Laser-Lisa · BY-SA · by-sa
hypocrisy
Sign in to saveHypocrisy is the practice of feigning what one is not or professing what one does not believe. The word "hypocrisy" entered the English language c. 1200 with the meaning "the sin of pretending to virtue or goodness". Today, "hypocrisy" often refers to advocating behaviors that one does not practice. However, the term can also refer to other forms of pretense, such as engaging in pious or moral behaviors out of a desire for praise rather than out of genuinely pious or moral motivations.
Hypocrisy is the practice of pretending to be something you're not or claiming to believe things you don't actually believe, such as advocating for behaviors you don't follow yourself. It matters because it involves a fundamental dishonesty—whether someone is feigning virtue for appearance's sake or engaging in moral behavior primarily to gain praise rather than from genuine conviction.
AI-generated from the Wikipedia summary — may contain errors.
Wikidata facts
Show 1 more fact
- Commons category
- Hypocrisy
Sources (3)
via Wikidata · CC0
~18 min read
Article
21 sectionsContents
- Etymology
- History
- United States
- Moral and religious codes
- Buddhism
- Christianity
- Islam
- Psychology
- Carl Jung
- Preference for the effortless
- Self-deception
- Evolutionary psychology
- Self-ignorance
- Social psychology
- Philosophy
- Benefits
- See also
- References
- Works cited
- Further reading
- External links
Hypocrisy is the practice of feigning what one is not or professing what one does not believe. The word "hypocrisy" entered the English language c. 1200 with the meaning "the sin of pretending to virtue or goodness". Today, "hypocrisy" often refers to advocating behaviors that one does not practice. However, the term can also refer to other forms of pretense, such as engaging in pious or moral behaviors out of a desire for praise rather than out of genuinely pious or moral motivations.
Definitions of hypocrisy vary. In moral psychology, it is the failure to follow one's own expressed moral rules and principles. According to British political philosopher David Runciman, "other kinds of hypocritical deception include claims to knowledge that one lacks, claims to a consistency that one cannot sustain, claims to a loyalty that one does not possess, claims to an identity that one does not hold". American political journalist Michael Gerson says that political hypocrisy is "the conscious use of a mask to fool the public and gain political benefit".