21 levels of Self-Deception: THIRD EDITION by Tom Wallace - HTML preview

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reaction to something we observe in another person, but quickly ignore it or cannot explain it.]

3. Still another approach is an autobiographical one

… speculation about one’s history, beginning with one’s early childhood and ending with one’s projected future development. Try to get a picture of significant events, of your early fears, hopes, disappointments, events that decreased your trust and faith in people, and in yourself. Ask: On whom am I dependent? What are my main fears? What were my goals in the past and what are they now? What is my image of myself? What is the image I wish others to have of me? Are there discrepancies between the two images? Is either image the same as my real self? Who will I be if I continue to live as I am living now? What are the alternatives for the future open to me now? Could I live differently?

4. Ask if you have an ‘official’ version of what your

life is about, which is the mask you present to the world. How does this contrast with the ‘real’ version of what your life is truly about and what really motivates you.

All of these methods, but in particular the last one, are means by which we can know the real motivations in our lives, the fears that we may cling to and how we might realise genuine pleasure. Fromm is suggesting mainly looking at fears and problems, unravelling their root cause as a means of then letting these things go. The image others might have of us is also a means toward achieving this. We are not being asked simply to create a better image of ourselves, either for our own sakes or to present to others. We are at least being asked to present a more honest image. Ultimately, we are just looking for an ‘unveiling’, an openness to the world. This in turn allows for pleasures that are not simply superficial distractions.

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