Greg Ten Elshof just released an interesting book titled I Told Me So: Self-Deception and the Christian Life. Greg is a professor of philosophy at Biola University, and did his doctoral research in the area of self-knowledge and self-deception. During an interview with the Evangelical Philosophical Society, Greg offered a great definition and explanation of self-deception:
To be self-deceived is to intentionally manage one’s own beliefs for some purpose other than the pursuit of truth. It’s worth noting that, given this characterization, one can be self-deceived in believing what is true. One can even be self-deceived in believing something that is true and for which one has evidence. Self-deception occurs most often when there is an emotional attachment to believing in a particular direction. It often involves the management of attention away from evidence that would disrupt the desired belief. And it seems to be capable of achieving greater distances from truth and rationality in groups than in the individual. It was Nietzsche, I believe, who said that insanity is rare in the individual but the rule in groups.
How true this is! That is why I am a strong proponent of the virtues of intellectual honesty, openness, and integrity. We cannot get so emotionally attached to any doctrine that we are unwilling to consider the possibility that it may be mistaken, and unwilling to examine evidence against it.
Thinking to Believe 