Start seeing things you never saw -- both in yourself and others. Why are people the broken way they are?

Above all, don't lie to yourself. The man who lies to himself and listens to his own lie comes to a point that he cannot distinguish the truth within him, or around him, and so loses all respect for himself and for others. And having no respect he ceases to love. -- Dostoevsky

Self-deception is common and universal, and the cause of most human tragedies. Of course, the science of self-deception can help us to live better and get more out of life. But it can also cast a murky light on human nature and the human condition, for example, on such exclusively human phenomena as anger, depression, fear, pity, pride, dream making, love making, and god making, not to forget age-old philosophical problems such as selfhood, virtue, happiness, and the good life. Nothing, in the end, could possibly be more important.

In this book, you'll learn:


• Why self-deception is part and parcel of the human condition.

• The costs, and benefits, of self-deception.

• The difference between denial and repression, and between repression and suppression.

• The dynamics of infatuation and 'love at first sight'.

• What makes some forms of self-deception better, or more 'mature', than others.

• The boundaries between self-deception, personality disorder, and mental disorder.

• How you can know when you are deceiving yourself.

• How you can exploit your own psychology.

• How to interpret dreams.

• And much, much more.

About the author

Dr Neel Burton FRSA is a psychiatrist and philosopher. He is a Fellow of Green-Templeton College in the University of Oxford, and the recipient of several book prizes including, most recently, a BIBA (2024). His work has featured in the likes of Aeon and Psychology Today, and been translated into several languages.

Editorial reviews

Burton provides an excellent explanation of how we use psychological defence mechanisms to protect ourselves from painful truths. -- The Psychiatrist

A nuanced examination... Burton's exploration of self-deception is intellectually appealing, both for readers steeped in psychoanalytic thought and the layperson. An abundance of everyday examples clearly illustrates a range of behaviours, from denial and repression to scapegoating and magical thinking... -- The US Review of Books (Recommended)

Burton guides the reader to unlearn, rediscover, and return to wholeness. It is a journey out of Plato's cave... -- The International Review of Books

Contents list

Introduction and Overview

Part I: Abstraction

1. Denial
2. Repression
3. Dissociation
4. Intellectualization
5. Rationalization
6. Positive Illusions
7. Depression

Part II: Transformation

8. Displacement
9. Scapegoating
10. Somatization
11. Reaction Formation
12. Stockholm Syndrome
13. Undoing
14. Minimization and Exaggeration
15. Symbolization and Dream Interpretation
16. Reification and the Self
17. Magical Thinking

Part III: Evasion through Fraud or Fantasy

18. Vagueness
19. Inauthenticity
20. Reconstruction of Reality
21. Confabulation
22. Splitting
23. Dehumanization
24. Daydreaming
25. Regression

Part IV: Evasion through People or the World

26. Socialization
27. Garrulousness
28. Dramatization
29. Grandiosity
30. Humour
31. Asceticism
32. Sublimation
33. Altruism
34. Anticipation
35. Fear and Anxiety

Part V: Projection

36. Projection
37. Projective Identification
38. Idealization
39. Devaluation
40. Identification

Final Words

? Grab your copy now for a transformative understanding of yourself and others.

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