Kirkus Reviews (starred) “Self-deception has long been a dark, opaque side of our behavior, but the author brings a bright flashlight to his investigation of why we alter information to reach a falsehood.... Trivers examines our biases and rationalizations, denials and projections, misrepresentation and manipulations, and his writing is comfortable and suasive, resulting from his familiarity and command of the subject’s broad application and investigative history.... A gripping inquiry. Trivers is informal but highly knowledgeable, provocative, brightly humorous and inviting.”
Library Journal
“Looking at self-deception in broader areas like war, religion, false historical narratives, and even plane crashes, Trivers presents a convincing argument for why this type of dishonesty is as harmful to the individual as it is to society as a whole.... This provocative book examines an often unexamined subject, but one with which all readers are familiar. Recommended for professional social scientists as well as readers of popular science.”
Richard Wrangham, Professor of Biological Anthropology, Harvard University, and author of Catching Fire: *How Cooking Made Us Human*
“The problem of why natural selection favors self-deception is as poorly understood as it is riveting. Robert Trivers uses examples from insects to international relations to guide us to the fundamental logic. The result is a startlingly original and important book that should start a global conversation on a topic of both scholarly and personal interest.”
Richard Dawkins, emeritus Professor of the Public Understanding of Science, University of Oxford, and author of The Greatest Show on Earth
“This is a remarkable book, by a uniquely brilliant scientist. Robert Trivers has a track record of producing highly original ideas, which have gone on to stimulate much research. His Darwinian theory of self-deception is arguably his most provocative and interesting idea so far. The book is enlivened by Trivers’ candid personal style, and is a pleasure to read. Strongly recommended.”
Frans de Waal, C. H. Candler Professor, Emory University, and author of Our Inner Ape and *The Age of Empathy*
“Here a topic very few people think about, perhaps because the degree to which self-deception permeates our lives is itself subject to powerful denials. Robert Trivers, one of the brightest minds in evolutionary biology, leaves us little escape, however. No denying: an eye-opening read.”
William von Hippel, Professor of Psychology, University of Queensland
“Great books contain important new ideas, and this book is no exception. What makes Trivers’ book unusual even among great books is the density of new ideas. Like other great popular press books in science, this book advances an important new idea in an entertaining and accessible manner. This book goes beyond that, however, by providing dozens of new hypotheses for those of us who have been laboring in this field for the last twenty years. In that sense, this book is not just exporting science to the lay public, but is also an important piece of scholarship.”
David Haig, Professor of Biology, Harvard University “This is an enjoyable, thought-provoking book on how our mind systematically creates distorted perceptions of reality and how these distort our presentation of self to others. I believe the book is an important contribution to psychology and social science more generally and will undoubtedly stimulate debate on these important questions.”
Publishers Weekly “[A] spirited, provocative exploration of the evolutionary logic of deceit and self-deception.... Stimulating...Trivers’s study provides an energetic exploration of a perplexing human trait.”
BBC Focus
“By Trivers’s own admission, many of these ideas are speculative. But even if he does suffer from over-confidence—a type of self-deception more common in males—the admirable breadth, clarity and ambition of the result more than vindicate nature’s creation of the blind spot.”
The Guardian (UK) “After forty years of research Trivers wrote [The Folly of Fools] against the backdrop of a global economic meltdown caused by self-deceived, over-confident egoists grossly out of touch with reality, and when he explains how the human male drive for power and control correlates with ignorance and self-delusion, your blood runs cold.... [The Folly of Fools] is an exhilarating read: the intertwined issues of deceit and self-deception are infinite, involving positive and negative outcomes for the fool and the fooled—roles that can reverse and revert without your even knowing.”
Discover
“Weaving together examples from biology, psychology, history, and immunology, evolutionary theorist Robert Trivers argues that we deceive ourselves in order to better deceive others, and do so in order to survive, procreate, and generally get ahead.... [A] thoroughly researched, thought-provoking read.”
Product Description
Whether it’s in a cockpit at takeoff or the planning of an offensive war, a romantic relationship or a dispute at the office, there are many opportunities to lie and self-deceive—but deceit and self-deception carry the costs of being alienated from reality and can lead to disaster. So why does deception play such a prominent role in our everyday lives? In short, why do we deceive?
In his bold new work, prominent biological theorist Robert Trivers unflinchingly argues that self-deception evolved in the service of deceit—the better to fool others. We do it for biological reasons—in order to help us survive and procreate. From viruses mimicking host behavior to humans misremembering (sometimes intentionally) the details of a quarrel, science has proven that the deceptive one can always outwit the masses. But we undertake this deception at our own peril.
Trivers has written an ambitious investigation into the evolutionary logic of lying and the costs of leaving it unchecked.
