SELF-DECEPTION
212simply meant “worldly” and was used in
contrast with living the monastic life. So,
a priest who was active in the world was
described as a secular priest.
SELF-DECEPTION. An important topic
for Sartre’s existentialism as well as what
some call the methodology of suspicion in
which questions are asked about a person’s
or institution’s real, underlying motives.
Nietzsche raised the question of whether
the profession by Christians of a self-
giving love for others was as it seems or,
rather, stemmed from resentment. One of
the paradoxes of self-deception is that it
appears that a person cannot fully and
self-consciously believe a contradiction.
When one person, A, deceives another, B,
then A gets B to believe something that A
believes is false. This may be an unprob-
lematic case of one person lying to another.
But when you lie to yourself (and A is B),
it seems that a subject has to simultane-
ously believe something she believes is
false (e.g., Christians love the good because
it is good) while realizing all along that she
believes the contrary is true (e.g., Chris-
tians love what they call “good” not because
it is good, but because in their weakness
this allows them to control the powerful).
To avoid this problem, accounts of self-
deception often involve a division between
the conscious and the unconscious, or they
hold that self- deception occurs over time
so that it is not carried out in a single
moment of simultaneous deceiving and
deception. See also BAD FAITH.
SELF, SELFHOOD. See SOUL.SENECA, LUCIUS ANNEAUS (c. 1
BCE– 65 CE). Roman philosopher whose
moral writings touch on proper living,
the importance of restraint, and practical
wisdom. He was an eclectic thinker,
employing Stoic as well as Epicurean
ideas. He had the misfortune of having
his former student, the Emperor Nero,
command that he commit suicide, which
he did. Seneca was also a gifted dramatist
and satirist.SEPARATION OF CHURCH AND
STATE. A political theory concerning
religion, articulated in 1802 by U.S.
President Thomas Jefferson. Jefferson
wrote a letter to the Baptist Association of
Danbury, Connecticut, explaining that
the “establishment clause” of the First
Amendment to the U.S. Constitution
democratically built “a wall of separation
between Church and State.” Jefferson
wrote, “religion is a matter which lies
solely between man and his God,” and
“the legislative powers of government
reach actions only, and not opinions.” In
consequence, the state shall not establish
a church, nor privilege a church in mat-
ters of legislation. In this, Jefferson was
drawing on the work of both Hobbes and
Locke. Hobbes held that the church was
not sovereign over the state, and that it
therefore had no right to legislate. Locke
argued that the state had no right to legis-
late concerning matters of conscience,