Self-examination
In spite of our capacities,
hiding and lying to ourselves is our default mode of being.
Michael S. Gazzaniga, professor of psychology at the University of California, Santa Barbara and a major founder of the field of cognitive neuroscience commented
“some degree of self- deception may be beneficial. For example, self- promotion, or the belief that you are better than the majority, may help you to have a more positive view of the world.
Eighty percent of high school students report that they have better than average leadership abilities, and 94 percent of university professors believe that they are in the top half of their profession.”
Judaism doesn’t argue against those findings but the symbols of these holidays convey a different message.
uman beings are nature aware of itself
That we are able to view ourselves, at any moment, within the context of our whole life, present past and future, is a capacity that has a purpose. That we mostly ignore this purpose has a reason.
“human beings cannot bear to live with the constant awareness of mortality and of their frail animal bodies. Some self- deception may be essential in getting us through a life in which we are soon bound for death, and in which the most essential matters are in fact beyond our control.”
In fact, research suggests that “normality”- whatever that word means- may rest on a foundation of self- deception.
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