My guess is self-deception is incentivized so long as other deception is incentivized
I think you’re probably right.
Just to be clear, I wasn’t trying to lay out a theory of all self-deception. I was trying to lay out a theory of one cause of at least one kind of self-deception (namely Newcomblike self-deception). I noticed that the problem seemed like it should be real, and it has multiple solutions, Newcomblike self-deception being one of them. That setup had some interesting logic that panned out with some casual experimentation.
I kind of wonder what portion of self-deception is entirely about dealing with hostile telepaths. Is it 100%? Probably not. My intuitive impression is that it’s well over 50% though. But even if it’s just 10% I don’t think that affects the logic of the post whatsoever. It’s a suggestion that thus-and-such type of self-deception arises from solving a particular problem that has other possible solutions, not a theory that all self-deception comes from this mechanism.
Regarding the mother whose glasses broke as hostile telepath: I think a more charitable interpretation is she’s ineffective socializer.
Someone else brought this up too. I think you’re right. And perhaps I wrote that part in a misleading way!
That said, I don’t think your very accurate point affects the example whatsoever.
The question isn’t about what’s really going on. The question is, from the perspective of the child, is he dealing with a hostile telepath? Which is to say, is he dealing with someone (a) who seems to be able to read his internal states and (b) whom he doesn’t trust won’t make his life worse based on what she finds? If the answer is “yes”, he’s faced with a hostile telepath problem, for which he needs some kind of solution.
It really doesn’t matter whatsoever how badly that represents the mother’s subjective state or motivations. The child doesn’t have access to that. The child just knows that Mother is mad at him, is demanding that he “be sorry”, and is checking. It’s possible the mom isn’t even mad! Maybe she’s a perfect saint bringing pure love and care and understanding while gently guiding the child to the best of her ability. But if the child perceives the mother as a hostile telepath, then he needs a solution. Which Newcomblike self-deception is one such solution.
It seems relevant that another reviewer gave the same pushback though. I wonder if I’ve been unclear, or if I’m missing something. Let me know if it seems to you like I’ve missed your point.
I think you’re probably right.
Just to be clear, I wasn’t trying to lay out a theory of all self-deception. I was trying to lay out a theory of one cause of at least one kind of self-deception (namely Newcomblike self-deception). I noticed that the problem seemed like it should be real, and it has multiple solutions, Newcomblike self-deception being one of them. That setup had some interesting logic that panned out with some casual experimentation.
I kind of wonder what portion of self-deception is entirely about dealing with hostile telepaths. Is it 100%? Probably not. My intuitive impression is that it’s well over 50% though. But even if it’s just 10% I don’t think that affects the logic of the post whatsoever. It’s a suggestion that thus-and-such type of self-deception arises from solving a particular problem that has other possible solutions, not a theory that all self-deception comes from this mechanism.
Someone else brought this up too. I think you’re right. And perhaps I wrote that part in a misleading way!
That said, I don’t think your very accurate point affects the example whatsoever.
The question isn’t about what’s really going on. The question is, from the perspective of the child, is he dealing with a hostile telepath? Which is to say, is he dealing with someone (a) who seems to be able to read his internal states and (b) whom he doesn’t trust won’t make his life worse based on what she finds? If the answer is “yes”, he’s faced with a hostile telepath problem, for which he needs some kind of solution.
It really doesn’t matter whatsoever how badly that represents the mother’s subjective state or motivations. The child doesn’t have access to that. The child just knows that Mother is mad at him, is demanding that he “be sorry”, and is checking. It’s possible the mom isn’t even mad! Maybe she’s a perfect saint bringing pure love and care and understanding while gently guiding the child to the best of her ability. But if the child perceives the mother as a hostile telepath, then he needs a solution. Which Newcomblike self-deception is one such solution.
It seems relevant that another reviewer gave the same pushback though. I wonder if I’ve been unclear, or if I’m missing something. Let me know if it seems to you like I’ve missed your point.