IMAGINATION
Jacob as the Supplanter and Self-Deception
Jacob, the supplanter, represents the imaginative faculty that 'deceives' the senses and reason by assuming a desired state as real, even when physical…
Related ideas
JacobSupplanterImaginationAssumptionSelf-DeceptionSupplantingImaginal ActDenying SensesPersuasion
Esau Jacob Israel
The inner man, by standing here, could desire to be elsewhere and deny the evidence of my senses, denying reason, dare to assume I am where I would like to be, and rearrange the furniture of my mind. Instead of using this to tell me I am here, I use other furniture - objects of my mind. Here I rearrange it and remain faithful to that state until it takes on the tones of reality. And when it seems to be sensory vivid and I open my eyes upon it, I am shocked to find I am still here. That is the inner man, called Jacob, the supplanter - he takes the place of the outer man. He supplanted his brother twice. First he took his birthright, then he took his blessing; so these are the two in conflict and the whole story is one of conflict. ... I deceive myself when I stand here and persuade myself that I am elsewhere. I deceive myself when I persuade myself you are what you would like to be. If I forget what you told me you are, and think only what you would like to be, and when I am self-persuaded you are such a person, I am self-deceived. So, Jacob is the deceiving one.
Jacob, the supplanter, represents the imaginative faculty that 'deceives' the senses and reason by assuming a desired state as real, even when physical evidence contradicts it. This 'self-deception' is the act of persuading oneself of a new reality, effectively supplanting the old one.