{ "type": "topic", "site": { "name": "Leafy Quotes", "language": "en", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com" }, "formats": "Every page has two versions with the same data: JSON (the page address + .json) and markdown (the page address + .md). Append .json or .md to any `url` in this document.", "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2", "heading": "Quotes about self-deception", "json": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2.json", "markdown": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2.md", "quotes_count": 97, "authors_count": 74, "parent": { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies", "heading": "Quotes about lies" }, "children": [], "quotes": [ { "id": "fe3b71e5-4485-4f5e-9267-bc978a772be4", "slug": "people-seldom-look", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-quinn/my-ishmael/people-seldom-look", "text": "People seldom look very hard for things they don’t want to find.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Daniel Quinn", "slug": "daniel-quinn", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-quinn" }, "book": { "title": "My Ishmael", "slug": "my-ishmael", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-quinn/my-ishmael" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 63, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Daniel_Quinn#My_Ishmael_(1997)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:04:42" }, { "id": "94941895-1dc5-4d4b-980d-3c722bd651dc", "slug": "havent-you-stopped", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edgar-pangborn/a-mirror-for-observers/havent-you-stopped", "text": "Haven’t you stopped to wonder why men want a scapegoat? What is it, what was it ever, but a device to help them avoid looking at themselves?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edgar Pangborn", "slug": "edgar-pangborn", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edgar-pangborn" }, "book": { "title": "A Mirror for Observers", "slug": "a-mirror-for-observers", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edgar-pangborn/a-mirror-for-observers" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 214, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edgar_Pangborn#A_Mirror_for_Observers_(1954)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:04:40" }, { "id": "1f4aec15-a769-4257-a6fc-c04a1f7eac94", "slug": "what-hurts-us-worst", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edgar-pangborn/good-neighbors-and-other-strangers/what-hurts-us-worst", "text": "What hurts us worst is to have our favorite self-deceptions stripped away.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Edgar Pangborn", "slug": "edgar-pangborn", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edgar-pangborn" }, "book": { "title": "Good Neighbors and Other Strangers", "slug": "good-neighbors-and-other-strangers", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/edgar-pangborn/good-neighbors-and-other-strangers" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 169, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Edgar_Pangborn#Good_Neighbors_and_Other_Strangers_(1972)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:04:40" }, { "id": "a3179eb6-351d-4bb0-a6cc-12319a912710", "slug": "the-success-of-science", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/chris-mooney/the-republican-war-on-science/the-success-of-science", "text": "The success of science depends on an apparatus of democratic adjudication—anonymous peer review, open debate, the fact that a graduate student can criticize a tenured professor. These mechanisms are more or less explicitly designed to counter human self-deception. People always think they’re right, and powerful people will tend to use their authority to bolster their prestige and suppress inconvenient opposition. You try to set up the game of science so that the truth will out despite this ugly side of human nature.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Chris Mooney", "slug": "chris-mooney", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/chris-mooney" }, "book": { "title": "The Republican War on Science", "slug": "the-republican-war-on-science", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/chris-mooney/the-republican-war-on-science" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 1, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "science", "slug": "science", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/science" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Chris_Mooney#The_Republican_War_on_Science_(2005)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:04:00" }, { "id": "1a27e42c-a546-4d78-b5a8-a9c5d4dcbe95", "slug": "people-believe-what", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jonathan-lethem/the-arrest/people-believe-what", "text": "People believe what they need to believe.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jonathan Lethem", "slug": "jonathan-lethem", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jonathan-lethem" }, "book": { "title": "The Arrest", "slug": "the-arrest", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jonathan-lethem/the-arrest" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 236, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "faith", "slug": "faith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/faith" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jonathan_Lethem#The_Arrest_(2020)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:50" }, { "id": "93c3fc58-4d77-46ae-a7bb-2e1c7ae591a1", "slug": "ive-never-had", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami/1q84/ive-never-had", "text": "I’ve never had the slightest interest in matters of the occult. People have been repeating the same kinds of fraud throughout the world since the beginning of time, using the same old tricks, and still these despicable fakes continue to thrive. That is because most people believe not so much in truth as in things they wish were the truth. Their eyes may be wide open, but they don’t see a thing. Tricking them is as easy as twisting a baby’s arm.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Haruki Murakami", "slug": "haruki-murakami", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami" }, "book": { "title": "1Q84", "slug": "1q84", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/haruki-murakami/1q84" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 305, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" }, { "name": "deception", "slug": "deception", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/deception" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/1Q84#Book_1_(April-June)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:38" }, { "id": "81ae9da4-0a1a-4be1-99c5-1aec46e75a54", "slug": "i-suppose-its", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jon-ronson/so-youve-been-publicly-shamed/i-suppose-its", "text": "I suppose it's no surprise that we feel the need to dehumanize the people we hurt—before, during, or after the hurting occurs. But it always comes as a surprise. In psychology it's known as cognitive dissonance. It's the idea that it feels stressful and painful for us to hold two contradictory ideas at the same time (like the idea that we're kind people and the idea that we've just destroyed someone). And so to ease the pain we create illusory ways to justify our contradictory behavior.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jon Ronson", "slug": "jon-ronson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jon-ronson" }, "book": { "title": "So You've Been Publicly Shamed", "slug": "so-youve-been-publicly-shamed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jon-ronson/so-youve-been-publicly-shamed" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 81, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "cruelty", "slug": "cruelty", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/cruelty" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" }, { "name": "psychology", "slug": "psychology", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/psychology" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jon_Ronson#So_You've_Been_Publicly_Shamed_(2015)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:38" }, { "id": "f1250a0c-fa82-436f-a9ab-e94bd1d90fee", "slug": "this-is-a-terrible", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ben-aaronovitch/amongst-our-weapons/this-is-a-terrible", "text": "“This is a terrible work,” I said. “Why did you do it?” “The usual reasons,” said the Magister. “I told myself it was piety and duty to the Church, but a thousand years of contemplation will batter down the doors of one’s own delusions.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ben Aaronovitch", "slug": "ben-aaronovitch", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ben-aaronovitch" }, "book": { "title": "Amongst Our Weapons", "slug": "amongst-our-weapons", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ben-aaronovitch/amongst-our-weapons" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 279, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ben_Aaronovitch#Amongst_our_Weapons_(2022)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:34" }, { "id": "7cd8cee0-83cc-4ab5-b31b-dc25561e5827", "slug": "she-paused-then", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jim-c-hines/codex-born/she-paused-then", "text": "She paused, then added, “Besides, you don’t really want to know what I think. You’ve already come to your own conclusion. You just want me to talk you out of it.” I had forgotten how annoying Nidhi could be when she was right.