Self-Deceived Argument

A Self-Deceived Argument is a deceptive argument that a self-deceiver uses for themselves.

• Context:
  • It can lead to a Self-Deceived Choice.
• Example(s):
  • "At a dinner party, for example, a young woman commented on how close she was to her family, how loving family members had always been. She then went on to report, as evidence of their closeness, When I disagreed with my mother she threw whatever was nearest at me. Once it happened to be a knife and I needed 10 stitches in my leg. A few years later my father tried to choke me when I began dating a boy he didn't like. They really are very concerned about me, she added, in all seriousness." (Goleman, 1985b).
  • …
• Counter-Example(s):
  • a Truthful Analysis.
  • an Argument to Deceive Others, e.g. in negotiation.
• See: Logical Argument, Denial, Rationalization, Bad Faith Choice.

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References

2015

• (Wikipedia, 2015) ⇒ http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Self-deception Retrieved:2015-5-22.
  • Self-deception is a process of denying or rationalizing away the relevance, significance, or importance of opposing evidence and logical argument. Self-deception involves convincing oneself of a truth (or lack of truth) so that one does not reveal any self-knowledge of the deception.

2013

• http://plato.stanford.edu/entries/self-deception/#DefIss
  • QUOTE: What is self-deception? Traditionally, self-deception has been modeled on interpersonal deception, where A intentionally gets B to believe some proposition p, all the while knowing or believing truly ~p. Such deception is intentional and requires the deceiver to know or believe ~p and the deceived to believe p. One reason for thinking self-deception is analogous to interpersonal deception of this sort is that it helps us to distinguish self-deception from mere error, since the acquisition and maintenance of the false belief is intentional not accidental.

2001

• (Mele, 2001) ⇒ Alfred R. Mele. (2001). “Self-deception Unmasked." Princeton University Press,

1989

• (Taylor, 1989) ⇒ Shelley E. Taylor. (1989). “Positive Illusions: Creative Self-deception and the Healthy Mind." Basic Books,

1985

• (Goleman, 1985) ⇒ Daniel Goleman. (1985). “Vital Lies, Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self Deception." Simon and Schuster,

1979

• (Sackeim & Gur, 1979) ⇒ Harold A. Sackeim, and Ruben C. Gur. (1979). “Self-Deception, Other-Deception, and Self-Reported Psychopathology.” In: Journal of Consulting and Clinical Psychology 47, no. 1
  • ABSTRACT: Administered inventories designed to assess self-reported psychopathology, other-deception (lying), and self-deception to a group of 250 undergraduates. The inventories included the Beck Depression Inventory, the Neuroticism and Lie scales of the Eysenck Personality Inventory, the Manifest Symptom Questionnaire, the Other-Deception Questionnaire, and the Self-Deception Questionnaire. Substantial negative correlations were found between self-deception and psychopathology scores, and the relationships between the self-deception and psychopathology scores were stronger than those between the other-deception and psychopathology measures. Findings support the view that self-deception significantly contributes to the invalidity of self-report inventories and more so than does other-deception. The possibility is raised that self-deception is a moderating variable contributing to the lack of agreement between clinical and actuarial forms of assessment.

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