Doublethinks

Part of speech: noun

Definitions

1. The act or process of simultaneously accepting two contradictory beliefs or opinions as correct ; a cognitive state involving holding opposing ideas without recognizing the inconsistency ; a psychological condition of embracing two conflicting truths as equally valid
2. The mental phenomenon where contradictory notions are maintained together without conscious conflict ; the capacity to believe two incompatible propositions simultaneously ; a mode of thought accepting inconsistent ideas as compatible and true
3. A psychological state of endorsing opposing viewpoints at once without awareness of their contradiction ; the practice of reconciling mutually exclusive beliefs in one's mind ; a cognitive condition of dual acceptance of conflicting truths as if they coexisted harmoniously

Etymology: "Doublethinks" is simply the plural of "doublethink," so it is the form that appears when more than one instance of the idea is meant. The base word was coined by George Orwell in his 1949 novel Nineteen Eighty-Four, where it is one of the terms of Newspeak, the artificial language the Party imposes on Oceania. The word is a plain compound of "double" and "think," and its literal sense is close to its meaning in the novel: the ability to hold two mutually contradictory beliefs at once and accept both. Orwell gave it a deliberately political role, presenting it as the mental discipline that lets a citizen believe the Party's current claim while remembering, and then forgetting, the claim it replaced. The compound was built from ordinary English parts, so its novelty lies entirely in Orwell's invention and the sinister sense he gave it.

Synonyms: contradictions, paradoxes, inconsistencies, ironies, cognitive dissonances