In my one-sided view, the politician I supported could not have done what he was accused of. Selective perception makes me believe to be Daddy’s darling. In my passion, Paula’s dismissive attitude is a proof of love and a test of my sincerity. – Self-deception is a fascinating piece of irrationality intensively discussed in both philosophical and psychological literature. But how do we determine and explain this kind of bias which makes us perceive and judge things in a twisted way and undermines our self-critical efforts? Here the approaches differ widely. On the one side is Scylla: a radical solution that denies the entire phenomenon for linguistic or logical reasons. On the other side is Charybdis, a speculative solution in a Davidsonian style that along the lines of Freud divides the self into subsystems. We will read and discuss a series of studies that seek their way through the dangers of an intellectual challenge.
Among others we will deal with positions hold by Donald Davidson, Alfred Mele, Kevin Lynch and Neil Van Leeuwen. The texts we deal with will be available for download (ILIAS)
Please register in advance by mail: guido.loehrer@uni-erfurt.de, guido.loehrer@philo.unibe.ch
