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

T W E N T Y - O N E L E V E L S

Viewed from eternity, a single human life can be said to be complete in itself. There is no future in which we will be different or any past that we need regret. We are at every moment all that we ever need to be. The same might be said of the world at large. On the broadest view, how can we ever say that it should be different to what it is?

The Final Delusion

Doubt is a great leveller. Why not embrace doubt whole-heartedly? Twenty-one subjects have been considered, where, it is contended, our culture is mistaken in its understanding of the issues raised. Our twenty-second and final delusion though, must surely be that all of the arguments made against culture are themselves delusional.

It would have been good to have had a narrative! It would have been good to present this work as a story about a person — ideally a person who lived the ‘truth’ of what is expressed herein! Remember the little quote at the start of Chapter 22 — ‘If you want to communicate an idea, wrap it up in a person.’ Religion is always going to be more popular than philosophy — and maybe that is the reason! Generally, it has stories, it has people. So, whilst the ‘truths’ expressed may be less clearly stated, or may be ‘poetic’, the personal appeal is undeniable.

Well, in this book there are souls and angels and grace — all terms borrowed from religion! Atheists may balk at my use of these terms. Meanwhile, the religious may well object to the notion that, for instance, our essence is already

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