Deception, Lies, and Philosophy

[Systematic]

Deception and lies could come at any time from any person—even me.

This could lead to many mistakes in philosophy. In politics deception may come from anyone with any motivation that doesn’t lead to the greater good. And even those which have the greater good firmly in mind may at times be deceived or manipulated by those who do not.

In epistemology, an ignorance of deception may lead the philosopher to erroneously assume that everyone has the motivation to find the truth just as they do.

The motive to deceive philosophers is very high, since traditionally they have exposed many errors that have stripped many people of their power. Also, philosophers have sometimes been very influential—a very enviable position.

[Lacewing]

...an ignorance of deception may lead the philosopher to erroneously assume that everyone has the motivation to find the truth just as they do.

I tend to wonder most about what the philosopher is doing to themselves? It seems the philosopher can be ignorant of their own SELF-deception, and inaccurate in their own erroneous assumption that THEIR motivation is to find the truth, when in fact their TRUE motivation is actually to be in service to their ideas and ego.

The motive to deceive philosophers is very high, since traditionally they have exposed many errors that have stripped many people of their power.

A perfect statement ALSO of why philosophers might deceive themselves... in order to avoid the revelations that may strip them of their ideas!

All of this deception (whether external or internal) seems insidious in the fabric of our collective awareness -- and when we don't recognize/admit it, then I'm guessing we surely aren't going to evolve beyond it without the introduction of a major shift that gets our attention and loosens our grips. Wouldn't it be nice if, for once, our civilization could wake up before we destroy it?

[HexHammer]

Deception and lies could come at any time from any person—even me.

This could lead to many mistakes in philosophy. In politics deception may come from anyone with any motivation that doesn’t lead to the greater good. And even those which have the greater good firmly in mind may at times be deceived or manipulated by those who do not.

In epistemology, an ignorance of deception may lead the philosopher to erroneously assume that everyone has the motivation to find the truth just as they do.

The motive to deceive philosophers is very high, since traditionally they have exposed many errors that have stripped many people of their power. Also, philosophers have sometimes been very influential—a very enviable position.

´Could you come up with some solid example? ..what you say seems like complete random nonsense and babble at best.

[Jaded Sage]

That is the saddest post in the history of philosophy forum posts. Most people deceive themselves, thinking it is a good idea to lie to philosophers. They only hurt themselves, and if they would be more open, in the end, the philosopher would easily prove it to them, but as it is, they are unwilling, for whatever reason, and so they go on mistakenly believing it to be a good idea to suppress the truth.

Now, what you say is true: philosophers have exposed big things—like Galileo. But the average person doesn't have terribly big things to be exposed. So why worry? Unless it is embarassment about little things, which, in truth, is more embarassing than the things themselves. Jealousy is also nonsensical. If they would work with the philosopher, he would make them capable of contributing more—that is, he would make them as much like himself as their natures would allow, which might be more than anyone ever expected. But yes, let's all lie to the honest guy obsessed with the truth, because things are currently working so well that we wouldn't ever want to change a single thing about them, right?

[Hobbes' Choice]

Deception and lies could come at any time from any person—even me.

This could lead to many mistakes in philosophy. In politics deception may come from anyone with any motivation that doesn’t lead to the greater good. And even those which have the greater good firmly in mind may at times be deceived or manipulated by those who do not.

In epistemology, an ignorance of deception may lead the philosopher to erroneously assume that everyone has the motivation to find the truth just as they do.

The motive to deceive philosophers is very high, since traditionally they have exposed many errors that have stripped many people of their power. Also, philosophers have sometimes been very influential—a very enviable position.

Don't you think that the phrase and the motivating idea behind a concept "greater good" is puerile?
As if there is such a thing, or as if such a thing were not automatically contentious.