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jim C. Hines", "slug": "jim-c-hines", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jim-c-hines" }, "book": { "title": "Codex Born", "slug": "codex-born", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jim-c-hines/codex-born" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 224, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "choices", "slug": "choices", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/choices" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jim_C._Hines#Codex_Born_(2013)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:20" }, { "id": "81e56d24-abf1-4c0a-a720-b4ce6595e049", "slug": "in-other-words", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/naomi-klein/this-changes-everything/in-other-words", "text": "… In other words, it is always easier to deny reality than to allow our worldview to be shattered …", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Naomi Klein", "slug": "naomi-klein", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/naomi-klein" }, "book": { "title": "This Changes Everything", "slug": "this-changes-everything", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/naomi-klein/this-changes-everything" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "reality", "slug": "reality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/reality" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/This_Changes_Everything_(book)#The_Right_is_Right:_The_Revolutionary_Power_of_Climate_Change", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:17" }, { "id": "e70d92a5-75c4-4b45-ad78-a52368536f30", "slug": "as-humans-we-reflexively", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/greg-craven/whats-the-worst-that-could-happen/as-humans-we-reflexively", "text": "As humans, we reflexively reject arguments that contradict what we would like to be true.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Greg Craven", "slug": "greg-craven", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/greg-craven" }, "book": { "title": "What's the Worst That Could Happen?", "slug": "whats-the-worst-that-could-happen", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/greg-craven/whats-the-worst-that-could-happen" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 74, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Greg_Craven#What's_the_Worst_That_Could_Happen%3F:_A_Rational_Response_to_the_Climate_Change_Debate_(2009)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:02" }, { "id": "b442f17e-26a3-4379-bf6a-75e908db8b0a", "slug": "knowing-how-to-combat", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/greg-craven/whats-the-worst-that-could-happen/knowing-how-to-combat", "text": "Knowing how to combat your own confirmation bias helps remove that huge handicap that we all share—the tendency for our beliefs to drift toward what we want to be true.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Greg Craven", "slug": "greg-craven", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/greg-craven" }, "book": { "title": "What's the Worst That Could Happen?", "slug": "whats-the-worst-that-could-happen", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/greg-craven/whats-the-worst-that-could-happen" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 66, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Greg_Craven#What's_the_Worst_That_Could_Happen%3F:_A_Rational_Response_to_the_Climate_Change_Debate_(2009)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:03:02" }, { "id": "389f7786-82e2-4ad5-9a3c-8ab997cec18d", "slug": "if-self-deception-was", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/richard-yates/liars-in-love/if-self-deception-was", "text": "if self-deception was an illness she was well into its advanced stages.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Richard Yates", "slug": "richard-yates", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/richard-yates" }, "book": { "title": "Liars in Love", "slug": "liars-in-love", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/richard-yates/liars-in-love" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 221, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Yates#Liars_in_Love_(1981)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:44" }, { "id": "2e6cc8be-0516-4144-886a-35261ddfe270", "slug": "or-was-it-possible", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/richard-yates/cold-spring-harbor/or-was-it-possible", "text": "Or was it possible that nobody's reasons could be all that clearly defined? Maybe men and women came together in ways as random and mindless as the mating of birds or pigs or insects, so that any talk of \"reasons\" would always be vain, always be self-deceiving and beside the point. Well, that would be one way of looking at it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Richard Yates", "slug": "richard-yates", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/richard-yates" }, "book": { "title": "Cold Spring Harbor", "slug": "cold-spring-harbor", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/richard-yates/cold-spring-harbor" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 46, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "love", "slug": "love", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/love" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Richard_Yates#Cold_Spring_Harbor_(1986)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:43" }, { "id": "91cd3d96-2d6a-4827-9e66-009645e97a9d", "slug": "when-reality-does", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michel-rolph-trouillot/silencing-the-past/when-reality-does", "text": "When reality does not coincide with deeply held beliefs, human beings tend to phrase interpretations that force reality within the scope of these beliefs. They devise formulas to repress the unthinkable and to bring it back within the realm of accepted discourse.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Michel-Rolph Trouillot", "slug": "michel-rolph-trouillot", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michel-rolph-trouillot" }, "book": { "title": "Silencing the Past", "slug": "silencing-the-past", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michel-rolph-trouillot/silencing-the-past" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 72, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "faith", "slug": "faith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/faith" }, { "name": "reality", "slug": "reality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/reality" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michel-Rolph_Trouillot#Silencing_the_Past:_Power_and_the_Production_of_History_(1995)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:37" }, { "id": "05ddda6b-9398-4ff7-9ecb-370b333d7710", "slug": "human-history-extends", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/divergence/human-history-extends", "text": "Human history extends for approximately ten thousand years before the Expansion, with written records available for roughly half that time. Unfortunately, the human tendency for self-delusion, self-aggrandizement, and baseless faith in human superiority over all other intelligent life-forms renders much of the written record unreliable. Serious research workers are advised to seek alternative primary data sources concerning humans. —From the Universal Species Catalog (Subclass: Sapients)", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Sheffield", "slug": "charles-sheffield", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield" }, "book": { "title": "Divergence", "slug": "divergence", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-sheffield/divergence" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 282, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "history", "slug": "history", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/history" }, { "name": "pride", "slug": "pride", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pride" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Sheffield#Divergence_(1991)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:33" }, { "id": "d9ac7d6d-2207-49b0-9c7b-1ae1e09e2a9a", "slug": "how-interesting-kay", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/steve-perry/the-tejano-conflict/how-interesting-kay", "text": "“How interesting,” Kay said. “The human capacity for denial sometimes seems to be quite large.” “Ain’t that the truth.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Steve Perry", "slug": "steve-perry", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/steve-perry" }, "book": { "title": "The Tejano Conflict", "slug": "the-tejano-conflict", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/steve-perry/the-tejano-conflict" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steve_Perry_(author)#The_Tejano_Conflict_(2014)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:29" }, { "id": "04cb469b-8bd3-48c7-8dc5-d725ab9ea8cf", "slug": "life-goes-on-yes", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/steven-r-boyett/ariel/life-goes-on-yes", "text": "Life goes on, yes, and our capacity for self-deception accompanies it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Steven R. Boyett", "slug": "steven-r-boyett", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/steven-r-boyett" }, "book": { "title": "Ariel", "slug": "ariel", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/steven-r-boyett/ariel" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 388, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "life", "slug": "life", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/life" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Steven_Boyett#Ariel_(1983)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:14" }, { "id": "6bbd1dc7-d2aa-47fb-90a8-49eec4e39378", "slug": "it-was-easy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/keith-laumer/the-other-side-of-time/it-was-easy", "text": "It was easy to see the mechanics of schizophrenia at work here. From wishing, it was an easy jump to believe.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Keith Laumer", "slug": "keith-laumer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/keith-laumer" }, "book": { "title": "The Other Side of Time", "slug": "the-other-side-of-time", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/keith-laumer/the-other-side-of-time" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 123, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "faith", "slug": "faith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/faith" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Keith_Laumer#The_Other_Side_of_Time_(1965)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:02:07" }, { "id": "8d35662c-fb08-487a-ac6e-f309b7a2c7c0", "slug": "almost-any-bunkum", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-allen-paulos/a-mathematician-reads-the-newspaper/almost-any-bunkum", "text": "Almost any bunkum has some partial validity, and we regularly read into the confusing mess what we want to see.