doublethink

Doublethink is the ability to hold two or more mutually contradictory beliefs, values, or attitudes simultaneously and to accept them as true. The term was coined by George Orwell in his dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four (1949) to describe a deliberate mental discipline used by an authoritarian state to control thought.

In the novel, doublethink is reinforced by propaganda, censorship, and the state’s official ideology, and is supported by Newspeak, the controlled language designed to limit the range of acceptable thought. Citizens are expected to accept contradictory propositions, such as “War is Peace” and “Freedom is Slavery,” and to rewrite or overlook past records to fit current doctrine. Doublethink thus serves as a mechanism for political loyalty and social compliance.

Beyond fiction, the term is used to describe real-world situations in which individuals or groups maintain contradictory beliefs or rationalize conflicting policies due to ideological pressures, misinformation, or strategic necessity. Some scholars view doublethink as a form of extreme cognitive dissonance management or motivated reasoning, while others emphasize its role in propaganda and authoritarian control.