Anangeon

Techniques > Use of language > Figures of speech > Anangeon

Method | Example | Discussion | See also

Description

Anangeon is the admission of a charge, but then excusing it by stating its necessity.

Example

Yes, I shot him, but it was kill or be killed.

Indeed I kissed her, but if I had turned away it would have embarrassed the poor thing.

Sorry about the noise but I need to get to work.

Discussion

We all have a need to be 'right' and 'look good'. This leads to the need to explain, and so we will seek to justify actions that we know other disapprove of.

If we do something that is against our values, we experience the cognitive dissonance of conflicting beliefs and actions. Again, we need to justify our actions, including to ourselves.

Interrogators will encourage and play along with anangeon in order to get a confession. Those who seek to convert people will also use it in confessional practice, typically supplying the reason that the person was corrupted by their environment (and so distancing the convert from their past).

Classification: Falsehood