Frankfurt argues in his essay on bullshit that it is even more detrimental than lying. Lying is a conscious act of deception, where the liar knows the truth and chooses to conceal it. Bullshit, on the other hand, is something that sounds like it could be true, but is not necessarily true. The person speaking […]

As a business owner, you’re always on alert for fraudulent activity. But how do you recognize it? What signs should you look out for? To help you in your pursuit of financial security, here is a guide to recognizing fraudulent activity and the steps you can take to protect yourself. Recognizing Fraudulent Activity The first […]

Being able to tell when someone is lying can be an invaluable skill. Not only can it help you protect yourself from being taken advantage of, but it can also help build trust in your relationships. Unfortunately, however, spotting a liar is often easier said than done. In this article, we’ll discuss some common signs […]

We only become aware of the dangers of our technology when it’s too late. Today, the biggest dangers to us are not necessarily from outer space or even from our own government. Rather, it’s the technology we create ourselves that poses the greatest threat to our future. And much of this technology is seemingly harmless; […]

The capacity for self-deception has long puzzled philosophers, psychologists, and laypeople alike. How is it that we can hold two apparently contradictory beliefs at the same time? And why is it that, more often than not, we are unaware of the inconsistency in our own beliefs? The first thing to note about self-deception is that […]

In Either/Or, Søren Kierkegaard offers a detailed critique of the aesthetic life. For Kierkegaard, the aesthetic life is one lived for pleasure and sense-enjoyment. This may sound like a good thing at first, but Kierkegaard argues that it is actually quite dangerous. Why? Because living for pleasure leads to a life of inaction and empty […]

In his Pulitzer Prize-winning book, “The Denial of Death,” Ernest Becker argues that the basic human motivation is the fear of death. This fear leads us to develop various mechanisms of self-deception, which allow us to deny our mortality and maintain a sense of control in an otherwise chaotic and unpredictable world. While Becker’s book […]

One of the most human things we do is deceive ourselves. Whether it’s convincing ourselves that we don’t have feelings for someone when we really do, or telling ourselves that we didn’t enjoy a book when everyone else loved it, self-deception is something we’re all guilty of. But what does it mean to self-deceive? And […]