I've been thinking and reading about self-deception. It's fascinating to realize that a person can think they are doing one thing but in fact are doing another. A person, let's call him Bob, could genuinely hold the belief "I work hard at my job everyday and I'm doing well" but the truth is Bob is not working hard and not doing well. And let's assume this isn't a simple case of error, that somehow Bob thought his job entailed doing X when it really entailed doing Y -- he just didn't know any better. In this example Bob goes around everyday, with his head held high, believing he is doing great. People keep trying to give him hints to the contrary, and evidence pops up almost daily, but it doesn't seem to impact Bob at all. He sincerely believes he is working hard and doing well. I imagine he could even pass a lie detector test. Ok, but why does Bob believe he is doing a good job if there is evidence to the contrary? Is he just dumb? Is he lying to everyone and knows he isn't any good? If either of those are true then this isn't really self-deception, its ignorance or lying. How did Bob end up in this mess? Where did his thinking go wrong? Let's explore some options.
Bob could have what's called a "motivational belief," that's a belief which is formed because of an underlying motivation. Bob's underlying motivation could be that he wants to be successful, or looked upon as successful. That motivation forms a belief (despite the evidence)in himself as a good, hard-worker. Bob wants to believe that about himself (who doesn't?) and thus he screens his feedback to confirm his belief. The evidence which says he is doing well, he remembers: "Look, another example of my good work!" And the evidence which contradicts his belief he dismisses, creating lots of phony reasons why the contradictory evidence is incorrect. Bob's belief in himself as a good, hard-worker is not just a matter of ego, it's functional. Bob wants to keep his job, and if he ranks himself highly, he can influence others to believe the same. Hard to promote yourself when you don't think you are doing a good job.
Unfortunately, it's not just Bob who deceives himself, it's all of us. Bob's main instance of self-deception is in his workplace, for us it may be somewhere else. Explaining our own misfortunes inaccurately, personally or professionally, may be instances of self-deception. We have little stories to explain away why something went wrong, and if those stories are truly believed (sometimes they are only half-believed) but incorrect, we may be no better than Bob. Why do we end up deceiving ourselves? Staying blind to evidence right in front of our faces? Deaf to the voices of those around us? That leads us to our next potential explanation for Bob's self-deception -- fear of the consequences of the truth.
We deceive ourselves because it's easier than facing the truth. The truth about ourselves is often not complimentary. It's hard to hear, it can be painful, so much so it's not possible to face. So we deny and lie to ourselves. But what's worse than the truth is the consequence of knowing the truth, you'd have to change. You'd have to admit you are wrong and that you need to do something (usually something you don't want to do) different. Well, forget all that, let's just convince ourselves that everything is ok instead.
That is, if we are not strong. The stronger you are as a person, the more centered and balanced you are, the more you can face those truths. Self-deceivers are weak deep-down. They have to lie to themselves for protection from reality.
Bullshit
Fun little read on this topic, written by a philosophy professor. What characterizes bullshit is the misrepresentation of intentions. You don't actually have to lie to do that, you can use the truth to misrepresent yourself or your intentions: "For the essence of bullshit is not that it is false but that it is phony." Yes, the bullshitter is a phony. It's fakery clothed as reason.
For instance, the bullshitter is saying he will help you, but the real end is to make himself look like he is helping you. The end is not your aid, it's his gain through the appearance of aiding you. He may actually need to help you in order to achieve that gain, which is why the bullshitter is so hard to pin down. "I did help him, like I said I would."
But people are very good at smelling a rat, they know when they are being bullshitted. Even children can sense this. The manifestation of smelling a rat is distrust of the bullshitter, and rightfully so. They think "Yeah, you are saying that, and you may do that, but I know you are full of shit."
Spin
Spin is pretty easy to define, hard to pick out. Spin is the act of manipulating results or facts or events to suit an agenda. Anything can be spun, and most everything is. Spin is easy because of the problems of knowledge, the field of philosophy known as epistemology. It's hard to truly know anything (and by "know" here I mean having true, justified belief, although that definition is just one of many for "know"). So we can spin the results of sports performance very easily to suit our predetermined view:
1. They swam fast (objectively measured by time). The spin is in the "why." Because of good coaching, because of the previous coach, because they were trained right, because they were rested right, or because they weren't trained hard enough and were too rested (mid-season meet for instance). What's the truth?
2. They swam slowly. Why? Because of bad coaching, because of the previous coach, because they are just a bad group of athletes, because they weren't trained hard enough, they were trained too hard, they were too rested, they were under-rested. What's the truth? Pick your spin.
Spin is part deception, part lie, part bullshit. And some people spin to self-deceive, convince themselves they are safe, things are going ok, that reality isn't harsh truth, it actually fits into a worldview where they come out on top.
Ethics
This is all well and good if the self-deceiver, the bullshitter or the spinner doesn't affect you. But what if they do? Do you blame them? Can you change them?
The blame issue depends on how strongly you fault people for their own failings. They are failings of character, of moral strength, ethics overridden by self-interest. Changing people like this is very difficult because they fundamentally don't accept input that contradicts their intentions. Why would they believe you when you call them out?
What fascinates me about the self-deceiver, or the person who believes his/her own bullshit and spin, is how far astray they have gone. It's not just that they are wrong, that's common enough, it's that they have bought their own bullshit! That's stunning.
So how do you, or I, avoid falling into this problem ourselves? First, continually work on strengthening yourself emotionally so you can face the truth of reality. Second, be open to change. Third, surround yourself with good people who themselves are emotionally strong and open to change, and then listen to them!
Brilliant piece.
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