- Paperback: 248 pages
- Publisher: Acheron Press (1 Mar 2012)
- Language English
- ISBN-10: 0956035361
- ISBN-13: 978-0956035363
- Product Dimensions: 19.4 x 13 x 2.4 cm
- Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
- Amazon Bestsellers Rank: 124,035 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
Hide and Seek - The Psychology of Self-Deception
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More About the Author
Product Description
Product Description
What we believe to be the motives of our conduct are usually but the pretexts for it. - Miguel de Unamuno, Tragic Sense of Life. Self-deception is common and universal, and the cause of most human tragedies. Of course, the science of self-deception can help us to live better and get more out of life. But it can also cast a murky light on human nature and the human condition, for example, on such exclusively human phenomena as anger, depression, fear, pity, pride, dream making, love making, and god making, not to forget age-old philosophical problems such as selfhood, virtue, happiness, and the good life. Nothing could possibly be more important.
About the Author
Dr Neel Burton is a psychiatrist and philosopher who lives and teaches in Oxford, England. He is the recipient of the Society of Authors' Richard Asher Prize, the British Medical Association's Young Authors' Award, and the Medical Journalists' Association Open Book Award. His other books include 'The Art of Failure: The Anti Self-Help Guide', 'The Meaning of Madness', and 'Plato's Shadow', all also with Acheron Press.
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Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
8 of 8 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition
"Hide and Seek" describes the various forms of self-deception such as intellectualization, rationalization, displacement, reaction formation, grandiosity, sublimation, idealization and about 40 or 50 others that have been uncovered since the time of Freud. Each one is entertainingly illustrated with examples taken from the author's personal and professional experiences (he is a practising psychiatrist), current affairs like 9/11 and the Eurozone crisis, and great works of literature like Don Quixote, Catcher in the Rye, Candide and The Picture of Dorian Gray.
Neel Burton does much more than merely catalogue the principal forms of self-deception, and there are a number of fascinating asides and developments. Most memorable to my mind are the discussions of anger, depression, love, religion, humour and altruism, but there are many other such gems. Despite the high-mindedness of some of the topics, the book feels like a breeze as each of the 38 chapters is fairly short and there is minimum waffle.
In the final reckoning Neel Burton disagrees with Robert Trivers, who also wrote on the subject of self-deception. Burton argues that, although self-deception forms part and parcel of our human nature, it is essentially a very bad thing ("when understanding is lacking, goodness fails") and his case could not be more convincing. Well worth reading.
Neel Burton does much more than merely catalogue the principal forms of self-deception, and there are a number of fascinating asides and developments. Most memorable to my mind are the discussions of anger, depression, love, religion, humour and altruism, but there are many other such gems. Despite the high-mindedness of some of the topics, the book feels like a breeze as each of the 38 chapters is fairly short and there is minimum waffle.
In the final reckoning Neel Burton disagrees with Robert Trivers, who also wrote on the subject of self-deception. Burton argues that, although self-deception forms part and parcel of our human nature, it is essentially a very bad thing ("when understanding is lacking, goodness fails") and his case could not be more convincing. Well worth reading.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Kindle Edition|Amazon Verified Purchase
Hide and Seek follows on nicely from Neel Burton's Art of Failure (although the former might better be read first despite being written later). I note one reviewer said that the latter book had 'saved my life'. I can understand the sentiment and it might have done the same for me, who knows? but what I do know is that it freed me from a great deal of guilt; previously I had only understood the conventional Occidental concept of success and considered myself a consummate loser. The very title, Art of Failure, was enough to begin an assault on my sense of inferiority and the book proved endlessly 'kind' to me.
Hide and Seek gave me similar vibes. As I followed Burton's argument I kept on saying to myself gleefully, 'yes, that's right!'. I couldn't possibly have written the book but it seemed somehow Burton had plagiarised many of my latent ideas. Quite an accomplishment since they weren't ideas that had been formulated consciously at all! Perhaps this is because Burton is that special, and especially useful, type of genius - brilliant and inspired, but commonsensical too.
Hide and Seek gave me similar vibes. As I followed Burton's argument I kept on saying to myself gleefully, 'yes, that's right!'. I couldn't possibly have written the book but it seemed somehow Burton had plagiarised many of my latent ideas. Quite an accomplishment since they weren't ideas that had been formulated consciously at all! Perhaps this is because Burton is that special, and especially useful, type of genius - brilliant and inspired, but commonsensical too.
3 of 3 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
On the surface, Burton's Hide & Seek purports to describe the many ego defence mechanisms we use to protect ourselves from painful truths. It is certainly an effective summary of them, and its short chapter format allows it to act as a concise reference guide, especially for readers who come at the subject without prior knowledge of this area. At a deeper, more subtextual level, it encourages the reader to identify which mechanisms they are using in their own lives, and whether they are helping or hindering the search for personal happiness. A worthy exercise for all to undertake!
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great book on Self-Deception
For those who are interested in Self-deception, this book is a must read. It is very informative and yet very, very easy to read! Read more
Published 16 days ago by Shay
The importance of being earnest with yourself
From the outset, I should point out that Dr Burton sent me a complimentary copy of this book to review. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Nicholas Casley
How do YOU deceive yourself?
This is an absolutely fascinating, worrying and thought provoking read. We all like to think we know ourselves better than anyone else does but do any of us realise how much we... Read more
Published 1 month ago by Damaskcat
Profound, wise and very interesting
Writing from a Freudian perspective with insights from evolutionary psychology, Greek philosophy, the "Bhagavad Gita," Buddhism, and everyday life, psychiatrist/philospher Neel... Read more
Published 2 months ago by Dennis Littrell
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