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Allen Paulos", "slug": "john-allen-paulos", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-allen-paulos" }, "book": { "title": "A Mathematician Reads the Newspaper", "slug": "a-mathematician-reads-the-newspaper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-allen-paulos/a-mathematician-reads-the-newspaper" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 202, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Allen_Paulos#A_Mathematician_Reads_the_Newspaper_(1995)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:59" }, { "id": "b05c70fa-e99a-491d-bc32-ba23fc9c1c10", "slug": "words-bend-our", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dan-simmons/hyperion/words-bend-our", "text": "Words bend our thinking to infinite paths of self-delusion, and the fact that we spend most of our mental lives in brain mansions built of words means that we lack the objectivity necessary to see the terrible distortion of reality which language brings.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Dan Simmons", "slug": "dan-simmons", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dan-simmons" }, "book": { "title": "Hyperion", "slug": "hyperion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dan-simmons/hyperion" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 191, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "language", "slug": "language", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/language" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Dan_Simmons#Hyperion_(1989)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:52" }, { "id": "472a86a4-3417-4335-8575-fb308ed68d6f", "slug": "gentlemen-lacking-substantial", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux/gentlemen-lacking-substantial", "text": "Gentlemen lacking substantial sympathy with their leader found it to be comfortable to deceive themselves, and raise their hearts at the same time by the easy enthusiasm of noise.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Anthony Trollope", "slug": "anthony-trollope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope" }, "book": { "title": "Phineas Redux", "slug": "phineas-redux", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/anthony-trollope/phineas-redux" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Phineas_Redux#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:49" }, { "id": "0d55d459-616e-41ab-bfb5-6c9f940e3a13", "slug": "theres-never-been", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/leigh-brackett/the-long-tomorrow/theres-never-been", "text": "There’s never been an act done since the beginning, from a kid stealing candy to a dictator committing genocide, that the person doing it didn’t think he was fully justified. That’s a mental trick called rationalizing, and it’s done the human race more harm than anything else you can name.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Leigh Brackett", "slug": "leigh-brackett", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/leigh-brackett" }, "book": { "title": "The Long Tomorrow", "slug": "the-long-tomorrow", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/leigh-brackett/the-long-tomorrow" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Leigh_Brackett#The_Long_Tomorrow_(1955)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:21" }, { "id": "b9a371bb-fd06-4459-8a2c-9e057346cb4b", "slug": "there-are-many", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-gilbert/stumbling-on-happiness/there-are-many", "text": "There are many different techniques for collecting, interpreting, and analyzing facts, and different techniques often lead to different conclusions, which is why scientists disagree about the dangers of global warming, the benefits of supply-side economics, and the wisdom of low-carbohydrate diets. Good scientists deal with this complication by choosing the techniques they consider most appropriate and then accepting the conclusions that these techniques produce, regardless of what those conclusions might be. But bad scientists take advantage of this complication by choosing techniques that are especially likely to produce the conclusions they favour, thus allowing them to reach favoured conclusions by way of supportive facts. Decades of research suggests that when it comes to collecting and analyzing facts about ourselves and our experiences, most of us have the equivalent of an advanced degree in Really Bad Science.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Daniel Gilbert", "slug": "daniel-gilbert", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-gilbert" }, "book": { "title": "Stumbling on Happiness", "slug": "stumbling-on-happiness", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-gilbert/stumbling-on-happiness" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 164, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Daniel_T._Gilbert#Stumbling_on_Happiness,_2006", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:20" }, { "id": "5ab5619c-bd4a-487e-8da9-f9df6589110b", "slug": "the-more-we-are", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/marshall-goldsmith/what-got-you-here-wont-get-you-there/the-more-we-are", "text": "The more we are committed to believing that something is true, the less likely we are to believe that its opposite is true, even in the face of clear evidence that shows we are wrong.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Marshall Goldsmith", "slug": "marshall-goldsmith", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/marshall-goldsmith" }, "book": { "title": "What Got You Here Won't Get You There", "slug": "what-got-you-here-wont-get-you-there", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/marshall-goldsmith/what-got-you-here-wont-get-you-there" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 24, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Marshall_Goldsmith#What_Got_You_Here_Won't_Get_You_There,_2008", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:01:16" }, { "id": "cfd89fea-1004-4e27-be3e-3fa195096653", "slug": "rashmika-could-tell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/absolution-gap/rashmika-could-tell", "text": "Rashmika could tell when anyone around her was lying. But seeing through her own deceptions was another matter entirely.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Alastair Reynolds", "slug": "alastair-reynolds", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds" }, "book": { "title": "Absolution Gap", "slug": "absolution-gap", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alastair-reynolds/absolution-gap" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 119, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alastair_Reynolds#Absolution_Gap_(2003)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:39" }, { "id": "df0a32b5-f636-4aa7-86d4-11a96718c994", "slug": "youd-think-people", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-levitin/the-organized-mind/youd-think-people", "text": "You’d think people would realize they’re bad at multitasking and would quit. But a cognitive illusion sets in, fueled in part by a dopamine-adrenaline feedback loop, in which multitaskers think they are doing great.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Daniel Levitin", "slug": "daniel-levitin", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-levitin" }, "book": { "title": "The Organized Mind", "slug": "the-organized-mind", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-levitin/the-organized-mind" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Daniel_Levitin#The_Organized_Mind_(2014)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:11" }, { "id": "06284aec-69ae-4678-a008-be93fd73a4fa", "slug": "its-not-just", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-levitin/the-organized-mind/its-not-just", "text": "It's not just that we remember things wrongly, but we don't even know we're remembering them wrongly, doggedly insisting that the inaccuracies are in fact true.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Daniel Levitin", "slug": "daniel-levitin", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-levitin" }, "book": { "title": "The Organized Mind", "slug": "the-organized-mind", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/daniel-levitin/the-organized-mind" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "memory", "slug": "memory", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/memory" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Daniel_Levitin#The_Organized_Mind_(2014)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:11" }, { "id": "98f17735-e4c5-40ab-a8c7-60932c6b6ab0", "slug": "the-mind-works", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/justin-cronin/the-ferryman/the-mind-works", "text": "The mind works wondrously; it is capable of astonishing feats. It is the only machine in nature capable of thinking one thing while knowing its opposite. The bright, busy surface of life - that is the key. How easily it distracts us, like a magician who waves a wand with one hand while, with the other, he plucks a rabbit from his vest. Here is the golden morning, we say; here is the beautiful sea. Here is my beautiful home, my adoring wife, my morning cup of coffee, and my refreshing daybreak swim. We look no deeper into things because we do not desire this; neither are we meant to. That is the design of the world, to trick us into believing it is one thing, when it's entirely another.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Justin Cronin", "slug": "justin-cronin", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/justin-cronin" }, "book": { "title": "The Ferryman", "slug": "the-ferryman", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/justin-cronin/the-ferryman" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Justin_Cronin#The_Ferryman_(2023)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T23:00:05" }, { "id": "55726fff-5940-493b-bcc1-e935d5e1961b", "slug": "human-beings-have", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-twelve-hawks/the-traveler/human-beings-have", "text": "Human beings have an almost unlimited capacity for self-delusion. We can justify any amount of sadness if it fits our own particular standard of reality.