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/lp/addleton-academic-publishers/the-best-essay-ever-the-fallacy-of-wishful-thinking-dtcV0RdEBv
- Publisher
- Addleton Academic Publishers
- Copyright
- © 2009 Addleton Academic Publishers
- ISSN
- 1841-5261
- eISSN
- 2471-089X
- Publisher site
- See Article on Publisher Site
Abstract
It is argued that wishful thinking is an informal logical fallacy and is distinguished from self-deception and delusion. Wishful thinking is unique in that a human desire is the starting point, which remains unfulfilled because of insufficient, no evidence, or ignorance, despite the agent’s beliefs. It contrasts with self-deception, a more serious mental state in which the agent hides or denies the truth from himself, regardless of whether it is desired. Wishful thinking is a logical fallacy, depending on the agent’s genuine beliefs as an epistemic dilemma or merely a harmless fantasy. Keywords: wishful thinking, informal fallacy, self-deception, desires
Journal
Review of Contemporary Philosophy – Addleton Academic Publishers
Published: Jan 1, 2013