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Vladimir_Nesov | v0.0.19Mar 26th 2011 | (+49) /* Sequence by Eliezer Yudkowsky */ attributed the sequence as part of [[How To Actually Change Your Mind]] |
Part of How To Actually Change Your Mind sequence
An example from No, Really, I'I've Deceived Myself:
When this woman was in high school, she thought she was an atheist.
But she decided, at that time, that she should act as if she believed in God.Andthen—then—she told meearnestly—earnestly—over time, she came to really believe in God.
So far as I can tell, she is completely wrong about that.
Always throughout our conversation, she said, over and over,"I"I believe inGod"God", never once,"There"There is a God."" When I asked her why she was religious, she never once talked about the consequences of God existing, only about the consequences of believing in God.Never,"God"God will helpme"me", always,"my"my belief in God helpsme"me".When I put to her,"Someone"Someone who just wanted the truth and looked at our universe would not even invent God as a hypothesis,"" she agreed outright.
She
hasn'hasn't actually deceived herself into believing that God exists or that the Jewish religion is true.Not even close, so far as I can tell.
Self-deceptionOn LessWrong, a common distinction is a state of preserving a wrongbetween belief, often facilitated by denying or rationalizing away the relevance, significance, or importance of opposing evidencebeliefs as expectation-controllers and logical arguments. Beliefs supported by self-deception are often chosen for reasons other than how closely those beliefs approximate truththings.
Deceiving yourselfpeoplecommonlylabel as beliefs. When these different things conflict, a person is harder than it seemssaid to have deceived themselves. What looks like a successively adopted false belief may actually be just a belief in false belief.
Part ofSee also: How To Actually Change Your MindAnticipated Experiences sequence, Motivated Reasoning, Rationalization
An example from No, Really, I'I've Deceived Myself
When this woman was inSelf Deception
So far as I can tell, she is completely wrong about that. Always throughout our conversation, she said, over and over, "I believe in God", never once, "There is a God." When I asked her why she was religious, she never once talked about the consequences of God existing, only about the consequences of believing in God. Never, "God will help me", always, "my belief in God helps me". When I put to her, "Someone who just wanted the truth and looked at our universe would not even invent God as a hypothesis," she agreed outright.
She hasn'tBelieve You'll Self-Deceive
(PDF)
On the other hand, I think she really does believe she has deceived herself.
Part of How To Actually Change Your Mind sequence
Self-deception is a state of preserving a wrong belief, often facilitated by denying or rationalizing away the relevance, significance, or importance of opposing evidence and logical arguments. Beliefs supported by self-deception are often chosen for reasons other than how closely those beliefs approximate truth.
Related:Anticipated Experiences, Motivated Reasoning, Rationalization
On LessWrong, a common distinction is between beliefs as expectation-controllers and other things people commonly label as beliefs. When these different things conflict, a person is said to have
deceived themselves.engaged in self-deception.See also:Deceiving yourself isAnticipated Experiencesharder than it seems,. What looks like a successively adopted false belief may actually be just aMotivated Reasoningbelief in false belief,Rationalization.