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Twelve Hawks", "slug": "john-twelve-hawks", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-twelve-hawks" }, "book": { "title": "The Traveler", "slug": "the-traveler", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-twelve-hawks/the-traveler" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Twelve_Hawks#The_Traveler_(2005)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:59:59" }, { "id": "7d363319-618d-4712-8313-eb7089e99941", "slug": "we-run-carelessly", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal/pensees/we-run-carelessly", "text": "We run carelessly to the precipice, after we have put something before us to prevent us seeing it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Blaise Pascal", "slug": "blaise-pascal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal" }, "book": { "title": "Pensees", "slug": "pensees", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal/pensees" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pens%C3%A9es#Section_II:_The_Misery_of_Man_without_God_(60-183)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:59:48" }, { "id": "dffb8c17-4816-4de6-8445-af64fa82c4fc", "slug": "truly-it-is-an-evil", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal/pensees/truly-it-is-an-evil", "text": "Truly it is an evil to be full of faults; but it is a still greater evil... to be unwilling to recognise them, since that is to add the further fault of a voluntary illusion. We do not like others to deceive us; we do not think it fair that they should be held in higher esteem by us than they deserve; it is not then fair that we should deceive them, and should wish them to esteem us more highly than we deserve.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Blaise Pascal", "slug": "blaise-pascal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal" }, "book": { "title": "Pensees", "slug": "pensees", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal/pensees" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pens%C3%A9es#Section_II:_The_Misery_of_Man_without_God_(60-183)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:59:47" }, { "id": "78b5d8b8-1e29-4212-9df5-ec7e42d14a8f", "slug": "the-will-is-one", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal/pensees/the-will-is-one", "text": "The will is one of the chief factors in belief, not that it creates belief, but because things are true or false according to the aspect in which we look at them. The will, which prefers one aspect to another, turns away the mind from considering the qualities of all that it does not like to see; and thus the mind, moving in accord with the will, stops to consider the aspect which it likes, and so judges by what it sees.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Blaise Pascal", "slug": "blaise-pascal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal" }, "book": { "title": "Pensees", "slug": "pensees", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal/pensees" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pens%C3%A9es#Section_II:_The_Misery_of_Man_without_God_(60-183)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:59:47" }, { "id": "5bdac508-8db1-4f2c-a0f9-37d003670d6f", "slug": "self-love-the-nature-of-self-love", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal/pensees/self-love-the-nature-of-self-love", "text": "Self-love.—The nature of self-love and of this human Ego is to love self only and consider self only. But what will man do? He cannot prevent this object that he loves from being full of faults and wants. He wants to be great, and he sees himself small. He wants to be happy, and he sees himself miserable. He wants to be perfect, and he sees himself full of imperfections. He wants to be the object of love and esteem among men, and he sees that his faults merit only their hatred and contempt. This embarrassment in which he finds himself produces in him the most unrighteous and criminal passion that can be imagined; for he conceives a mortal enmity against that truth which reproves him, and which convinces him of his faults. He would annihilate it, but, unable to destroy it in its essence, he destroys it as far as possible in his own knowledge and in that of others; that is to say, he devotes all his attention to hiding his faults both from others and from himself, and he cannot endure either that others should point them out to him, or that they should see them.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Blaise Pascal", "slug": "blaise-pascal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal" }, "book": { "title": "Pensees", "slug": "pensees", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/blaise-pascal/pensees" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "selfishness", "slug": "selfishness", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/selfishness" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Pens%C3%A9es#Section_II:_The_Misery_of_Man_without_God_(60-183)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:59:47" }, { "id": "c6cacbc4-79f6-4d19-8a44-f74a4bf2a887", "slug": "but-each-man", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-bishop/a-funeral-for-the-eyes-of-fire/but-each-man", "text": "But each man who worships you sees only what he wishes to see rather than any mystery you may actually embody.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Michael Bishop", "slug": "michael-bishop", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-bishop" }, "book": { "title": "A Funeral for the Eyes of Fire", "slug": "a-funeral-for-the-eyes-of-fire", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-bishop/a-funeral-for-the-eyes-of-fire" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 113, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "religion", "slug": "religion", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/religion" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michael_Bishop#A_Funeral_for_the_Eyes_of_Fire_(1975)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:59:04" }, { "id": "bda040b0-9d4b-4b15-85f8-a465e6b712e2", "slug": "emotions-are-continually", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-greene/the-laws-of-human-nature/emotions-are-continually", "text": "Emotions are continually affecting our thought processes and decisions, below the level of our awareness. And the most common emotion of them all is the desire for pleasure and the avoidance of pain. Our thoughts almost inevitably revolve around this desire; we simply recoil from entertaining ideas that are unpleasant or painful to us. We imagine we are looking for the truth, or being realistic, when in fact we are holding on to ideas that bring a release from tension and soothe our egos, make us feel superior. This pleasure principle in thinking is the source of all of our mental biases. If you believe that you are somehow immune to any of the following biases, it is simply an example of the pleasure principle in action. Instead, it is best to search and see how they continually operate inside you, as well as learn how to identify such irrationality in others.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Robert Greene", "slug": "robert-greene", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-greene" }, "book": { "title": "The Laws of Human Nature", "slug": "the-laws-of-human-nature", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/robert-greene/the-laws-of-human-nature" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "emotions", "slug": "emotions", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/emotions" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Robert_Greene_(American_author)#The_Laws_of_Human_Nature_(2018)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:58" }, { "id": "f7c6f5d3-9b4e-4b88-99fa-69d7a139084f", "slug": "the-gods-are", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-rr-martin/a-dance-with-dragons/the-gods-are", "text": "The gods are blind. And men see only what they wish.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George RR Martin", "slug": "george-rr-martin", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-rr-martin" }, "book": { "title": "A Dance with Dragons", "slug": "a-dance-with-dragons", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-rr-martin/a-dance-with-dragons" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "god", "slug": "god", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/god" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire#A_Dance_with_Dragons_(2011)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:55" }, { "id": "0b21e7a5-d0e4-49ae-8d32-e6b924956cd9", "slug": "all-men-lie", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-rr-martin/a-feast-for-crows/all-men-lie", "text": "All men lie when they are afraid. Some tell many lies, some but a few. Some have only one great lie they tell so often that they almost come to believe it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "George RR Martin", "slug": "george-rr-martin", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-rr-martin" }, "book": { "title": "A Feast for Crows", "slug": "a-feast-for-crows", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/george-rr-martin/a-feast-for-crows" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "fear", "slug": "fear", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/fear" }, { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Song_of_Ice_and_Fire#A_Feast_for_Crows_(2005)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:53" }, { "id": "8417ed62-f346-4eed-bf99-23ed4bfb7ce6", "slug": "if-only-she", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-varley/the-ophiuchi-hotline/if-only-she", "text": "If only she could convince them, perhaps she could convince herself.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Varley", "slug": "john-varley", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-varley" }, "book": { "title": "The Ophiuchi Hotline", "slug": "the-ophiuchi-hotline", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-varley/the-ophiuchi-hotline" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 89, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Varley#The_Ophiuchi_Hotline_(1977)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:34" }, { "id": "8b16eb1d-a13e-4902-93c9-4d03cb6ff354", "slug": "as-usual-he-underestimated", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-morrow/blameless-in-abaddon/as-usual-he-underestimated", "text": "As usual, He underestimated the human potential for self-deception.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "James Morrow", "slug": "james-morrow", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-morrow" }, "book": { "title": "Blameless in Abaddon", "slug": "blameless-in-abaddon", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-morrow/blameless-in-abaddon" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 28, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_K._Morrow#Blameless_in_Abaddon_(1996)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:29" }, { "id": "809ba59a-8542-4757-8cbe-7ec39f5f0f18", "slug": "theres-nothing-quite", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-morrow/towing-jehovah/theres-nothing-quite", "text": "There’s nothing quite so pernicious as wishful thinking.