Essays on Self-Deception

By Dr Neel Burton — Psychiatrist, philosopher, and wine writer; Fellow of Green Templeton College, University of Oxford; author of over twenty books.

Every life is, more or less, a ruin among whose debris we have to discover what the person ought to have been. —José Ortega y Gasset

Much of what we think and do is shaped by desires that we cannot—or will not—acknowledge.

At the root of self-deception lies fear. We lie to ourselves because there are truths we cannot bear to face.

Psychological defences such as repression and rationalisation—and dozens more—may help us get by, but they can also prevent us from confronting the real problems in our lives and becoming the people we might have been. Sometimes it takes a crisis, perhaps even a depression, to finally see through them.

Beyond the traditional defence mechanisms, we deceive ourselves about love, ambition, status, happiness, morality, and so much else. Often, entire societies participate in the same illusion.

This page brings together my essays on self-deception.

The Divided Self

Who Am I, Really? — The Psychology of Self-Deception

Am I Lying to Myself? — A Psychiatrist’s Three-Step Test for Self-Deception

What If My Life Is Not Mine? — Sartre, Bad Faith, and the Freedom We Deny

The Root of All Anxiety — The Deepest Cure for Fear and Anxiety—No Prescription Required

Flight from Ourselves

Are You Keeping Busy to Avoid Yourself? — The Manic Defence: Why You Can’t Bear to Stop

The Ambition Trap — The Psychology and Philosophy of Ambition

The Dark Side of the Bachelor Party — Why the Bachelor Party Is the Opposite of What It Appears

Sex, Drugs, and Religion — A History of the Orgy

The Stories We Live By

The Problem with Critical Thinking — Why Are People No Wiser Than Before?

Can Romantic Love Save Us? — The History and Psychology of Love—and What It Reveals About Love Itself

Is National Pride the Cheapest Form of Pride? — Schopenhauer on Nationalism, Politics, and Rising Above the Times

Why We Scapegoat—And How We Choose Our Victims — The Psychology and Philosophy of Scapegoating

What Is Altruism—And Is It Truly Selfless? — The Psychology and Philosophy of Altruism

Why You Should Always Be Eight Minutes Late—And Not One More — The Psychology and Philosophy of Lateness

Crisis and Awakening

What Depression is For — My Philosophy of (Most) Depression

What Is Hypersanity? — There’s More to Life than Mere Sanity

The Most Beautiful Thing in the World — Diogenes, Free Speech, and the Freedom to Become

You Are Right to Be Afraid of Death — But Not For the Reason You Think

Beyond the Ego

The Secret to Self-Esteem — Self-Esteem vs Self-Confidence: Why Confidence Isn’t Enough

What Makes You Who You Are? — The Western, Buddhist, and Upanishadic Answers to the Problem of the Self

India’s Boldest Idea: The Illusion of the Self — The Buddha and Buddhism on the Illusion of the Self

India’s Deepest Secret: The Secret of the Self — The Upanishads and the Search for the True Self

Freedom and Self-Overcoming

God Is Dead. Now What? — How Would You Respond to Nietzsche’s Madman?

Are You Ancient or Christian? — Nietzsche on Master and Slave Morality—and Why You May Be Both

Nietzsche’s Prophetic Vision of the Last Man — And His Challenge to Us: The Übermensch

Nietzsche, the Stoics, and Eternal Return — What If You Had to Live Your Life Again?

Continue Exploring

Explore more subjects in the Index Scriptorum.

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