The Self-Deceiving Muse ― Notice and Knowledge in the Work of Art

Current philosophical discussions of self-deception remain steeped in disagreement and controversy. InThe Self-Deceiving Muse, Alan Singer proposes a radical revision of our commonplace understanding of self-deception. Singer asserts that self-deception, far from being irrational, is critical to our capacity to be acute "noticers" of our experience. The book demonstrates how self-deception can be both a resource for rational activity generally and, more specifically, a prompt to aesthetic innovation. It thereby provides new insights into the ways in which our imaginative powers bear on art and life. The implications—philosophical, aesthetic, and ethical—of such a proposition indicate the broadly interdisciplinary thrust of this work, which incorporates "readings" of novels, paintings, films, and video art.

Alan Singer is Professor of English at Temple University. His previous books includeAesthetic Reason: Artworks and the Deliberative Ethos (Penn State, 2003).