Self-deception and the desire to believe
- 1 March 1997
- journal article
- open peer-commentary
- Published by Cambridge University Press (CUP) in Behavioral and Brain Sciences
- Vol. 20 (1) , 119-120
- https://doi.org/10.1017/s0140525x97420034
Abstract
This commentary concentrates on two flaws in Mele's account. The first is Mele's attempt to account for self-deception by appealing to a desire to believe, together with an instrumental belief concerning the means of satisfying this desire. Contrary to Mele, it is argued that such an account requires a recognition on the part of agents that their actions instantiate these means. Second, Mele misidentifies the most essential – and flawed – ingredient of the standard approach to self-deception, the agent's desire to form the belief (the belief that is undermined by the evidence). This ingredient is retained in Mele's own account of self-deception.Keywords
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