108: What is “Gaslighting”?

P&C drink and review some hot and cold sake, then discuss gaslighting.

They start with a review of the 1940 film with Ingrid Bergman to get the original meaning of the term, then, along with special guest Longinus, go through a list of modern issues that might or might not be gaslighting.

The goal of gaslighting is to get the person being gaslighted (gaslit?) to accept as true something the gaslighter knows is false, to the benefit of the gaslighter. But as you go through things that have been held up as examples, it can get complicated.

• Does it have to be a single deceiver on a single victim?
• Does there have to be an intent to deceive?
• Does it have to be sustained — not a one-off?
• Does there need to be malice involved?
• Is a sign of gaslighting that “the argument is over”?
• Can there be unintentional gaslighting?
• What if you’re lying in service of a greater good?

By the end of this show you might not have a perfect answer, but you’ll have a better sense of the concept.