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "James Morrow", "slug": "james-morrow", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-morrow" }, "book": { "title": "Towing Jehovah", "slug": "towing-jehovah", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/james-morrow/towing-jehovah" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 285, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/James_K._Morrow#Towing_Jehovah_(1994)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:29" }, { "id": "f68cf288-cec1-41e3-a48b-5426d0c48e1c", "slug": "we-live-today", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/nelson-algren/nonconformity/we-live-today", "text": "We live today in a laboratory of human suffering as vast and terrible as that in which Dickens and Dostoevsky wrote. The only real difference being that the England of Dickens and the Russia of Dostoevsky could not afford the soundscreens and the smokescreens with which we so ingeniously conceal our true condition from ourselves.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Nelson Algren", "slug": "nelson-algren", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/nelson-algren" }, "book": { "title": "Nonconformity", "slug": "nonconformity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/nelson-algren/nonconformity" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "suffering", "slug": "suffering", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/suffering" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nelson_Algren#Nonconformity_(1953/1996)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:25" }, { "id": "09de906b-a252-4355-b836-27b320c9316a", "slug": "to-see-life", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/nelson-algren/nonconformity/to-see-life", "text": "To see life steadily, and see it whole, as a creature of the deep sees it, from below. Our myths are so many, our vision so dim, our self-deception so deep and our smugness so gross that scarcely any way now remains of reporting the American Century except from behind the billboards.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Nelson Algren", "slug": "nelson-algren", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/nelson-algren" }, "book": { "title": "Nonconformity", "slug": "nonconformity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/nelson-algren/nonconformity" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Nelson_Algren#Nonconformity_(1953/1996)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:58:25" }, { "id": "6deccb8a-a708-420e-922d-a91bb1e03a2a", "slug": "and-now-i-am-going", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-gemmell/the-king-beyond-the-gate/and-now-i-am-going", "text": "And now I am going to tell you a great truth, and if you are wise, you will take it to your heart. All men are stupid. They are full of fear and insecurity—it makes them weak. Always the other man seems stronger, more confident, more capable. It is a lie of the worst kind, for we lie to ourselves ... How do you know? You do not! You listened to the voice of your inadequacy, and because you believed, you are in my power. If I draw my sword, you are dead!", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "David Gemmell", "slug": "david-gemmell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-gemmell" }, "book": { "title": "The King Beyond the Gate", "slug": "the-king-beyond-the-gate", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/david-gemmell/the-king-beyond-the-gate" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "fear", "slug": "fear", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/fear" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/David_Gemmell#The_King_Beyond_the_Gate", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:54" }, { "id": "750a59a7-181e-4059-ba45-30abaeb73ef8", "slug": "youre-abbreviating-heavily", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/n-k-jemisin/the-obelisk-gate/youre-abbreviating-heavily", "text": "You’re abbreviating heavily, not lying. That’s what you tell yourself.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "N. K. Jemisin", "slug": "n-k-jemisin", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/n-k-jemisin" }, "book": { "title": "The Obelisk Gate", "slug": "the-obelisk-gate", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/n-k-jemisin/the-obelisk-gate" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 293, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/N._K._Jemisin#The_Obelisk_Gate_(2016)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:50" }, { "id": "1db79bd7-a710-4b54-a37d-d739d6f39caf", "slug": "the-more-money", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-lewis/flash-boys/the-more-money", "text": "The more money to be made gaming the financial markets, the more people would decide they were put on earth to game the financial markets – and create romantic narratives to explain to themselves why a life spent gaming the financial markets is a purposeful life.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Michael Lewis", "slug": "michael-lewis", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-lewis" }, "book": { "title": "Flash Boys", "slug": "flash-boys", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-lewis/flash-boys" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 266, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "money", "slug": "money", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/money" }, { "name": "meaning of life", "slug": "meaning-of-life", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/meaning-of-life" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michael_Lewis_(author)#Flash_Boys_(2014)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:42" }, { "id": "c9825e58-442d-459e-b994-026e037e0cbd", "slug": "here-was-a-strange", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-lewis/the-big-short/here-was-a-strange", "text": "Here was a strange but true fact: The closer you were to the market, the harder it was to perceive its folly.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Michael Lewis", "slug": "michael-lewis", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-lewis" }, "book": { "title": "The Big Short", "slug": "the-big-short", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-lewis/the-big-short" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 91, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "money", "slug": "money", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/money" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michael_Lewis_(author)#The_Big_Short_(2010)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:41" }, { "id": "fc2f38ba-cc10-4c97-85d6-f250c79022e6", "slug": "yes-no-matter", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alfred-bester/the-stars-my-destination/yes-no-matter", "text": "Yes, no matter how we defend ourselves against the outside we’re always licked by something from the inside. There’s no defense against betrayal, and we all betray ourselves.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Alfred Bester", "slug": "alfred-bester", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alfred-bester" }, "book": { "title": "The Stars My Destination", "slug": "the-stars-my-destination", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/alfred-bester/the-stars-my-destination" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 188, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" }, { "name": "betrayal", "slug": "betrayal", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/betrayal" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Alfred_Bester#The_Stars_My_Destination_(1956)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:24" }, { "id": "4c98efe6-355b-41be-a2bf-1179285cf074", "slug": "but-corbet-there", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/patricia-a-mckillip/winter-rose/but-corbet-there", "text": "“But, Corbet, there were things—between us—” “You imagined many of them. You wanted them to be true, and so they were. But only to you.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Patricia A. McKillip", "slug": "patricia-a-mckillip", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/patricia-a-mckillip" }, "book": { "title": "Winter Rose", "slug": "winter-rose", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/patricia-a-mckillip/winter-rose" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 242, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Patricia_A._McKillip#Winter_Rose_(1996)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:23" }, { "id": "cc5607f5-e2fd-4508-bded-31adc05c9c7a", "slug": "nobody-will-admit", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/h-beam-piper/the-complete-paratime/nobody-will-admit", "text": "Nobody will admit his own mental inferiority, even to himself.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "H. Beam Piper", "slug": "h-beam-piper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/h-beam-piper" }, "book": { "title": "The Complete Paratime", "slug": "the-complete-paratime", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/h-beam-piper/the-complete-paratime" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 91, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pride", "slug": "pride", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pride" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/H._Beam_Piper#The_Complete_Paratime_(1947-1965)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:22" }, { "id": "18ae96c9-eead-4e45-ad69-43e111e16d45", "slug": "people-see-what", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/cormac-mccarthy/blood-meridian/people-see-what", "text": "People see what they want to see.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Cormac McCarthy", "slug": "cormac-mccarthy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/cormac-mccarthy" }, "book": { "title": "Blood Meridian", "slug": "blood-meridian", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/cormac-mccarthy/blood-meridian" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 66, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Blood_Meridian#Quotations", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:20" }, { "id": "80a1ba03-d71b-4b21-a04b-4f277cf4a37a", "slug": "he-picked-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/patrick-rothfuss/the-name-of-the-wind/he-picked-the", "text": "He picked the rock back up. “Do you believe that it floated?” “No!” I sulked, rubbing my temples. “Good. It didn’t. Never fool yourself into perceiving things that don’t exist.