“philosophers have noted that people who habitually deceivefinally fall for their own deceptions. This is the well-knownphenomenon that confidence artists appeal to the willingness oftheir victims to deceive both themselves and others in one andthe same act: The victims are encouraged to deceivethemselves into thinking that they deceive only others whileignoring their own greed and the immorality of the way theychoose to satisfy it. To this Russell added that the same holdstrue for all self -deception:”

“Life is the art of being well-deceived; and in order that the deception may succeed it must be habitual and uninterrupted.”

“Men are so simple and so much inclined to obey immediate needs that a deceiver will never lack victims for his deceptions.”

“The most common sort of lie is that by which a man deceives himself: the deception of others is a relatively rare offense.”

“We cannot separate doubt from deception. Doubt robs a man of his confidence; it is a fearful thing. Offer him deception to restore that confidence and he will embrace the falsehood for the comfort it brings. If you would deceive, begin with doubt.”

“Martel seems to point to the fact that most people are engaged in forms of self-deception or revisionist history, reworking the narrative of their lives in order to see actions that were motivated by self-interest instead of motivated out of concern for others. ... So what is the “truth”? Martel's message is that it is impossible to ascertain. There is no neat binary. It is always just beyond our grasp—we are all capable of being both victims and victimizers, innocent and guilty, good and bad simultaneously”