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BIDDEFORD, Maine

David Smith’s work on self-deception cited in Mexican newspaper

David Livingstone Smith, Ph.D., professor of philosophy, was quoted in the December 10, 2014 issue of the Mexican newspaper Excelsior in an op-ed titled "Hasta la mentiras tienen limite."

The article considers the political consequences of the human tendency to tell and believe in lies.  Lying, argues the author, is an essential component to being human, and he points to Smith’s belief that a key element of the human psyche is the ability to self-deceive.

Collective self-deception occurs when an entire group believes something that they wish to be true -- a phenomenon that, the author states, has been noted by Smith to have been bolstered by present day social media. 

According to the article, collective self-deception has historically been at the heart of political uprisings, and its virulent, present day form is a cause for political concern.

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