Vital Lies Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self Deception

Daniel Goleman

Simon and Schuster, May 1, 1996 - Psychology - 288 pages

'Vital Lies, Simple Truths' is a penetrating analysis of the ways we deceive our-selves. Daniel Goleman draws on evidence of all kinds - from brain function to social dynamics - to reveal how we skew our most intimate relationships, our day-to-day lives, and our common reality by burying painful insights and memories. This self-deception is our means of psychic self-preservation, the currency of survival in which an entire society colludes. But although self-deception is sometimes benign, it can also be dangerous and life-diminishing. This important book both illuminates and raises challenging questions about a subject that is central to our psychological existence.

What people are saying

Review: Vital Lies, Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self-Deception

User Review  - Wilton314 - Goodreads

Another eye opener into how our brains and psyche work. A bit complex and heavy going in places but ultimately rewarding I thought.

Review: Vital Lies, Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self-Deception

User Review - Goodreads

This is one of the best books I've ever read, and among many good reads by Goleman

Contents

• FOREWORD TO THE PAPERBACK EDITION: 11
• Thoughts on Being Mauled by a Lion: 29
• Anxiety Is Stress Out of Place: 44
• Freuds Model of the Mind: 57
• The Packets Knowledge Comes In: 74
• PART THREE: 90
• Noticing What Not to Notice: 106
• Forgetting and Forgetting We Have Forgotten: 117
• The Therapists Dilemma: 124
• Neurotic Styles: 131
• The Anatomy of Psychic Armor: 142
• How to Raise a Paranoid: 150
• The We: 161
• Family Ritual As Group Memory: 171
• Theres Nothing Rotten Here in Denmark: 180
• Groupthink in the Corporate Family: 190
• Constructing the Reality Par Excellence: 197
• The Tyrannies and Freedoms of Frames: 203
• The WeilMannered Gaze: 209
• What You Dont See Wont Hurt You: 221
• The Flow of Information in a Free Society: 231
• An Ancient Malady and Its Cure: 237
• Vital Lies and Simple Truths: 244
• NOTES: 253
• INDEX: 271

About the author

Psychologist Daniel Goleman was born on March 7, 1946 in Stockton, California. He earned a Ph.D. from Harvard. Goleman wrote his first book, "The Meditative Mind" after studying ancient psychology systems and meditation practices in India and Sri Lanka. Goleman wrote about psychology and related fields for the New York Times for 12 years beginning in 1984. In 1993 he co-founded the Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. He is also a co-chairman of The Consortium for Research on Emotional Intelligence in Organizations and a member of the Mind and Life Institute's board of directors. Goleman has written several popular books, including "Emotional Intelligence," "Social Intelligence," and "Ecological Intelligence." He received a Career Achievement award for journalism from the American Psychological Association and was elected a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science to recognize his efforts to communicate the behavioral sciences to the public.

Bibliographic information

• Title: Vital Lies Simple Truths: The Psychology of Self Deception; A Touchstone book
• Author: Daniel Goleman
• Publisher: Simon and Schuster, 1996
• ISBN: 0684831074, 9780684831077
• Length: 288 pages
• Subjects: Psychology / Cognitive Psychology; Psychology / General