We've created a way of life that is not sustainable, we all know this... yet for one fear based reason or another, we continue trying to make the best of it, while slowly we sink deeper into a shambles... becoming more and more disconnected from any sane way of being... This video is difficult to watch because in 8 minutes it packs in pretty much everything we're doing wrong. It offers no solutions, other than to reinforce that we need to change, and this is not something we want to hear. We want to be told what to do and how to do it, but the truth is, nobody knows. We're all in this together, in a very real sense, and we are the blind leading the blind. So we must walk very carefully and with great awareness and compassion.
Deception, beguilement, deceit, bluff, mystification, ruse, or subterfuge is the act of propagating beliefs in things that are not true, or not the whole truth (as in half-truths or omission). Deception can involve dissimulation, propaganda, and sleight of hand, as well as distraction, camouflage, or concealment. There is also self-deception, as in bad faith.
Deception is a major relational transgression that often leads to feelings of betrayal and distrust between relational partners. Deception violates relational rules and is considered to be a negative violation of expectations. Most people expect friends, relational partners, and even strangers to be truthful most of the time. If people expected most conversations to be untruthful, talking and communicating with others would require distraction and misdirection to acquire reliable information. A significant amount of deception occurs between some romantic and relational partners.
Deceit and dishonesty can also form grounds for civil litigation in tort, or contract law (where it is known as misrepresentation or fraudulent misrepresentation if deliberate), or give rise to a criminal prosecution for fraud. It also forms a vital part of psychological warfare in denial and deception.
Deception includes several types of communications or omissions that serve to distort or omit the complete truth. Examples of deception range from false statements to misleading claims in which relevant information is omitted, leading the receiver to infer false conclusions. For example, a claim that 'sunflower oil is beneficial to brain health due to the presence of omega-3 fatty acids' may be misleading, as it leads the receiver to believe sunflower oil will benefit brain health more so than other foods. In fact, sunflower oil is relatively low in omega-3 fatty acids and is not particularly good for brain health, so while this claim is technically true, it leads the receiver to infer false information. Deception itself is intentionally managing verbal and/or nonverbal messages so that the message receiver will believe in a way that the message sender knows is false. The intent is critical with regard to deception. Intent differentiates between deception and an honest mistake. The Interpersonal Deception Theory explores the interrelation between communicative context and sender and receiver cognitions and behaviors in deceptive exchanges.
Some forms of deception include:
1. Lies: making up information or giving information that is the opposite or very different from the truth.
2. Equivocations: making an indirect, ambiguous, or contradictory statement.
3. Concealments: omitting information that is important or relevant to the given context, or engaging in behavior that helps hide relevant information.
4. Exaggerations: overstatement or stretching the truth to a degree.
5. Understatements: minimization or downplaying aspects of the truth.
Many people believe that they are good at deception, though this confidence is often misplaced.
Deception is a recurring theme in modern philosophy. In 1641 Descartes published his meditations, in which he introduced the notion of the Deus deceptor, a posited-being capable of deceiving the thinking ego about reality. The notion was used as part of his hyperbolic doubt, wherein one decides to doubt everything there is to doubt. The Deus deceptor is a mainstay of so-called skeptical arguments, which purport to put into question our knowledge of reality. The punch of the argument is that all we know might be wrong, since we might be deceived. Stanley Cavell has argued that all skepticism has its roots in this fear of deception.
Curiosity is the single most important attribute with which humans are born. More than a simple desire to discover or know things, curiosity is a powerful tool, like a scalpel or a searchlight. Curiosity changes us. It is also a way to effect change, perhaps even on a global level.