Deceit and Self-Deception

Deceit and Self-Deception PDF Author: Robert Trivers
Publisher: Penguin Books
ISBN: 9780141019918
Category : Deception
Languages : en
Pages : 399

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Book Description
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

Deceit and Self-Deception

Deceit and Self-Deception PDF Author: Robert Trivers
Publisher: Penguin UK
ISBN: 0141971061
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 429

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Book Description
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? 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.

The Folly of Fools

The Folly of Fools PDF Author: Robert Trivers
Publisher: Basic Books (AZ)
ISBN: 0465027555
Category : Science
Languages : en
Pages : 418

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Book Description
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.

Lying and Deception in Everyday Life

Lying and Deception in Everyday Life PDF Author: Michael Lewis
Publisher: Guilford Press
ISBN: 9780898628944
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 244

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Book Description
"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.

The Selfish Gene

The Selfish Gene PDF Author: Richard Dawkins
Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA
ISBN: 9780192860927
Category : Medical
Languages : en
Pages : 372

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Book Description
Science need not be dull and bogged down by jargon, as Richard Dawkins proves in this entertaining look at evolution. The themes he takes up are the concepts of altruistic and selfish behaviour; the genetical definition of selfish interest; the evolution of aggressive behaviour; kinshiptheory; sex ratio theory; reciprocal altruism; deceit; and the natural selection of sex differences. 'Should be read, can be read by almost anyone. It describes with great skill a new face of the theory of evolution.' W.D. Hamilton, Science

The Philosophy of Deception

The Philosophy of Deception PDF Author: Clancy W. Martin
Publisher:
ISBN: 0195327934
Category : Family & Relationships
Languages : en
Pages : 293

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Book Description
This volume gathers together new essays on deception and self-deception by leading thinkers on the subject. The contributors discuss topics including the nature and the definition of deception; whether deception is morally blameworthy or not; attacks against and defenses of self-deception; and the most famous philosophical account of lying by Immanuel Kant. Deception of others and self-deception share many more interconnections than is normally recognized, and these essays reveal the benefits of considering them together. The Philosophy of Deceptionill be of interest to philosophers across the spectrum including those interested in philosophy of mind, philosophy of psychology, and metaphysics.

Vital Lies, Simple Truths

Vital Lies, Simple Truths PDF Author: Daniel Goleman
Publisher: Simon and Schuster
ISBN: 0684831074
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 294

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

Why We Lie

Why We Lie PDF Author: David Livingstone Smith
Publisher: Macmillan
ISBN: 9780312310400
Category : Language Arts & Disciplines
Languages : en
Pages : 262

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Book Description
Readers of Richard Dawkins and Steven Pinker will find much to intrigue them in this fascinating book, which declares that our extraordinary ability to deceive others - and even our selves - 'lies' at the heart of our humanity.

Deception in Selection

Deception in Selection PDF Author: Mr Max A Eggert
Publisher: Gower Publishing, Ltd.
ISBN: 1409474771
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 302

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Book Description
The latest research suggests that 33% of people lie deliberately to achieve employment. The costs of mis-hires are significant in terms of management time, selection and reselection costs and potential legal costs. There are 101 opportunities for applicants to economize with the truth, exaggerate or simply lie, both on their CV and at interview. They may be desperate in a competitive job market; they may think that exaggeration is an expected part of the process or they just rely on the fact that many employers still fail to make the most rudimentary of checks of what they are told. Max Eggert’s Deception in Selection will help you, the recruiter, to understand how and why candidates deceive. The book examines proven techniques and tactics to balance the interview game, to restore equity in the face of the clever approaches that sophisticated candidates bring to the interview. Although there is no foolproof way of identifying deception, you can, with practice, become amazingly accurate if there is a commitment to master the basics. The object of this book is to learn how to detect more effectively the fabrications that candidates present in selection situations that would have a direct adverse effect on their performance in the job. Reading it will encourage you to look at lying and truth telling in a new light and discover how pervasively lies and self-deception influence selection decisions. This is a must read guide from a best-selling business author for all those who participate in the selection process.

Leadership and Self-deception

Leadership and Self-deception PDF Author: The Arbinger Institute
Publisher: Berrett-Koehler Publishers
ISBN: 1576755029
Category : Business & Economics
Languages : en
Pages : 193

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Book Description
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.

Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain

Useful Delusions: The Power and Paradox of the Self-Deceiving Brain PDF Author: Shankar Vedantam
Publisher: W. W. Norton & Company
ISBN: 0393652211
Category : Psychology
Languages : en
Pages : 209

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Book Description
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.