Self-deception

The History of persuasion began when the world was new and without sin. In Genesis chapter 2&3 it tells of Lucifer and his ultimate persuasion of Adam and Eve. When Adam and Eve were placed in the Garden of Eden they were in a perfect state. They were told not to eat of the Tree of Knowledge of Good and Evil. Lucifer uses his skill of persuasion to sway Eve, telling her that to become like God she must partake of the fruit, thus resulting in The Fall. (Bible, Genesis 2-3. KJV) This being the…

The art of deception: Hamlet’s insanity The art of deception is a theme that is ever-present within William Shakespeare's tragedy, Hamlet. Hamlet develops a persona that is perceived to be suffering from insanity, to deceive Claudius and the kingdom, confirm the ghost’s words, and discern the loyalty of those around him. Thus, the recurring antic disposition is merely an act that Hamlet carries out in order to deceive those around him. Firstly, when one is under constant scrutiny from the…

Fear, lust, and deception. Three things that can completely destroy a human. These three feelings and actions that if compiled in the correct way can bend a person to do anything. Most importantly though, deception, the lies that create false hope and a brighter future. In Joyce Carol Oates’s, “Where Are You Going, Where Have You Been?”, we watch as a young girl named connie falls victim to Fear, lust, and deception through a man named Arnold Friend, who she encounters while hanging out with a…

professor at the Michigan State University in the Department of Communications, it's found that, "when honesty was sufficient to meet situational demands, honest messages were selected, generated, and observed 98.5% to 100% of the time. Alternatively, deception was observed 60.0% to 64.3% of the time when variations in the same situations made the truth problematic" (Levine). This research shows that most often humans lie simply because the truth would cause more problems than the lie therefore…

of insanity While reading through the Shakespearean composition about Hamlet, the theme that lends itself to further scrutiny is that of deception. Each of the characters in the composition is used in one way or another to develop the theme, and Hamlet and Ophelia are not exceptions to this. For Hamlet, on the one hand, Shakespeare intends to epitomize deception through this character, and the approach he uses is that of feigning madness. When someone pretends to be mad, there is a reason for…

telling a truth. According to Webster’s dictionary, a lie is characterized as a statement created with the intent to deceive or to give a false impression. It is a straightforward definition, but it does not mention the extent a lie serves a person 's self interest nor the consequence the lie can have on other people. In Stephanie Ericsson’s “The Way We Lie,” Ericsson attempts to categorize the various types of lies and their ramifications, whereas in Anton Chekhov’s The Lady with the Dog, the…

willing we are to alter ourselves in an attempt to appear superior. Shakespeare uses Hamlet’s character to exemplify the theme of appearance versus reality and the hypocrisy of humanity. In Act I scene II, we see Hamlet exhibit his indignation about deception. In voicing that he “know[s] not seems,” and that he does not seem sad, he is sad, Hamlet projects himself to be a man of honesty, while implying others are not. Hamlet establishes his moral standings, stressing his belief that one’s…

Martin’s Happiness and the Good Life focuses on how self-deception is a normal and expected behavior when it comes to happiness. However he also claims that we should take precautions with the power that self-deception may have in our happiness, for it might cloud our sense of meaning in life and may lead us away from what we aspire to. I do not agree that self-deception can be a valuable role in our happiness. Martin believes that self-deception is a positive force for survival and mental…

Appearances are often misleading and not everything one sees is true. In Alexander the False Prophet, Lucian exposes Alexander as a fraud by pointing out Alexander’s manipulative actions to deceive others and by revealing Alexander’s methods of deceptions. Lucian successfully convinces his readers that Alexander is a scammer and a false prophet due to his credibility factor which includes his personal connections to the subject of his writing. Lucian accomplished it by describing Alexander’s…

In William Shakespeare's Hamlet, Laertes claimed, “I am justly kill'd with mine own treachery”. Much like Hamlet, Laertes set himself up for his own destruction. The story began when an apparition of Hamlet’s father appears. Hamlet followed the requests of his father’s ghost to avenge his death. After the encounter with the apparition, Hamlet’s entire motive in life changed, and his every decision is then lead by revenge. After putting on a play in front of King Claudius that exposed his…