Why do self-righteous hypocritical people ...

hoser

Why is it that people who display self-righteous hypocritical behaviour are so blind as not to see what kind of people they really are?

sir82

Because they're self-righteous & hypocritical?

It's just human nature to imagine ourselves as being superior to the masses. We give ourselves a pass on the same things for which we criticize others. The ego seems to be a critical component of our psyche and thus needs to be fed by a biased perspective. One can observe this taking place even on this very forum every day.

sparky1

To paraphrase Thomas Szasz: It is because they are 'colossally conceited'.

NewYork44M

You are answering your own question. Those who are hypocritical behave just as you describe.

talesin

Self-righteousness and piety are qualites that exclude humility. It's impossible to be both. The very fact that they only see themselves as 'good' and 'righteous' blurs their concept of reality. Honest self-examination, for them, is an oxymoron.

tal

sparrowdown

Because they only ever apply their own standard of righteousness to people other than themselves.

Perfect people have no need of a mirror.

NeverKnew

Just read this today...

Generally, our judgment of others is an extension of self-judgment; and the self-judgment is so ingrained, so normal, we don’t even recognize it.

LV101

I think it was Jung who said they project themselves (their true selves/bad behavior) onto others - along the same idea as NeverKnew's comment. I know more than a few humanoids who are like this.

frankiespeakin

According to Carl Jung we all have what he termed a "Shadow" in our psychological make up and this is made up of things of our darkside that we are in denial of. Read something about the shadow according to Jung and you might be able to answer your very good question.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shadow_(psychology)

In Jungian psychology, the shadow or "shadow aspect" may refer to (1) an unconscious aspect of the personality which the conscious ego does not identify in itself. Because one tends to reject or remain ignorant of the least desirable aspects of one's personality, the shadow is largely negative, or (2) the entirety of the unconscious, i.e., everything of which a person is not fully conscious. There are, however, positive aspects which may also remain hidden in one's shadow (especially in people with low self-esteem). [1] Contrary to a Freudiandefinition of shadow, therefore, the Jungian shadow can include everything outside the light of consciousness, and may be positive or negative. "Everyone carries a shadow," Jung wrote, "and the less it is embodied in the individual's conscious life, the blacker and denser it is." [2] It may be (in part) one's link to more primitive animal instincts, [3] which are superseded during early childhood by the conscious mind.

According to Jung, the shadow, in being instinctive and irrational, is prone to psychological projection, in which a perceived personal inferiority is recognised as a perceived moral deficiency in someone else. Jung writes that if these projections remain hidden, "The projection-making factor (the Shadow archetype) then has a free hand and can realize its object--if it has one--or bring about some other situation characteristic of its power." [4] These projections insulate and harm individuals by acting as a constantly thickening veil of illusion between the ego and the real world.

From one perspective, 'the shadow...is roughly equivalent to the whole of the Freudian unconscious'; [5] and Jung himself asserted that 'the result of the Freudian method of elucidation is a minute elaboration of man's shadow-side unexampled in any previous age'. [6]

Jung also believed that "in spite of its function as a reservoir for human darkness—or perhaps because of this—the shadow is the seat of creativity."; [7] so that for some, it may be, 'the dark side of his being, his sinister shadow...represents the true spirit of life as against the arid scholar.' [8]