Nine qualities of self-deception:

1. Self-inflation: Ego-centric people assume that their perspective is the only right one. Narcissists are particularly prone to making false assertions.

2. The bias of power: Power and the failure of empathy both corrupt reason. The powerful are often in particular danger of making stupid decisions.

3. The illusion of control: When self-deceived, perceive ourselves to be in more control than we really are.

4. The derogation of others: To affirm the self, others are put down. Two particular errors in logic result: ultracrepidarianism (arguing from ignorance) and the ad hominem (arguing with the person, not the issue).

5. In-group/out-group associations: People use their loyalty to some (the in-group) in order to reject others (the out-group). The other cannot be conceived of as having a legitimate perspective. They are demonized.

6. Moral hypocrisy: People tend to forgive themselves more easily than they forgive others for the very same crime.

7/ False personal narratives: People tend to perceive that they have progressed more (especially with regard to spiritual/character growth) than they actually have.

8. The domination of the unconscious: What has been repressed tends to distort one’s perspective.

9. Anti-evidentialism: Self-deception is more easily maintained if evidence against one’s beliefs is ignored.

The answer to all of the above is to cultivate virtue. To numbers 1-3, humility and the denial of self; to 4 & 5, hospitality and love of the enemy; to 6-8, self-examination and confession; to 9, seeking out and bearing witness to the truth.

I think grappling with the subject of self-deception is really important, and here are some books that are very helpful this. If I were to only pick one, Gregg Ten Elshof's brilliant little 'I told me so' is the one I'd go with.

On self-examination, Sr. Theresa is, as usual, spot on: https://twitter.com/pursuedbytruth/status/1348017444766552066?s=19