Everything about Self-deception totally explained
Self-deception is a process of
denying or
rationalizing away the relevance, significance, or importance of opposing
evidence and
logical argument.
It has been argued that humans are, without exception, highly susceptible to self-deception, as everyone has emotional attachments to beliefs, which in some cases may be irrational. Some
evolutionary biologists, such as
Robert Trivers, have even suggested that, because
deception is such an important part of human behaviour (and animal behaviour generally), an instinct for
self-deception can give a person a selective advantage: if someone can believe their own "lie" (for example, their presentation that's biased toward their own
self-interest), the theory goes, that'll consequently be better able to persuade others of its "truth."
This notion is based on the following logic. In humans, awareness of the fact that one is acting deceptively often leads to tell-tale signs of deception. Therefore, if self-deception enables someone to believe their distortions, they won't present such signs of deception and will therefore appear to be telling the truth.
It may also be argued that the ability to deceive, or self-deceive, isn't the selected trait but a by-product of a more primary trait that's selected. Abstract thinking allows many evolutionary advantages such as more flexible, adaptive behaviors and innovation. Since a lie is an abstraction, the mental process of creating a lie can only occur in animals with enough brain complexity to permit abstract thinking.
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