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Patrick Rothfuss", "slug": "patrick-rothfuss", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/patrick-rothfuss" }, "book": { "title": "The Name of the Wind", "slug": "the-name-of-the-wind", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/patrick-rothfuss/the-name-of-the-wind" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 78, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Patrick_Rothfuss#The_Name_of_the_Wind_(2007)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:57:08" }, { "id": "50ac2faa-4a1a-4e33-b768-c145985a8a3a", "slug": "and-because-she", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt/time-travelers-never-die/and-because-she", "text": "And because she so desperately wanted it to be true, she knew she could not manage an objective judgment.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jack Mcdevitt", "slug": "jack-mcdevitt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt" }, "book": { "title": "Time Travelers Never Die", "slug": "time-travelers-never-die", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt/time-travelers-never-die" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 195, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jack_McDevitt#Time_Travelers_Never_Die_(2009)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:59" }, { "id": "15be88b9-bf82-4b92-b22e-65b14b7be4ea", "slug": "were-talking-about", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt/the-hercules-text/were-talking-about", "text": "We’re talking about something we all want very much to find. And that automatically makes Ed’s conclusions suspect.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jack Mcdevitt", "slug": "jack-mcdevitt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt" }, "book": { "title": "The Hercules Text", "slug": "the-hercules-text", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jack-mcdevitt/the-hercules-text" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 30, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jack_McDevitt#The_Hercules_Text_(1986)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:57" }, { "id": "d9ea7b8d-aa9d-464d-bb60-6f9c6c06affe", "slug": "would-you-prefer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brandon-sanderson/rhythm-of-war/would-you-prefer", "text": "Would you prefer a reinforcement of what you already want to believe, or do you seek the truth?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Brandon Sanderson", "slug": "brandon-sanderson", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brandon-sanderson" }, "book": { "title": "Rhythm of War", "slug": "rhythm-of-war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/brandon-sanderson/rhythm-of-war" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 242, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Brandon_Sanderson#Rhythm_of_War_(2020)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:39" }, { "id": "f62dd0fe-1bc3-4ff5-9004-ab3dc2462297", "slug": "did-everyone-in-jail", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jodi-picoult/nineteen-minutes/did-everyone-in-jail", "text": "Did everyone in jail think they were innocent? All this time Peter had spent lying on the bench, convincing himself that he was nothing like anyone else in the Grafton County Jail—and as it turned out, that was a lie.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jodi Picoult", "slug": "jodi-picoult", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jodi-picoult" }, "book": { "title": "Nineteen Minutes", "slug": "nineteen-minutes", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jodi-picoult/nineteen-minutes" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "guilt", "slug": "guilt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/guilt" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jodi_Picoult#Nineteen_Minutes_(2007)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:24" }, { "id": "638faeed-623d-4aa7-b792-bb23a4854bac", "slug": "even-though-he-wasnt", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner/the-jagged-orbit/even-though-he-wasnt", "text": "Even though he wasn’t entirely convinced of the truth of what he was saying, the fact of saying it was curiously reassuring to his mind.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Brunner", "slug": "john-brunner", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner" }, "book": { "title": "The Jagged Orbit", "slug": "the-jagged-orbit", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-brunner/the-jagged-orbit" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 372, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Brunner#The_Jagged_Orbit_(1969)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:10" }, { "id": "95a43c3b-8aa0-48f9-b3ed-ec88e16cfe4a", "slug": "are-these-signs", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lloyd-alexander/the-high-king/are-these-signs", "text": "Are these signs of hope, or do we deceive ourselves by wishing them to be?", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Lloyd Alexander", "slug": "lloyd-alexander", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lloyd-alexander" }, "book": { "title": "The High King", "slug": "the-high-king", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lloyd-alexander/the-high-king" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "hope", "slug": "hope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hope" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lloyd_Alexander#Book_V_:_The_High_King_(1968)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:56:08" }, { "id": "55e36000-b20f-480b-b861-45d29ad9b60d", "slug": "my-message-to-you", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ted-chiang/exhalation/my-message-to-you", "text": "My message to you is this: pretend that you have free will. It’s essential that you behave as if your decisions matter, even though you know they don’t. The reality isn’t important: what’s important is your belief, and believing the lie is the only way to avoid a waking coma. Civilization now depends on self-deception. Perhaps it always has.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ted Chiang", "slug": "ted-chiang", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ted-chiang" }, "book": { "title": "Exhalation", "slug": "exhalation", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ted-chiang/exhalation" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 60, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" }, { "name": "free will", "slug": "free-will", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/free-will" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Ted_Chiang#Exhalation:_Stories_(2019)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:58" }, { "id": "e3fd8fbb-83de-4a6e-8b21-49c88831eaa9", "slug": "the-instinct-for", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/stefan-zweig/beware-of-pity/the-instinct-for", "text": "The instinct for self-deception in human beings makes them try to banish from their minds dangers of which at bottom they are perfectly aware by declaring them non-existent.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Stefan Zweig", "slug": "stefan-zweig", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/stefan-zweig" }, "book": { "title": "Beware of Pity", "slug": "beware-of-pity", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/stefan-zweig/beware-of-pity" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "fear", "slug": "fear", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/fear" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Stefan_Zweig#Beware_of_Pity_(1939)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:28" }, { "id": "e2bf0c1a-9314-4cef-b3bf-a1db8b8e48f2", "slug": "science-was-a-systematic", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-benford/the-martian-race/science-was-a-systematic", "text": "Science was a systematic way to avoid fooling yourself, after all.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Gregory Benford", "slug": "gregory-benford", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-benford" }, "book": { "title": "The Martian Race", "slug": "the-martian-race", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-benford/the-martian-race" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 337, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "science", "slug": "science", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/science" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gregory_Benford#The_Martian_Race_(1999)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:24" }, { "id": "4f6522fc-97f1-4f52-959a-aaa291074fd3", "slug": "the-desire-to-find", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-benford/cosm/the-desire-to-find", "text": "The desire to find something could provoke what she called “wantum mechanics,” fishing a result out of nothing but noise.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Gregory Benford", "slug": "gregory-benford", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-benford" }, "book": { "title": "Cosm", "slug": "cosm", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-benford/cosm" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 68, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "science", "slug": "science", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/science" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Gregory_Benford#Cosm_(1998)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:55:23" }, { "id": "f4226670-e5a6-4cad-a54b-2ff371638130", "slug": "i-looked-at-the", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-hart/the-king-of-lies/i-looked-at-the", "text": "I looked at the high walls where once-white paint had grayed and then peeled. Barbara had always said the house had good bones, and she was right about that; but it had no heart, not with us living inside it. In place of laughter, trust, and joy, there was a hollow emptiness, a kind of rot, and I marveled at my blindness. Was it the alcohol, I wondered, that had made it bearable? Or was it something else, some inner failing? Maybe it was neither. They say that if you drop a frog into boiling water, he'll hop right out. But put the same frog into cold water and slowly turn up the heat, and he'll sit quietly until his blood begins to boil. He'll let himself be cooked alive. Maybe that's how it was for me. Maybe I was like that frog.