Useful delusions : the power and paradox of the self-deceiving brain / Shankar Vedantam and Bill Mesler.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Vedantam, Shankar, author.

Mesler, Bill, author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Deception.

Self-deception.

Truthfulness and falsehood.

Delusions.

Physical Description:

xxv, 233 pages ; 24 cm

Edition:

First Edition.

Place of Publication:

New York, NY : W. W. Norton & Company, [2021]

Summary:

"From the New York Times-bestselling author and host of NPR's Hidden Brain comes a counter- intuitive, thought-provoking exploration of deception's role in human success. Everyone agrees that lies and self-deception can do terrible harm to our lives, to our communities, and to the planet. But in Useful Delusions, host of NPR's Hidden Brain Shankar Vedantam argues that, paradoxically, deceiving ourselves and others can also play a vital role in human success and well-being. The lies we tell each other and the lies that we tell ourselves sustain our daily interactions with friends, lovers, and coworkers. They explain why some people live longer than others, why some couples remain in love and others don't, why some nations and tribes hold together while others splinter. Filled with powerful personal stories and drawing on new insights in psychology, neuroscience, and philosophy, Useful Delusions offers a fascinating tour of an upside- down world"-- Provided by publisher.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: pt. I EVERYDAY LIFE

1. Hot Air

2. Everything Is Going to Be OK

3. The Theater of Healing

4. The Invisible Hand

pt. II THE SEARCH FOR MEANING

5. The Heart Has Its Reasons

6. Predictive Reasoning

7. Somewhere Over the Rainbow

pt. III THE TRIBE

8. Walking through Fire

9. Something Worth Dying For

10. The Grand Delusion.

Notes:

Includes bibliographical references (pages 219-224) and index.

ISBN:

9780393652208

0393652203

OCLC:

1161996100