Hypocrisy (or the state of being a hypocrite) is the act of preaching a certain belief or way of life, but not, in fact, holding these same virtues oneself. For example, an adult telling children not to smoke cigarettes, even though the adult smokes. Hypocrisy is frequently invoked as an accusation in many contexts.

For linguist and social analyst Noam Chomsky, hypocrisy, defined as the refusal to "...apply to ourselves the same standards we apply to others"^[1][2] is one of the central evils of our society--promoting injustices such as war^[3][4] and social inequalities in a framework of self-deception, which includes the notion that hypocrisy itself is a necessary or beneficial part of human behavior and society.^{[5] [6]}

In other languages, including French, a hypocrite is one who hides his intentions and true personality. This definition is different from that of the English language.

Etymology

The word hypocrisy derives from the Greek ????????? (hypokrisis), which means "play-acting", "acting out", "feigning, dissembling" or "an answer"^[7]. The word hypocrite is from the Greek word ????????? (hypokrites), the agentive noun associated with ??????????? (hypokrinomai), i.e. "I play a part." Both derive from the verb ?????, "judge" (»?????, "judgement" »??????? (kritiki), "critics") presumably because the performance of a dramatic text by an actor was to involve a degree of interpretation, or assessment, of that text.

The word can be further understood as an amalgam of the Greek prefix hypo-, meaning "under", and the verb "krinein", meaning "to sift or decide". Thus the original meaning is given as a deficiency in the ability to sift or decide. This deficiency, as it pertains to one's own beliefs and feelings, does well to inform the word's contemporary meaning^[8].

Whereas hypokrisis applied to any sort of public performance (including the art of rhetoric), hypokrites was a technical term for a stage actor and was not considered an appropriate role for a public figure. In Athens in the 4th Century BC, for example, the great orator Demosthenes ridiculed his rival Aeschines, who had been a successful actor before taking up politics, as a hypokrites whose skill at impersonating characters on stage made him an untrustworthy politician. This negative view of the hypokrites, perhaps combined with the Roman disdain for actors, later shaded into the originally neutral hypokrisis. It is this later sense of hypokrisis as "play-acting," i.e. the assumption of a counterfeit persona, that gives the modern word hypocrisy its negative connotation.

Hypocrisy and morality

Hypocrisy has been described, alongside lack of sincerity, as a characteristic which attracts particular opprobrium in the modern age. ^[9]Many belief systems condemn behaviours related to hypocrisy. In some translations of the Book of Job, the Hebrew word chaneph is rendered as "hypocrite," though it usually means "godless" or "profane." In the Christian Bible, Jesus condemns the scribes and Pharisees as hypocrites in the passage known as the Woes of the Pharisees. ^[10] In the Buddhist text Dhammapada, Gautama Buddha condemns a man who takes the appearance of an ascetic but is full of passions within.^[11] In Islam, the Qur'an rails against the munafiq - those who claim to be believers and peacemakers but are not. ^[12]

Psychology of hypocrisy

In psychology, hypocritical behavior is closely related to the fundamental attribution error: individuals are more likely to explain their own actions by their environment, yet they attribute the actions of others to 'innate characteristics', thus leading towards judging others while justifying ones' own actions. ^[13]

Also, some people genuinely fail to recognize that they have character faults which they condemn in others. This is called psychological projection. This is self-deception rather than deliberate deception of other people. In other words, "psychological hypocrisy" is usually interpreted by psychological theorists to be an unconscious defense mechanism rather than a conscious act of deception, as in the more classic connotation of hypocrisy. People understand vices which they are struggling to overcome or have overcome in the past. Efforts to get other people to overcome such vices may be sincere. There may be an element of hypocrisy as well if the actors do not readily admit to themselves or to others how far they are or have been subject to these vices.

A Common Fallacy

It is a common fallacy to accuse someone of being a hypocrite to disprove their argument. This can be known as an ad hominem attack.

Theoretical issues

Multiple theories of hypocrisy have been proposed. The conflict caused by contradiction can lead to differing outcomes.

In organizational studies, theorists like Nils Brunsson have discussed the paradox of the morality of hypocrisy. Brunsson reasons that, despite conventional social reactions to it, hypocrisy may be an essential guard against fanaticism, and may be to the benefit of high values and moral behaviour. ^[14]

In the field of international relations scholars such as Krasner have suggested that sovereignty, specifically as brought about by the Peace of Westphalia, reaffirmed the principle cuius regio, eius religio, meaning that the ruler's faith became the official denomination of his state. Krasner calls this a system of "organized hypocrisy." ^[15]

A few business theorists have studied the utility of hypocrisy, and some have suggested that the conflicts manifested as hypocrisy are a necessary or beneficial part of human behavior and society.^[14]

See also

• Tu quoque
• Moral absolutism
• Moral relativism
• Pot calling the kettle black
• Champagne socialist
• Discourse on Judgementalism
• Tartuffe (play by Molière)

References

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