self-justifiers
Defenders of themselves
Self-justifiers are people who habitually defend or rationalize their own actions, especially when those actions are questionable.
The term implies a pattern of making excuses rather than accepting responsibility: Self-justifiers always have a reason why it wasn't their fault.
The behavior often involves reframing mistakes as reasonable choices given the circumstances.
Those who explain away
- defensivenessResistance to perceived attack
- denialRefusal to accept reality
- cognitive dissonanceDiscomfort from contradictory beliefs
- minimizersThings that lessen
deflectors · mental gymnastics · motivated reasoning · confirmation bias · projection · rationalization · willful blindness · face-saving
People who commit misdeeds
- perpetratorsThose who commit wrongs
- apologistsThose who defend beliefs
- unrepentantFeeling no remorse
- situational ethicsMorality contingent on context
normalizers · enablers · whataboutism · false equivalence · revisionism
Administrative government employees
- politiciansElected government representatives
- cover-upHiding wrongdoing from public
- plausible deniabilityArranged protection from accountability
- damage controlLimiting further harm
public relations · spin doctors · official narrative · standard practice · risk management
rationalizers
Those who explain away
- defensivenessResistance to perceived attack
- denialRefusal to accept reality
- cognitive dissonanceDiscomfort from contradictory beliefs
minimizers · deflectors · mental gymnastics · motivated reasoning · confirmation bias · projection · rationalization · willful blindness · face-saving · spin
wrongdoers
People who commit misdeeds
- perpetratorsThose who commit wrongs
- apologistsThose who defend beliefs
- unrepentantFeeling no remorse
situational ethics · normalizers · enablers · whataboutism · false equivalence · revisionism
bureaucrats
Administrative government employees
- politiciansElected government representatives
- cover-upHiding wrongdoing from public
- plausible deniabilityArranged protection from accountability
damage control · public relations · spin doctors · official narrative · standard practice · risk management
self, selves, selfish, selfishly, selfishness, selfless, selflessly, selflessness, justify