The Philosophy Class On Self-Deception

Intent

  It isn’t always clear,

My motivation hides itself.

  I pursue my intent with fear,

Perhaps stash it on a shelf.

 

  It’s a self-deception

When I act one way

  Knowing I made a exception 

To keep the truth at bay.

Brigham Young University was both a shock and revelation. Whereas in high school I was in the top of my senior class, at the university I was just one of thousands going to classes and lost inside my own world. What should I study? Who should I be? Should I pursue my English major? Was I dedicated to literature and writing?

My friend, Mark, was auditing a higher level philosophy class by Dr. C. Terry Warner and it was rocking his boat. The class was about self-deception.

 

We talked about the class many times during the week and his concerns were rubbing off on me. Our discussions were started with stories about doing to others what we sense we shouldn't do and not doing what we sense we should.

*I finally broke off an engagement to a good man who I didn't really love but wanted to love because I liked having someone to date and I liked being admired.

* I changed my major from English to Early Childhood Education because I realized that being an articulate, intelligent person was someone I wanted others to think I was rather than finding a vocation that matched my gifts.

"Self-betrayal is a sort of moral compromise, a violation of our own personal sense of how we ought to be and what we ought to do."

My discussions with Mark were more than just tiny flashes of light. They were lightening bolts. I was changing inside and the change was a struggle. I look back now and see that my years at the university were actually giving me an education that helped me reach higher. It truly was a higher education and not just a training to get a job. I didn't get educated in classes alone, but in relationships with roommates, service at church, and being in an atmosphere of choosing God first. I wish my grandchildren might have an opportunity like mine. I feel inclined to think that higher education today is a training ground for socialist philosophy not learning to bring our hearts to hear what God intends us to be.

Dr Warner said, “The stream of self-help books and tapes is never ending. There’s a lot of people telling us what kind of beings we should be and what kind of life we should have together, what our morals should be, and what our habits should be. We can receive advice on how to assert ourselves or how to get along. But nobody is out there telling us how to bring our hearts in line so that doing these things is authentic."

You can find Dr. C Terry Warner's book "Bonds That Make Us Free, Healing our Relationships, Coming To Ourselves" at Amazon or other book sellers.

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