Introduction

Abstract

The phenomenon of self-deception is an intriguing one: in what circumstances do we deceive ourselves, and when do we let others deceive us? Is self-deception something that we should avoid, or can it have positive consequences for the person? These and similar questions have been discussed by philosophers and psychologists. However, it seems that there is no agreement on a definition of self-deception, and so no agreement on exactly what happens to us when we deceive ourselves. While most current studies of self-deception mainly focus on the cognitive aspect of the problem, the five papers in this special issue explore some other dimensions, and do so by focusing in particular on literary treatments of the topic.