what is hypocrisy? and what is not?

Question

give some examples please.

Answer 1

Insincerity by virtue of pretending to have qualities or beliefs that you do not really have.

all energy companies are hypocrites. they charge a lot for their service, yet tout ways to save energy.

Answer 2

Professing that you believe something when you do not. Doing the opposite of what you say you do. The opposite of hypocrisy is truth. Truth is universal. The ultimate in hypocrisy is the the Congress ignoring and trying to rewrite the Constitution. Secular progressives are hypocrits in that they don't believe in personal responsibility unless something happens to them, then listen to the yelling. Look at the world, a lesson in hypocrisy.

Answer 3

Excellent question! One star for you. Many would define hypocrisy as when your actions are in violation of your stated beliefs.

The term is especially invoked during political debates when opponents accuse each other of being inconsistent in their views/actions.

It is also prevalent in the televangelist field: Jim Bakker, Jimmy Swaggart, Ted Haggard and others were vocal in condemning Bill Clinton in the Monica Lewinsky affair, and preaching a holier-than-thou attitude of morality. Yet each was guilty of similar transgressions.

What is most interesting about the term is how it relates to the concept of time. Is someone a hypocrite because 20 years ago they were against abortion and now they are pro-choice? Many politicians look for ANY inconsistency in their opponent's entire political record as evidence of hypocrisy. I would venture to say the person who NEVER changes his viewpoint - after synthesizing new information - is as bad as a hypocrite.

George Bush won the election because he successfully accused John Kerry of being a "waffler" and changing his mind too much. We now see that the opposite of this - stubbornly remaining true to your convictions and never changing course when given new information - has disastrous repercussions, as in the Iraq War.

"Prejudgments become prejudices only if they are not reversible when exposed to new knowledge."
— Gordon W.

There needs to be a common middle ground. You don't want someone who changes his mind like a feather blowing in the wind; who is wishy-washy without any of their own convictions. But on the other hand, you don't want someone who is so entrenched in their own views that they are unable to take in new information that might warrant a change of course.

It should also be noted that an accusation of hypocrisy may also be a logical fallacy (specifically that of argumentum ad hominem) "because the person carrying out the condemnation is not relevant to the argument used as the basis for that condemnation. A parent who instructs a child not to smoke cigarettes, but who himself smokes, could be making an argument that is valid in and of itself, regardless of the parent's behavior."*

"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."*

"Some people genuinely fail to recognize 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. 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 how far they are or have been subject to these vices."*

*Wikipedia has an in-depth discussion on hypocrisy as well:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypocricy

Answer 4

Hypocrisy usually starts in a discussion with "but that is different".

Most of would like to think that we are consistent in the application of our logic. Usually though, it is someone else who can point out our inconsistencies in the application of our thinking.

A hypocrite will argue against "stupid people", but then make decisions that can be characterized as stupid.

Answer 5

I think it's when you criticize or judge someone for doing the same things you're doing, have done, or would do, if you were them, walking in their shoes . . . :)

Example: Saying, "I'd never do that!" then finding yourself in the same situation you scorned, and doing exactly 'that.'

I guess the opposite of that would be adopting the attitude: to each their own?

Answer 6

bush is a great is example for hypocrisy

Answer 7

Al Gore not practicing what he preaches about global warming.