True, but the lies about the relationship, obvious to all but her, she had to know she lived with the man, the only way she could forget that is if she kept telling herself she did not, until she beleived it. A lie repeated enough times becomes reality, as in mass psychosis.
Well, that wasn't the only time I saw people convince themselves of something very weird. I once had a client who believed her youngest child had been fathered by Robert Redford. She claimed she had met him on a beach somewhere, had a one-day affair, and gotten pregnant. I'm sure it didn't happen. I kept suggesting to her that perhaps she had dreamed it. She kept saying it had happened. She was delusional, and not functioning very well in other respects either. A neighbour of hers told me "There's a lot of screaming going on in that house."
I have thought for years that pathological liars know they are telling a lie at first but over time actually beleive it, the lie has turned into realty for them. The genetic connection you describe sounds right to me also, as one does not preclude the other. My question is, are there people who tell complete false hoods as your client did, without knowing at some point it was a lie?
“So I consider it quite plausible that genes play an important part in human behaviour too.” This is a conjecture that I find very interesting, though I haven’t had the time to explore it much. I must take a look at Barbara Oakley's book. I have two other books of relevance, though I haven’t yet read them. One is Andrzej Łobaczewski’s book “Political Ponerology”. If you do a web search on ponerology you’ll find many reviews and other commentary. The other is James Fallon’s “The Psychopath Inside”.
Aside from the genetic question, a great deal of insight into political Machiavellianism can be found in Michael Ledeen’s book “Machiavelli on Modern Leadership”.
What a great read! The first time I remember a public figure who could lie without any indication she was lying was Hillary Clinton in the debates vs. Trump. Your comments on the ways our brains are getting undermined remind me of a Star Trek original series episode where there was Stratos, the city in the sky, and the miners on the ground whose chemical environment poisoned them and made them violent and dumb. I am also reminded of H.G. Wells' promise in 1901 that the world super state would poison the "fecundity" known as the common person and dispense of life with expediency and without compassion. https://fcpp.org/2022/06/15/twelve-decades-of-elites-against-the-people/
Pretty interesting theory that Fauci/Trudeau truly have some physiological problem with their brains.. or some genetic disposition. Definitely could be.. I've just assumed they are well practiced liars who don't back down.
Hannah Arendt's controversial report from the Eichmann trial comes to mind - when she was convinced that Eichmann truly believed he had done nothing wrong . Perhaps Eichmann, Fauci, Trudeau (and many others) are peas in the same pod!
Interesting point about Eichmann. There is a chapter in the Oakley book about Slobodan Milosevic, the "Butcher of the Balkans", and his behaviour at his war crimes trial. He denied extremely clear evidence of wrongdoing and seemed to think of himself as a great guy. I really do think there must be something wrong with the brains of people like this. I just wish they could be more easily identified and nipped in the bud, before they get to be Prime Minister or head of the NIH.
True, but the lies about the relationship, obvious to all but her, she had to know she lived with the man, the only way she could forget that is if she kept telling herself she did not, until she beleived it. A lie repeated enough times becomes reality, as in mass psychosis.
Well, that wasn't the only time I saw people convince themselves of something very weird. I once had a client who believed her youngest child had been fathered by Robert Redford. She claimed she had met him on a beach somewhere, had a one-day affair, and gotten pregnant. I'm sure it didn't happen. I kept suggesting to her that perhaps she had dreamed it. She kept saying it had happened. She was delusional, and not functioning very well in other respects either. A neighbour of hers told me "There's a lot of screaming going on in that house."
I have thought for years that pathological liars know they are telling a lie at first but over time actually beleive it, the lie has turned into realty for them. The genetic connection you describe sounds right to me also, as one does not preclude the other. My question is, are there people who tell complete false hoods as your client did, without knowing at some point it was a lie?
Well, I suppose that woman might never have known she was telling a lie if it hadn't been for the baby's real father confronting her about it.
“So I consider it quite plausible that genes play an important part in human behaviour too.” This is a conjecture that I find very interesting, though I haven’t had the time to explore it much. I must take a look at Barbara Oakley's book. I have two other books of relevance, though I haven’t yet read them. One is Andrzej Łobaczewski’s book “Political Ponerology”. If you do a web search on ponerology you’ll find many reviews and other commentary. The other is James Fallon’s “The Psychopath Inside”.
Aside from the genetic question, a great deal of insight into political Machiavellianism can be found in Michael Ledeen’s book “Machiavelli on Modern Leadership”.
Thanks, Andrew. I'm fascinated by this subject so I will follow up your leads.
What a great read! The first time I remember a public figure who could lie without any indication she was lying was Hillary Clinton in the debates vs. Trump. Your comments on the ways our brains are getting undermined remind me of a Star Trek original series episode where there was Stratos, the city in the sky, and the miners on the ground whose chemical environment poisoned them and made them violent and dumb. I am also reminded of H.G. Wells' promise in 1901 that the world super state would poison the "fecundity" known as the common person and dispense of life with expediency and without compassion. https://fcpp.org/2022/06/15/twelve-decades-of-elites-against-the-people/
Yes, I've been reminded lately of several sci-fi movies or Star Trek episodes. Thanks for your comment.
Pretty interesting theory that Fauci/Trudeau truly have some physiological problem with their brains.. or some genetic disposition. Definitely could be.. I've just assumed they are well practiced liars who don't back down.
Hannah Arendt's controversial report from the Eichmann trial comes to mind - when she was convinced that Eichmann truly believed he had done nothing wrong . Perhaps Eichmann, Fauci, Trudeau (and many others) are peas in the same pod!
Interesting point about Eichmann. There is a chapter in the Oakley book about Slobodan Milosevic, the "Butcher of the Balkans", and his behaviour at his war crimes trial. He denied extremely clear evidence of wrongdoing and seemed to think of himself as a great guy. I really do think there must be something wrong with the brains of people like this. I just wish they could be more easily identified and nipped in the bud, before they get to be Prime Minister or head of the NIH.