Nietzsche: Who Are We Lying To?

After years of mental illness and declining health, Friedrich Nietzsche passed away on August 25, 1900. On the eve of the anniversary of his death, we return to a striking observation from his 1888 work The Antichrist: “The most common lie is that which one lies to himself; lying to others is relatively an exception.”

We tend to think of deception as something we inflict upon others, but Nietzsche’s claim turns our ordinary understanding of dishonesty inward. Perhaps the lies that most profoundly shape our lives are not the ones we tell other people, but the ones we construct and accept within ourselves. We rationalize our decisions, reinterpret our failures, protect cherished beliefs, and sometimes create versions of ourselves that are easier to live with than the truth.

If deceiving others can damage relationships and societies, is deceiving ourselves ultimately more dangerous because we may never detect that the deception has taken place? Tonight, let's consider the lies we tell others, the lies we tell ourselves, and which form of dishonesty does the greater damage.

• Is self-deception primarily a weakness of reason, or can reason itself become the instrument through which we deceive ourselves?
• Is deceiving ourselves more dangerous than being deceived by others because self-deception can become part of our identity?
• Can we genuinely lie to ourselves, or does self-deception require some part of us to know the truth we are concealing?
• If our beliefs are shaped by our fears and desires, how can we distinguish what we believe from what we want to believe?
• If a comforting illusion gives someone a better life than an uncomfortable truth would, does truth still have greater value?
• If self-deception is more common than deception of others, what does that suggest about our relationship with truth?

The Psychology of Self-Deception https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uig8Lw7ixI0
Lying to Others, Lying to Ourselves: The Self-Deception Paradox https://maxkarlin.com/lying-to-others-lying-to-ourselves-the-self-deception-paradox/
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In addition to the main topic (above), we also provide breakout rooms at 8pm as follows:
“Philosophy” – philosophy and its applications
“Town Square” – politics and current events
“Conference Room” – open for anything
“The Lounge” – light social chat