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Projection of Truth

A cognitive bias where one projects the property of "truth" onto one's own beliefs while denying it to others—assuming that what one believes is simply what's true, and that disagreement can only be explained by error, bias, or bad faith. Projection of truth operates when someone says "I'm just telling the truth" as if that settled the matter; when they treat their own interpretations as facts and others' as opinions; when they cannot entertain the possibility that they might be wrong. The projection lies in the identification of one's own perspective with truth itself—the assumption that one doesn't have beliefs, only knowledge; doesn't have opinions, only insights; doesn't have a perspective, only reality. It's the cognitive foundation of dogmatism, the certainty that makes dialogue impossible.
Example: "He didn't argue—he just asserted that he was telling the truth and she was lying. Projection of truth: assuming that his version of events simply was reality, and any alternative was deception."
by Dumu The Void March 19, 2026
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