The phrase ‘inconvenient truth’ has become synonymous with climate change, thanks to the film which documented American Vice President Al Gore’s attempts to raise awareness of global warming. An inconvenient truth is a truth we would rather not acknowledge, but must do so anyway. Accepting such truths means we must take action which we would rather not take; curtailing our lifestyle in immediate ways to avoid a catastrophe which may not even occur within our lifetimes. The incentives to refute the hard facts are strong, leading many to remain in denial despite compelling scientific evidence for our self destruction.
But when it comes to self-deception, there is a concept which I find more intriguing than inconvenient truth, that is the ‘convenient fiction’. I believe it is far more prevalent than the inconvenient truth and plays a more interesting role in our psychological make-up.
A convenient fiction is an idea that is not true, but it is advantageous to operate as if it is. It is a known falsity: an opportune untruth.
