My only recent mention of “hypocrisy” is: What is completely natural and human is to claim to want to believe truth. Most every group likes to feel superior by believing that its beliefs are less biased than other groups’ beliefs. Consider today’s “reality-based politics” or frequent Christian references to TRUTH.
… Probably our greatest lever is shame and hypocrisy, i.e., the fact that most people pretend to want what we (say we) want. If forced to choose between what they pretend to want and what they usually want, many may choose their pretensions.
Wikipedia says hypocrisy is criticizing others as worse than you for not living up to a standard you fare no better on. This is the sense in which I used the word, and my use seems appropriate there.
It is also worth emphasizing that weakness of will is not the only plausible explanation for a deviation between thoughts and actions. Another explanation is motivated bias; we feel good thinking well of ourselves and badly of others, and because of that don’t look very critically at our positive claims about ourselves.
Another explanation is motivated bias; we feel good thinking well of ourselves and badly of others, and because of that don’t look very critically at our positive claims about ourselves
Surely there must be more than the reason that you give.
My only recent mention of “hypocrisy” is: What is completely natural and human is to claim to want to believe truth. Most every group likes to feel superior by believing that its beliefs are less biased than other groups’ beliefs. Consider today’s “reality-based politics” or frequent Christian references to TRUTH. … Probably our greatest lever is shame and hypocrisy, i.e., the fact that most people pretend to want what we (say we) want. If forced to choose between what they pretend to want and what they usually want, many may choose their pretensions.
Wikipedia says hypocrisy is criticizing others as worse than you for not living up to a standard you fare no better on. This is the sense in which I used the word, and my use seems appropriate there.
It is also worth emphasizing that weakness of will is not the only plausible explanation for a deviation between thoughts and actions. Another explanation is motivated bias; we feel good thinking well of ourselves and badly of others, and because of that don’t look very critically at our positive claims about ourselves.
Surely there must be more than the reason that you give.