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Hart", "slug": "john-hart", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-hart" }, "book": { "title": "The King of Lies", "slug": "the-king-of-lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-hart/the-king-of-lies" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "marriage", "slug": "marriage", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/marriage" }, { "name": "alcohol", "slug": "alcohol", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/alcohol" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Hart_(author)#The_King_of_Lies_(2006)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:34" }, { "id": "1b1a1ada-eec4-4150-83ba-b04aa4f91b23", "slug": "denial-was-a-weapon", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-hart/the-king-of-lies/denial-was-a-weapon", "text": "Denial was a weapon; it killed truth, numbed the mind, and I was a junkie.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "John Hart", "slug": "john-hart", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-hart" }, "book": { "title": "The King of Lies", "slug": "the-king-of-lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/john-hart/the-king-of-lies" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/John_Hart_(author)#The_King_of_Lies_(2006)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:34" }, { "id": "a52084ea-feb7-4255-9fbb-381ddfbfc04a", "slug": "his-profession-diplomacy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lawrence-durrell/mountolive/his-profession-diplomacy", "text": "His profession [ diplomacy ] — offered him something like a long Jesuitical training in self-deception which enabled him to present an ever more highly polished surface to the world without deepening his human experience [-] for he lived surrounded by his ambitious and sycophantic fellows who taught him only how to excel in forms of address, and the elaborate kindnesses which, in pleasing, pave the way to advancement. (II)", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Lawrence Durrell", "slug": "lawrence-durrell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lawrence-durrell" }, "book": { "title": "Mountolive", "slug": "mountolive", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/lawrence-durrell/mountolive" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lawrence_Durrell#Mountolive_(1958)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:30" }, { "id": "1fda7c29-f6f8-4422-a7e0-b647acccbf96", "slug": "the-lies-we-tell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-david-roberts/shantaram/the-lies-we-tell", "text": "The lies we tell ourselves are the ghosts that haunt the empty house of midnight.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Gregory David Roberts", "slug": "gregory-david-roberts", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-david-roberts" }, "book": { "title": "Shantaram", "slug": "shantaram", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/gregory-david-roberts/shantaram" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Shantaram#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:20" }, { "id": "240017f1-4dba-4373-af21-d7e275c68815", "slug": "its-always-possible", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jonathan-safran-foer/eating-animals/its-always-possible", "text": "It's always possible to wake someone from sleep, but no amount of noise will wake someone who is pretending to be asleep.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jonathan Safran Foer", "slug": "jonathan-safran-foer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jonathan-safran-foer" }, "book": { "title": "Eating Animals", "slug": "eating-animals", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jonathan-safran-foer/eating-animals" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "ignorance", "slug": "ignorance", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/ignorance" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jonathan_Safran_Foer#Eating_Animals_(2009)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:10" }, { "id": "d12759a6-1015-408a-a6d0-0480dd31b0f3", "slug": "the-evil-of-marriage", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-godwin/enquiry-concerning-political-justice/the-evil-of-marriage", "text": "The evil of marriage, as is it practiced in the European countries, extends further than we have yet described. The method is for a thoughtless and romantic youth of each sex, to come together, to see each other, for a few times, and under circumstances full of delusion and then to vow eternal attachment. What is the consequence of this? In almost every instance they find themselves deceived. They are reduced to make the best of an irretrievable mistake. They are led to conceive it their wiser policy, to shut their eyes upon realities, happy, if by any perversion of intellect, they can persuade themselves that they were right in their first crude opinion of each other. Thus the institution of marriage is made a system of fraud; and men who carefully mislead their judgement in the daily affair of their life, must be expected to have a crippled judgement in every other concern.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "William Godwin", "slug": "william-godwin", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-godwin" }, "book": { "title": "Enquiry Concerning Political Justice", "slug": "enquiry-concerning-political-justice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/william-godwin/enquiry-concerning-political-justice" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "marriage", "slug": "marriage", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/marriage" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/William_Godwin#Enquiry_Concerning_Political_Justice_(1793)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:09" }, { "id": "3f987565-856d-4119-8814-3b06c110fa59", "slug": "everybody-thinks-theyre", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-stross/iron-sunrise/everybody-thinks-theyre", "text": "“Everybody thinks they’re doing the right thing, kid. All the time. It’s about the only rule that explains how fucked-up this universe is.” A wan smile crept across her face. “Nobody is a villain in their own head, are they? We all know we’re doing the right thing, which is why we’re in this mess.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Stross", "slug": "charles-stross", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-stross" }, "book": { "title": "Iron Sunrise", "slug": "iron-sunrise", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-stross/iron-sunrise" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 383, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "morality", "slug": "morality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/morality" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Stross#Iron_Sunrise_(2004)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:05" }, { "id": "1c48ed83-5fd1-423b-be46-604d8748a0e8", "slug": "ultimately-it-was", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-stross/singularity-sky/ultimately-it-was", "text": "Ultimately, it was easier to change the subject than think the unthinkable.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Charles Stross", "slug": "charles-stross", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-stross" }, "book": { "title": "Singularity Sky", "slug": "singularity-sky", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/charles-stross/singularity-sky" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 280, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Charles_Stross#Singularity_Sky_(2003)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:04" }, { "id": "f9a11bae-cfb3-4514-8293-54b1e76241f0", "slug": "id-been-so-convinced", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde/early-riser/id-been-so-convinced", "text": "I’d been so convinced of that particular narrative I never for one moment stopped to reappraise the situation.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jasper Fforde", "slug": "jasper-fforde", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde" }, "book": { "title": "Early Riser", "slug": "early-riser", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde/early-riser" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 350, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jasper_Fforde#Early_Riser_(2018)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:54:02" }, { "id": "ea41aea1-fadc-4e93-9879-670945d0c698", "slug": "i-could-almost", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde/lost-in-a-good-book/i-could-almost", "text": "I could almost see common sense and denial fighting away at each other within her. In the end, denial won, as it so often does.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Jasper Fforde", "slug": "jasper-fforde", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde" }, "book": { "title": "Lost in a Good Book", "slug": "lost-in-a-good-book", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/jasper-fforde/lost-in-a-good-book" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 35, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Jasper_Fforde#Lost_in_a_Good_Book_(2002)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:59" }, { "id": "05ea034d-185a-43ce-b53f-6728a3da5972", "slug": "would-you-like", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/philip-jose-farmer/the-dark-design/would-you-like", "text": "“Would you like to talk?” “When I dream, I am talking.” “But to yourself.” “Who knows me better?” He laughed softly. “And who can deceive you better,” she said a little tartly.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Philip José Farmer", "slug": "philip-jose-farmer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/philip-jose-farmer" }, "book": { "title": "The Dark Design", "slug": "the-dark-design", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/philip-jose-farmer/the-dark-design" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 10, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" }, { "name": "dreams", "slug": "dreams", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/dreams" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Philip_Jos%C3%A9_Farmer#The_Dark_Design_(1977)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:30" }, { "id": "b044fb2f-abb8-405b-91b1-f36773390183", "slug": "people-will-generally", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/iain-m-banks/transition/people-will-generally", "text": "People will generally make whatever compromises with the world they think necessary still to convince themselves that they are the most important thing in it.