You are not missing anything. Holding contradictory beliefs is a disorder
to be eliminated. As with many other diseases, though, it may be used as a
technique to influence others. I know quite a few such people and I am very
much interested in their psychology (examples can be even found on this list
-- which is a great laboratory of human relationships).
Imagine a person who constantly teaches others (and calls it "assisting in
their growth and learning") that there is no Truth, that in a sense she is
always wrong. At the same time she claims to be on a higher level of human
development, higher than "unwashed masses". When you notice her doing
something wrong and you try to stop her, she says "I didn't do it and do not
accuse me without facts!" -- but no fact is a "fact" for her, because... you
know, there is no Truth... That's the heart of this disease.
Will you be scared to touch such a person? With more serious crimes you can
go to court, but in day to day human relationships? These kind of people
get away with many things! Of course they are not happy in life, they have
problems in relationships, but they DO get away with lots of stuff. They
even claim this is a way of "winning". They also try to spread the disease.
There must be some value in this disorder, as I find it quite popular.
Regards, Tadeusz (Tad) Niwinski from planet TeTa
tad@teta.ai http://www.teta.ai (604) 985-4159