title: Self-deception as affective coping. An empirical perspective on philosophical issues.
abstract: In the philosophical literature, self-deception is mainly approached through the analysis of paradoxes. Yet, it is agreed that self-deception is motivated by protection from distress. In this paper, we argue, with the help of findings from cognitive neuroscience and psychology, that self-deception is a type of affective coping. First, we criticize the main solutions to the paradoxes of self-deception. We then present a new approach to self-deception. Self-deception, we argue, involves three appraisals of the distressing evidence: (a) appraisal of the strength of evidence as uncertain, (b) low coping potential and (c) negative anticipation along the lines of Damasio's somatic marker hypothesis. At the same time, desire impacts the treatment of flattering evidence via dopamine. Our main proposal is that self-deception involves emotional mechanisms provoking a preference for immediate reward despite possible long-term negative repercussions. In the last part, we use this emotional model to revisit the philosophical paradoxes.
authors.affiliation: Swiss Centre for Affective Sciences and Philosophy Department, University of Geneva, Campus Biotech, Chemin des Mines 9, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland; Italian Academy for Advanced Studies in America, Columbia University in the City of New York, 1161 Amsterdam Avenue, New York, NY 10027, United States; Cognitive Science Centre, University of Neuchâtel, Espace Louis-Agassiz 1, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Electronic address: federico.lauria@unige.ch.
authors.forename: Federico
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Lauria
authors.affiliation: Cognitive Science Centre, University of Neuchâtel, Espace Louis-Agassiz 1, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland; Department of Psychiatry, Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Rue Gabrielle-Perret-Gentil 4, 1211 Geneva 14, Switzerland; Centre for Psychiatric Neurosciences, Lausanne, Switzerland. Electronic address: delphine.preissmann@unine.ch.
authors.forename: Delphine
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Preissmann
authors.affiliation: Swiss Centre for Affective Sciences and Philosophy Department, University of Geneva, Campus Biotech, Chemin des Mines 9, 1202 Geneva, Switzerland; Cognitive Science Centre, University of Neuchâtel, Espace Louis-Agassiz 1, 2000 Neuchâtel, Switzerland. Electronic address: fabrice.clement@unine.ch.
authors.forename: Fabrice
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Clément
mesh_terms: D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D002755:Choice Behavior / Q000502:physiology*; D008192:Deception; D004298:Dopamine / Q000502:physiology*; D004532:Ego; D006801:Humans; D012201:Reward
chemical_list: D004298:Dopamine
keywords: Affect; Appraisal; Bias; Cognitive science; Coping mechanism; Dopamine; Happiness; Self-deception; Somatic marker