On Self-deceit

Abstract

There lies a paradox in self-deceit, where one acts as the deceiver, knowing the facts, but at the same time, as the deceived, not knowing it. Psychoanalysis avoids the paradox through the unconscious mechanisms; Existentialists, however, by declining the unconscious, avoid the paradox because, in order to cover the truth, one surely knows it. The article, by testifying that the deceiver’s self and the deceived’s self are one and the same, uncovers self-deceit in Rousseau’s sincere confession because he separates the agent-self and the confessor-self, while both are the same self. The article further explores self-deceit as a pretense based on Austin’s philosophy. The pretense cannot be seen, but can be detected through understanding its context. The article concludes that psychology should understand the paradox of self-deceiver as a way of self-integrity within a hermeneutic insight.