Self-deception requires precise knowledge of the truth being concealed, not ignorance

Evidence

In psychology, self-delusion and self-deception describe a temporal space of uncertainty, with the inference “that the person ‘knows’ and ‘does not know’ at the same time.” Self-deception, then, is an assessment about the self-knowledge of others. It is also an evaluation that may be made about one’s own past actions but not made in situ, not in the active voice, about one’s present self. Others describe it as “a suspension in the normal objective interest in reality,” what one feels and believes “at the edge of awareness.” In this frame, self-deceptive constructions are “not judgments of reality” but actions done unknowingly to convince oneself. Sartre rejects both the Freudian frame and the divided self on which it rests. We constantly believe and disbelieve the same propositions simultaneously, he argues. Rather than acting ignorantly, “We must know the truth very exactly, in order to conceal it” more carefully from ourselves. — Ann Laura Stoler, Along the Archival Grain_ Epistemic…, 1397

Categorization

• DEFINE: Clarifies the book’s operative distinction between self-deception and ignorance — deception is an active, knowing concealment.
• XREF: Sartre’s rejection of the Freudian divided self resonates with the Milgrom/Shapiro material on how trust itself creates willful blindness — knowing and not knowing simultaneously. — connects to: Sincerity can be an active ingredient of self-deception rather than its opposite — Ann Laura Stoler, Along the Archival Grain_ Epistemic…, 1405; People experiencing cognitive dissonance often avoid or reinterpret contradictory information rather than abandoning their beliefs when confronted with truth. — Festinger’s Law; People unconsciously avoid confronting evidence that contradicts their sense of safety — Julien Gracq, Balcony in the Forest, 229 (+11 more)
• corroborated: 2 independent passages support this claim — Ann Laura Stoler, Along the Archival Grain_ Epistemic…, 1397

Broader Connections

• Sincerity can be an active ingredient of self-deception rather than its opposite #expands (0.70) — Ann Laura Stoler, Along the Archival Grain_ Epistemic…, 1405