a role in certain personality disorders , such as borderline personality disorder , narcissistic personality disorder, and histrionic personality disorder . A form of self-deception that is relevant to psychotherapy is present when difficulties arise in realistically adapting to a given environment.

In philosophy, in connection with self-deception, not only the epistemological dimensions play a role, but also questions of action theory as well as responsibility and justification . Schopenhauer , for example, prominently questioned whether the assumption of freedom from arbitrariness was a necessary self-deception. Roughly active types of self-deception as falsifying or suppressing perceptions and ideas regarding one's own state of mind, the relationship to others or regarding the value or motives of one's own actions can be distinguished from passive self-delusions, which are analogous to sensory illusions in the area of ​​perceiving one's own Emotions and intentions are to be considered. The latter passive understanding is a central part of Max Scheler's anthropology . The tension between self-knowledge and self-deception plays an important role in Søren Kierkegaard .

In the modern philosophical discussion, the focus of the term field is "avoiding a truth that is perceived as unpleasant," telling oneself about a belief that one somehow knows or at least suspects is wrong ". A person who deceives himself is apparently convinced of something wrong because of a particular motivation; however, their behavior may indicate that they are aware of the truth to some extent. More recently it has been argued that self-deception may have a necessary motivational function.

From an evolutionary point of view, Robert Trivers described self-deception as a special case of deceptions conducive to survival and reproduction, which occur in the entire animal kingdom and therefore also among humans both as a natural phenomenon and as a consciously employed strategy.

literature

(Chronologically)

Web links

Wiktionary: Self-deception  - explanations of meanings, word origins, synonyms, translations

Individual evidence

  1. ^ Ian Deweese-Boyd: Self-Deception. In: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy.
  2. Charles Ford: Read !, read !!, read !!! : The psychology of deceit . American Psychiatric Press, Washington, DC 1999, ISBN 0-88048-997-9 , pp. 103-125 .
  3. Self-knowledge. In: Dorsch Lexicon of Psychology. (on-line)
  4. ^ W. Halbfass: Self-deception II. In: Historical dictionary of philosophy. Volume 9, p. 541.
  5. Kathi Beier: Self-deception . De Gruyter, 2010, ISBN 978-3-11-022931-8 , pp. 7 ( limited preview in Google Book search).
  6. ^ Ian Deweese-Boyd: Self-Deception. In: Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy. Quote: “self-deception involves a person who seems to acquire and maintain some false belief in the teeth of evidence to the contrary as a consequence of some motivation, and who may display behavior suggesting some awareness of the truth”.
  7. Albert Newen , Gottfried Vosgerau : To err is ... sensible! In: Steve Ayan (Ed.): Rätsel Mensch - Expeditions in the border area of ​​philosophy and brain research. Springer, Berlin 2017, ISBN 978-3-662-50326-3 , pp. 35–40.
  8. Robert Trivers: Deception and Self Deception. How we successfully lie to ourselves and others. Ullstein, Berlin 2013.