Self-Deception and Absurdity

Self-deception is described as a strong urge and desire to maintain or defend a belief or idea that one regards to be the truth even while there is strong evidence that the contrary is actually the truth (Stanford Encyclopedia of Philosophy). Self-deception is “a way we justify false beliefs” and these rationalizations “may even produce it themselves” (Skeptic’s Dictionary; Perspectives, 117). Some views of self-deception suggest that it is an egoistic act, while others do not believe that this is necessarily true. There is also controversy over whether or not the deceiver is conscious of this incidence. That is, the dispute is over whether the deception is intentionally self-induced. Another debate examines whether or not this tendency is an everyday human occurrence. Self-deception must first be defined before arriving at the conclusion that it is an everyday occurrence because, according to one possible definition, self-deception is argued not to even exist. The process of defining this phenomenon can be very difficult and quarrelsome because of diverging views and opinions of the definition. Some may even argue that there are different categories of ‘self-deception’ that only loosely apply to actual self-deception and that this is why it is hard to come to conclusions on the subject (Van Leeuwen). The process of defining self-deception implicates a moral and social definition and understanding as well—questions such as, “Is self-deception immoral?” and, “Does society play a role in self-deception?” must be answered. The theory that self-deception is an evolutionary trait must also be taken into account and may answer the question of whether or not self-deception is present in all human affairs—do we have a genetic predispositi...

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...lid. This would lead to the conclusion that self-deception is not present in humans and, therefore, cannot be exhibited in all human affairs because it would not exist.

Self-deception is a highly debated topic that has a large amount of support on both sides of the spectrum. In psychology and philosophy, though, one must retain the understanding that nothing is either always or never. There will only be assumptions that something is the truth. It will not be the whole truth unless proven to be. Therefore, the argument regarding self-deception may remain unresolved until actual evidence is given that asserts and establishes one of the many theories to be true. Meanwhile, it can be assumed either that the concept of self-deception is valid or that it is not valid. If it is assumed to be valid, it is also possible to assume that it is exhibited in all human affairs.