Tag Archives: self-deception

Darwinian thoughts on Ray Bradbury’s “Fahrenheit 451”

I recently pulled out an old paper I wrote as an undergraduate examining Joseph Conrad & D.H. Lawrence using Darwinian theory of consciousness & self-deception derived from Richard Alexander’s “Evolution of the Human Psyche.” This would have been 1995 or 1996 … Continue reading

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Posted in Literary Darwinism | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Graded-Signal Sexual Swellings as Self-Deception?

The graded signal hypothesis suggests that sexual swellings in primates represent the probability of ovulation.  Based on this model, in male philopatric species, dominant males find it most cost-effective to guard females at the height of ovulation based on the … Continue reading

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Magicians are Scientists with Street Smarts

In his conservationist plea to fundamentalist Christian religious leaders, The Creation, E.O. Wilson reminds me of a recent essay by Teller (of prestidigitator duo extraordinaire Penn & Teller).  On page 104, Wilson says The successful scientist thinks like a poet, … Continue reading

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Cueing Self-Deception thru Cosmetics & Speaking in Tongues

 In my friend Bria Dunham’s piece, “The Role for Signaling Theory and Receiver Psychology in Marketing,” I came across this line: In women, facial masculinity may serve as a cue of sexual attitudes and behavior due to the underlying association … Continue reading

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Posted in Anthropology, Theory | Tagged , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Towards a Bottom-Up Approach to Self-Deception

As I read John Hartung’s 1988 chapter on “self-deceiving down,” I am further convinced of the nonsense of arguing about theoretical distinctions & that we are considering the issue at too high a conceptual level to understand the influence of … Continue reading

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Are We Confusing Self-Deceptive Enhancement with Illusory Superiority?

A New Statesman post by Uta Frith found its way to me this morning via a Tweet by @SteveSilberman with the catchphrase, “Men are more likely to think their IQ is 5 pts higher than it is, and women think theirs … Continue reading

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Assholes and Self-Deception

  Findings just published in the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology by Kristina Durante et al. indicate that women are hormonally deluded during ovulation to believe that hot guys will stick around. This is a crass way of saying … Continue reading

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Posted in Adaptation, Evolution and Psychology, Hypotheses, Mating and Sexuality | Tagged , , | 1 Comment