Do you ever wonder why it is so hard to tell the truth all of the time? Why is it that we are deceptive beings?
Well, Salon.com has reported on the mechanics of deceit, the evolutionary science of deceit and how the two areas overlap.
The article focuses on Robert Trivers a professor of anthropology and biological sciences at Rutgers School of Arts and Sciences.
Via a phone interview Trivers reveals how to define deception and how it works. When asked the question, “When you talk about deceit and self-deception what exactly are you talking about?” Trivers responded, “Well, in verbal terms it would be lying to others and lying to yourself. But deception is much deeper because it doesn’t require language and it’s found in a whole series of other animals.
His book, The Folly of Fools reveals more than just information on typical deception. Some of the topics covered include animal predation and people’s sex lives.
To see the rest of Triver’s interview click here.