Artifice Research Paper

Although many people may like to think of America as a honest and moral nation, it is no secret that artifice has cemented itself as an indispensable skill, exploited by many to achieve their own ambitions. Artifice, characterized through the usage of cunning devices or expedients to deceive others, is often utilized by politicians and organizations to help push their own agendas. As illustrated by Chris Hedges in his social commentary, Empire of Illusion, “artifice” has emerged to become so ubiquitous and essential throughout American society, whether in business or the entertainment industry. Essential, in the essence that without it, people in any industry are more likely to be disadvantaged in achieving their personal goals. In today’s modern world, no area has seen more abuse of artifice than in the field of media and politics. Its common knowledge that newspapers skew reports to their own biases and politicians often tell half-truths to cover-up ulterior motives. Unfortunately, these politicians and media giants hold extremely influential positions in society, and their usage of artifice is extremely damaging to the integrity and accountability within the United States. As a result, the press as well as the general populace must utilize free speech to expose this behavior. Despite the complete immorality of the usage of artifice, such chicanery remains essential for success in media and politics.

When companies target consumers who are uninformed, they feed lies to the consumer, tricking them into buying something that they didn't want or even need. An example is when fast-food restaurants advertise a humongous burger. A consumer is intrigued with the size of this burger.But when they eventually purchase this burger, they are unsatisfied with the comparison of the advertisement and the actual product.

“Political leaders who use the tools of mass propaganda to create a sense of faux intimacy with citizens, no longer need to be competent, sincere, or honest.” In the quote, Hedges is explaining who uses artifice and what they do with their power. Artifice is a skill that is difficult to maintain and keep realistic. Being the most essential skill, artifice is the art of deceiving. People’s ideas and thoughts are altered for the gain of one and the loss of another. Everyone will need artifice at some point in their life to get the attention, item, or person they want. Specifically, our current President, Donald Trump, uses artifice all too much. He has exceeded his use of artifice. Trump won was because of his excellent use of artifice. He was able to persuade enough people to vote for him and his changes he would fulfill. Artifice takes quite skill to make believable for your audience. The importance of artifice during his ruling is immense, making it the most essential skill.

In the essay The Ways We Lie, author Stephanie Ericsson writes in depth about the different types of lies used by most people everyday. While listing examples of them, Ericsson questions her own experiences with lying and whether or not it was appropriate. By using hypothetical situations, true accounts, and personal occurrences, she highlights the moral conflicts and consequences that are a result of harmless fibs or impactful deceptions. In an essay detailing the lies told to ourselves and others, Ericsson points out one bold truth; everyone lies. Through her writing, Ericsson causes the reader to look into how they’ve lied in the past and how to effects others and the general greater good of society.

As a society we are guided by false veneers and deceit. Artifice is unfortunately a prominent tactic used in hope of gaining the respect of the public. Politicians and celebrities who we look up to utilize artifice on a daily basis to gain our recognition and approval. Even teenagers are being taught how to use artifice to their advantage. Chris Hedges believes that the use of artifice is a necessary device to achieve success. In his book, The Empire of Illusion, he discusses the appeal of artifice and how individuals become “unreal” and “ignored” if they do not utilize it. His viewpoint is immensely untrue because this “strategy” causes a never-ending cycle of conflict. If we continue to feign our true appearances, we will become unable to fix societal issues we face to today.

"Each trick crumples in the end as a result of the mental probability that the individuals who are superlatively sharp at beguiling others turn out to be similarly astute at misdirecting themselves. Disinformation eats the individuals who make it."

The Stages of Deception used as a way of Persuasion and the thought of Hope

The art of deception is an essential skill, especially in moments such as political debates and commercial promotions. In today's society, artifice is a widely utilized skill to persuade the public. The commercial market connects producers to consumers through propaganda which appeals to consumers through elements such as pathos, ethos, and logos. Utilizing these elements, the audience is immediately drawn into the viewpoint of the deceiver. Politicians tried to appear as ordinary and modest as possible to seem more appealing to their audience. But, it can be a deception. As Chris Hedges said in his Empire of Illusion, a story is the best form of artifice because the “consistency and emotional appeal of the story are paramount.” Often politicians tell stories to create a persona making themselves look more trustworthy.

“Put your best foot forward,” but if that foot is fake, is it really yours? Facades and fallacies have absorbed American politics and entertainment like vacuum of morality upon our society. Although Americans want to believe that our leaders are honest and are held to a superior moral standard than the rest of us, the very nature of politics and entertainment requires those who want to be successful to master the art of deception, or as noted by author Chris Hedges, “the most essential skill…is artifice.” Artifice is ultimately the common link with the most successful and most powerful people in the world. Utilizing artifice and emotional appeals to put on a show and create a powerful narrative is more important than qualifications for the

We are introduced to Da’s deceitful ways from the outset, tricking customers in a chit-chat style way to get “clued in” on how

As our society keeps expanding, artifice is a skill that dominates our society, and it’s used by many people. The general argument made by author Chris Hedges, in his work Empire of Illusion is that he argues that “the most essential skill… is artifice.” Artifice should be avoided but, that’s the only way people can become successful in life. For instance, since people want to make money, they make fake advertisements about their products.

Consequently, honest people act by saying what they mean. Underpinning the formation of lies is a speaker’s intention, technique, and concern for the truth. To define lying, Frankfurt

Decoy, fake, not real. Those words all describe the Trojan horse. The Trojan horse was part of the Greek King Odysseus's plan to fool their opponents in the Trojan War. He cam up with the idea to make the decoy Trojan Horse that some of his men could hide in. When it was built, some of his soldiers were put in it and the rest of the army fake surrendured, except the ones in the horse. Later in the evening the opponents found the Trojan horse and thought it was a gift from Athena. They took the horse back to their hometown and went to sleep. In the middle of the night, the soldiers got out of the horse and ended up killing all of their opponents in their sleep. They took the remaining people of Troy as their slaves back in Greece. All in all,

In the industry, knowing how people will react towards you is impactful as you want them to trust you but when it comes to your reputation and something is spreading around then you have to take any action you can. A little deceiving thing being told won´t mean the end and it is a much needed skill in the political theater as it will help people become intrigued with the following news that goes through communications. Deception is a device every political campaign or company needs to get their information to spread around but it needs to be something that most of the population would take interest

By combining the lessons of all three books, the marketer can successfully create a unique business, spread the business idea, and now live the story of that business. As a group, the three books outline a powerful marketing strategy that involves both the company itself and its customers. Not ignoring his own lessons, Seth Godin has added the buzz building touch of long Pinocchio style fake noses for his readers. As a meme, the noses build a story, and spread the book’s idea. Are all marketers truly liars, or do the business customers the ones who create the lie? Seth answers that question very well with the fake liar’s noses. The reader wearing the nose has already internalized the story. It’s no longer a lie, but a true story. The reader listening to and understanding Seth Godin’s marketing philosophy internalizes the book’s concepts of storytelling, into her own worldview. The book and its story becomes a truth for that reader.