The Mythomanias: The Nature of Deception and Self-deception

by Myslobodsky; Michael S.

• ISBN13: 9780805819199
• ISBN10: 0805819193
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 1997-01-01
• Publisher: Psychology Pres

Summary

Recently, there has been a renewal of interest in the broad and loosely bounded range of phenomena called deception and self-deception. This volume addresses this interest shared by philosophers, social and clinical psychologists, and more recently, neuroscientists and cognitive scientists. Expert contributors provide timely, reliable, and insightful coverage of the normal range of errors in perception, memory, and behavior. They place these phenomena on a continuum with various syndromes and neuropsychiatric diseases where falsehood in perception, self-perception, cognition, and behaviors are a peculiar sign. Leading authorities examine the various forms of "mythomania," deception, and self-deception ranging from the mundane to the bizarre such as imposture, confabulations, minimization of symptomatology, denial, and anosognosia. Although the many diverse phenomena discussed here share a family resemblance, they are unlikely to have a common neurological machinery. In order to reach an explanation for these phenomena, a reliable pattern of lawful behavior must be delineated. It would then be possible to develop reasonable explanations based upon the underlying neurobiological processes that give rise to deficiencies designated as the mythomanias. The chapters herein begin to provide an outline of such a development. Taken as a whole, the collection is consistent with the emerging gospel indicating that neither the machinery of "nature" nor the forces of "nurture" taken alone are capable of explaining what makes cognition and behaviors aberrant.

Table of Contents

Foreword	p. vii
Acknowledgments	p. ix
List of Contributors	p. xi
Living Behind a Facade Notes on the Agenda	p. 1
References	p. 19
Acknowledgments	p. 19
Self-Deception: A View From the Rationalist Perspective	p. 23
Appendix	p. 48
References	p. 49
Self-Knowledge and Self-Deception Further Consideration	p. 51
Acknowledgments	p. 69
References	p. 70
The Tricks and Traps of Perceptual Illusions	p. 73
References	p. 100
Wishful Thinking From a Pragmatic Hypothesis-Testing Perspective	p. 105
References	p. 127
Identifying the Origin of Mental Experience	p. 133
Acknowledgments	p. 172
References	p. 172
How Can We Be Sure? Using Truth Criteria to Validate Memories	p. 181
Acknowledgments	p. 197
References	p. 197
The Single-Mindedness and Isolation of Dreams	p. 203
References	p. 216
Acknowledgments	p. 216
Postscript, 1995	p. 219
References To Postscript 1995	p. 223
Denial, Anxiety, and Information Processing	p. 225
References	p. 240
Imposture Syndromes A Clinical View	p. 245
References	p. 273
Neuropsychology of Self-Deception The Case of Prosopagnosia	p. 277
Acknowledgment	p. 295
References	p. 295
Mnemopoesis: Memories That Wish Themselves to Be Recalled?	p. 307
Acknowledgments	p. 322
References	p. 322
Phantom Limb Phenomena and Their Neural Mechanism	p. 327
Acknowledgments	p. 355
References	p. 356
Awareness Salvaged by Cunning Rehabilitation by Deception in Audiovisual Neglect	p. 363
References	p. 387
Acknowledgments	p. 387
Author Index	p. 393
Subject Index	p. 409
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