Humbug for Beginners

Perhaps one of the most influential of recent contributions to philosophy is Situation Ethics by Dr. Joseph Fletcher. A study of “Situation Sincerity,” crudely known as “Humbug,” would be invaluable, for outstanding success in many careers. But it is almost unobtainable except by those who have mastered the technique of Humbug. I am at work on a book, the title of which, Humbug for Beginners, is, to my regret, insisted on by my publishers in order to appeal to a wider public than “Situation Sincerity.”

I write primarily for beginners, whose first attempts at humbug may be compared with the would-be secretary learning to type, who can only strike the right keys by conscious effort, whereas the finger movements of the expert typist are instinctive. Similarly, the humbug of the expert is often purely instinctive and unconscious. The insincerity which is unconscious is, in effect, indistinguishable from sincerity, and for that reason very effective, self-deception being a very important factor in the deception of others.

SL

About the Author

Sir Arnold Lunn

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William F. Buckley Jr.

Nazism

Perhaps one of the most influential of recent contributions to philosophy is Situation Ethics by Dr. Joseph Fletcher. A study of “Situation Sincerity,” crudely known as “Humbug,” would be invaluable, for outstanding success in many careers. But it is almost unobtainable except by those who have mastered the technique of Humbug. I am at work on a book, the title of which, Humbug for Beginners, is, to my regret, insisted on by my publishers in order to appeal to a wider public than “Situation Sincerity.”

I write primarily for beginners, whose first attempts at humbug may be compared with the would-be secretary learning to type, who can only strike the right keys by conscious effort, whereas the finger movements of the expert typist are instinctive. Similarly, the humbug of the expert is often purely instinctive and unconscious. The insincerity which is unconscious is, in effect, indistinguishable from sincerity, and for that reason very effective, self-deception being a very important factor in the deception of others.