Oct 7, 2020
A livsløgn is a personal favorite untranslatable philosophical concept, invented by the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen in the play Vildanden, or The Wild Duck. A løgn is a lie or an untruth, and the prefix livs- means of life. Therefore, a livsløgn is commonly translated as a life-lie. Ibsen defined a livsløgn as the central delusion we have in life that keeps us happy. It could be anything ranging from the conviction that you will become a famous Hollywood actor to the belief that your ex-spouse will change their mind and remarry you. Once the lie is exposed as such, a person is left without hope for the future, and becomes only a shell of a human being.
Philosophy is not a science for the faint of heart.
