Falsehood Disguised: Unmasking the Truth in La Rochefoucauld

Chapter Four- Self-love, Self-interest, Self-deception

Chapter Four Self-love, Self-interest, Self-deception Quelque decouverte que I'on aitfaite dans Ie pays de l'amour-propre, il y reste encore bien des terres inconnues. . La f{ochefoucauld,Maxime 3t Just as the theme of truth and falsehood begins and in a sense ends the Reflexions diverses, the concept of amour-propre is the theme with whi~h the text ofthe Maximes opens and closes. However, l'amour-propre is notjust the idea that La Rochefoucauld stresses at both the beginning and the end of the Maximes. Rather, it is a concept that underlies and informs his entire view ofhuman nature. He sees it as a supremely powerful force functioning as the primary motivator of each individual's actions . It is the ultimate source of all feelings, tastes, and passions , ~h~.therpeople are aware of it or not. According to La Rochefoucauld, it is amour-propre, more than any other faculty or motivating force, thatconsistently, although often unconsciously , thwarts and subverts the human desire for truth. t Whatever discoveries one has made in the realm ofself-esteem, many uncharted regions still remain there. *In order to punish man for original sin, God has allowed him to make a god of his self-love, so that he will be tormented by it throughout his entire life. (CF) 39 Chapter Four Since individuals' best interests, as determined and defined by their amour-propre, are often, for a variety of compelling rea~ sons, inconsistent with their innate· need to find the truth, I'amour-propre skillfully places endless roadblocks in the path .of their search for it. Because self-love plays a role in virtually every aspect of human behavior, it constantly and inevitably comes into conflict with whatever motivating forces tend to push the individual into promoting the cause of truth. Be~ hind the reslstance.to the·desire·for truth, behind the often unconscious but nevertheless powerful predilection for falsehood, as behind all other human foibles, lie the fundamental desire for self-preservation and the·uncontrollable need for selfaggrandizement exhibited by all, no matter how altruistic their motives may sometimes appear. IIi the first maxime supprimee, his long and elaborate series of reflections on its nature and function, La Rochefoucauld defines self-love as an all-powerful force that can, and often does, act independently ofthe will, almost as if it were an au- . tonomous entity capable of deceiving the conscious Self and secretly subverting itsday-to-day operations. First and foremosi , self-love is an all-encompassing force that effortlessly transforms everything it touches: L'amour-propre est l'amour de soi-meme, et de toutes choses pour soi; it rend les homrnesidolatres d'eux-memes, et les rendrait les tyrans des autres si la fortune leur en donnait les moyens; it ne se repose jamais hors desoi, et ne s'arrete dans les sujets etrangers que comme les abeilles sur les fleurs, pour en tirer ce qui lui est propre. (MS 1; see Appendix'38) Not only does self-love make human beings worship themselves more than all other living creatures but it also directly and profoundly influences the individual's emotional and intellectual responses and reactions to fellow human beings. Above all,.it possesses, almost as if it were a totally autonomous force, an insatiable lust for power., An enthusiastic student of history, particularly of contemporary history, La Rochefoucauld, perhaps thinking of Mazarin or the.Cardinal.de Retz, seems fascinated by the speed with which unbridled self-love can lead to tyranny. . Throughout this remarkable text, La Rochefoucauld uses an elaborate and effective form of personification to analyze the 40 Self-love, Self-interest, Self-deception countless strategies and subterfuges that our own self-love conceives and employs in order to exert and preserve its influence over us. There is almost nothing this power-hungry secret agent will not do to ensure its ultimate victory over the other motivating forces existing within each ofus and with which it must constantly compete. Although it usually acts like an experienced general, marshaling forces from well behind the line of fire, self-love can, if necessary, go over to the enemy and plot its own destruction: II est dans tous les etats de la vie, et dans toutes les conditions ; it vit partout, et iI vit de tout, it vit de rien; it s'accommode des choses, et de leur privation; it passe memedans leparti des...