Just like a leader is nothing without an exceptionally good…
Just like a leader is nothing without an exceptionally good moral compass, a deceiver is nothing without an exceptionally good imitation of a moral compass.
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You will rarely be mistaken if you assume that most deceivers are entirely unaware that their moral compass is a fake. They carry it with pride, convinced that they are great leaders.
if you decieved yourself, is it fake?
Is the Rolex you bought on times square real just because you deceive yourself into thinking that it is?
I know what you mean, of course, I'm trying to draw a distinction between someone who intentionally deceives others, and someone who believes in something false, and so it depends on which authenticity you are judging, the human or their creation.
If I am a believer, but believe in something false... I am deceiving myself, but I am not faking it
it's an interesting question about which is more dangerous the believer or the deceiver
Yes. A great example of a fake moral compass is communism. It FEELS right, because of a supposed goal of equity. That it is inherently immoral (it violates the most basic individual rights) seems to be impossible to see for those who subscribe to it (hoping it will give them advantages). I don't think there are many communists, if any, who aren't convinced that they follow a working moral compass. But someone who deceives himself is still a deceiver. The reason we deceive ourselves, IMHO, is that in a state of fear we aren't interested in ethics or truth. We are interested in safety, survival, "free"stuff and power. The interesting thing is that our mind deceives us into thinking that our selfishness is somehow moral.