Description:
Review
Kirkus Reviews (starred)
“Self-deception has long been a dark, opaque side of our behavior, but the author brings a bright flashlight to his investigation of why we alter information to reach a falsehood.... Trivers examines our biases and rationalizations, denials and projections, misrepresentation and manipulations, and his writing is comfortable and suasive, resulting from his familiarity and command of the subject’s broad application and investigative history.... A gripping inquiry. Trivers is informal but highly knowledgeable, provocative, brightly humorous and inviting.”
Library Journal
“Looking at self-deception in broader areas like war, religion, false historical narratives, and even plane crashes, Trivers presents a convincing argument for why this type of dishonesty is as harmful to the individual as it is to society as a whole.... This provocative book examines an often unexamined subject, but one with which all readers are familiar. Recommended for professional social scientists as well as readers of popular science.”
Richard Wrangham, Professor of Biological Anthropology, Harvard University, and author of Catching Fire: *How Cooking Made Us Human*
“The problem of why natural selection favors self-deception is as poorly understood as it is riveting. Robert Trivers uses examples from insects to international relations to guide us to the fundamental logic. The result is a startlingly original and important book that should start a global conversation on a topic of both scholarly and personal interest.”
Richard Dawkins, emeritus Professor of the Public Understanding of Science, University of Oxford, and author of The Greatest Show on Earth
“This is a remarkable book, by a uniquely brilliant scientist. Robert Trivers has a track record of producing highly original ideas, which have gone on to stimulate much research. His Darwinian theory of self-deception is arguably his most provocative and interesting idea so far. The book is enlivened by Trivers’ candid personal style, and is a pleasure to read. Strongly recommended.”
Frans de Waal, C. H. Candler Professor, Emory University, and author of Our Inner Ape and *The Age of Empathy*
“Here a topic very few people think about, perhaps because the degree to which self-deception permeates our lives is itself subject to powerful denials. Robert Trivers, one of the brightest minds in evolutionary biology, leaves us little escape, however. No denying: an eye-opening read.”
William von Hippel, Professor of Psychology, University of Queensland
“Great books contain important new ideas, and this book is no exception. What makes Trivers’ book unusual even among great books is the density of new ideas. Like other great popular press books in science, this book advances an important new idea in an entertaining and accessible manner. This book goes beyond that, however, by providing dozens of new hypotheses for those of us who have been laboring in this field for the last twenty years. In that sense, this book is not just exporting science to the lay public, but is also an important piece of scholarship.”
David Haig, Professor of Biology, Harvard University
“This is an enjoyable, thought-provoking book on how our mind systematically creates distorted perceptions of reality and how these distort our presentation of self to others. I believe the book is an important contribution to psychology and social science more generally and will undoubtedly stimulate debate on these important questions.”
Publishers Weekly
“[A] spirited, provocative exploration of the evolutionary logic of deceit and self-deception.... Stimulating...Trivers’s study provides an energetic exploration of a perplexing human trait.”
BBC Focus
“By Trivers’s own admission, many of these ideas are speculative. But even if he does suffer from over-confidence—a type of self-deception more common in males—the admirable breadth, clarity and ambition of the result more than vindicate nature’s creation of the blind spot.”
The Guardian (UK)
“After forty years of research Trivers wrote [The Folly of Fools] against the backdrop of a global economic meltdown caused by self-deceived, over-confident egoists grossly out of touch with reality, and when he explains how the human male drive for power and control correlates with ignorance and self-delusion, your blood runs cold.... [The Folly of Fools] is an exhilarating read: the intertwined issues of deceit and self-deception are infinite, involving positive and negative outcomes for the fool and the fooled—roles that can reverse and revert without your even knowing.”
Discover
“Weaving together examples from biology, psychology, history, and immunology, evolutionary theorist Robert Trivers argues that we deceive ourselves in order to better deceive others, and do so in order to survive, procreate, and generally get ahead.... [A] thoroughly researched, thought-provoking read.”
Product Description
Whether it’s in a cockpit at takeoff or the planning of an offensive war, a romantic relationship or a dispute at the office, there are many opportunities to lie and self-deceive—but deceit and self-deception carry the costs of being alienated from reality and can lead to disaster. So why does deception play such a prominent role in our everyday lives? In short, why do we deceive?
In his bold new work, prominent biological theorist Robert Trivers unflinchingly argues that self-deception evolved in the service of deceit—the better to fool others. We do it for biological reasons—in order to help us survive and procreate. From viruses mimicking host behavior to humans misremembering (sometimes intentionally) the details of a quarrel, science has proven that the deceptive one can always outwit the masses. But we undertake this deception at our own peril.
Trivers has written an ambitious investigation into the evolutionary logic of lying and the costs of leaving it unchecked.