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Iain M. Banks", "slug": "iain-m-banks", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/iain-m-banks" }, "book": { "title": "Transition", "slug": "transition", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/iain-m-banks/transition" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 328, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "selfishness", "slug": "selfishness", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/selfishness" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Iain_Banks#Transition_(2009)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:23" }, { "id": "958e940a-7c8c-4a3e-8778-3f504b1d980f", "slug": "lying-here-during", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/iain-m-banks/transition/lying-here-during", "text": "Lying here, during all this time after my own small fall, it has become my conviction that things mean pretty much what we want them to mean. We’ll pluck significance from the least consequential happenstance if it suits us and happily ignore the most flagrantly obvious symmetry between separate aspects of our lives if it threatens some cherished prejudice or cosily comforting belief; we are blindest to precisely whatever might be most illuminating.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Iain M. Banks", "slug": "iain-m-banks", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/iain-m-banks" }, "book": { "title": "Transition", "slug": "transition", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/iain-m-banks/transition" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 3, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "chance", "slug": "chance", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/chance" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Iain_Banks#Transition_(2009)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:23" }, { "id": "b8505bd4-e96e-4350-84ae-dc14b39d833a", "slug": "whatever-steps-are", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/mark-kurlansky/cod/whatever-steps-are", "text": "Whatever steps are taken, one of the great obstacles to restoring cod stocks off of Newfoundland is an almost pathological collective denial of what has happened. Newfoundlanders seem prepared to believe anything other than that they have killed off nature’s bounty.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Mark Kurlansky", "slug": "mark-kurlansky", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/mark-kurlansky" }, "book": { "title": "Cod", "slug": "cod", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/mark-kurlansky/cod" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 204, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "ecology", "slug": "ecology", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/ecology" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Mark_Kurlansky#Cod:_A_Biography_of_the_Fish_That_Changed_the_World_(1997)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:13" }, { "id": "b3a48322-d858-4e8b-b91e-1408a2ba4e01", "slug": "many-of-us-talked", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ngugi-wa-thiongo/a-grain-of-wheat/many-of-us-talked", "text": "Many of us talked like that because we wanted to deceive ourselves. It lessens your shame. We talked of loyalty to the Movement and the love of our country. You know a time came when I did not care about Uhuru for the country anymore. I just wanted to come home.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Ngugi wa Thiong'o", "slug": "ngugi-wa-thiongo", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ngugi-wa-thiongo" }, "book": { "title": "A Grain of Wheat", "slug": "a-grain-of-wheat", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/ngugi-wa-thiongo/a-grain-of-wheat" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" }, { "name": "home", "slug": "home", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/home" }, { "name": "patriotism", "slug": "patriotism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/patriotism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/A_Grain_of_Wheat#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:53:04" }, { "id": "df086166-2efc-4a12-af99-7cbc250abce9", "slug": "depa-is-right", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthew-stover/shatterpoint-star-wars-legends/depa-is-right", "text": "\"Depa is right: Jedi are insane.\" \"Ever since I came to this planet, people have been telling me how crazy I am. They've told me this so many times that I had started to wonder if it might be true. Now, though, I understand: you don't say this because it's true. Not even because you think it's true. You say it because you hope it's true. Because if I am insane, you aren't really the revolting slime-hearted vermin that, down deep, you know you are.\"", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Matthew Stover", "slug": "matthew-stover", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthew-stover" }, "book": { "title": "Shatterpoint: Star Wars Legends", "slug": "shatterpoint-star-wars-legends", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/matthew-stover/shatterpoint-star-wars-legends" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 286, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "madness", "slug": "madness", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/madness" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Matthew_Stover#Shatterpoint_(2004)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:52:45" }, { "id": "f2fc6831-f6da-494b-b4a4-2578481e20c9", "slug": "the-only-lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/v-s-naipaul/in-a-free-state/the-only-lies", "text": "The only lies for which we are truly punished are those we tell ourselves.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "V. S. Naipaul", "slug": "v-s-naipaul", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/v-s-naipaul" }, "book": { "title": "In a Free State", "slug": "in-a-free-state", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/v-s-naipaul/in-a-free-state" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/V._S._Naipaul#In_a_Free_State_(1971)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:52:35" }, { "id": "6ce31e4d-2d12-4dab-abb6-0f29ff744371", "slug": "putting-the-best", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/the-great-war-walk-in-hell/putting-the-best", "text": "“Putting the best face on things doesn’t make them right,” Flora said with a stern rectitude of a temperance crusader smashing a bottle of whiskey against a saloon wall.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Harry Turtledove", "slug": "harry-turtledove", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove" }, "book": { "title": "The Great War: Walk in Hell", "slug": "the-great-war-walk-in-hell", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/harry-turtledove/the-great-war-walk-in-hell" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 28, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "truth", "slug": "truth", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/truth" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Harry_Turtledove#The_Great_War:_American_Front_(1998)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:48" }, { "id": "55599dad-e73a-4443-88db-f71bd3a912a8", "slug": "a-nd-their-judgment", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thucydides/history-of-the-peloponnesian-war/a-nd-their-judgment", "text": "[A]nd their judgment was based more upon blind wishing than upon any sound prediction; for it is a habit of mankind to entrust to careless hope what they long for, and to use sovereign reason to thrust aside what they do not desire.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Thucydides", "slug": "thucydides", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thucydides" }, "book": { "title": "History of the Peloponnesian War", "slug": "history-of-the-peloponnesian-war", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/thucydides/history-of-the-peloponnesian-war" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "hope", "slug": "hope", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/hope" }, { "name": "reason", "slug": "reason", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/reason" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Thucydides#Book_IV", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:36" }, { "id": "51ce0972-a0ca-4571-9e8d-ad8c58702d9d", "slug": "things-are-as-they", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/sideshow/things-are-as-they", "text": "Things are as they are, and no amount of wishful thinking will change them!", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Sheri S. Tepper", "slug": "sheri-s-tepper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper" }, "book": { "title": "Sideshow", "slug": "sideshow", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/sideshow" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 432, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "reality", "slug": "reality", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/reality" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sheri_S._Tepper#Sideshow_(1992)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:23" }, { "id": "38f557cb-5073-4728-b30b-936ecca18955", "slug": "why-pretend-now", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/raising-the-stones/why-pretend-now", "text": "“Why pretend now that you cared?” “Why not pretend whatever I like if it makes my life easier? We learned that, you see, we Faithful. We learn to say to ourselves whatever we need to say to make the task easy. We learn to say, ‘for God and Voorstod,’ when we blow up some old lady in the toilet or some schoolyard full of children. We wouldn’t necessarily do it for ourselves, you see, but we can do it for God and Voorstod.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Sheri S. Tepper", "slug": "sheri-s-tepper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper" }, "book": { "title": "Raising The Stones", "slug": "raising-the-stones", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/raising-the-stones" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 390, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "fanaticism", "slug": "fanaticism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/fanaticism" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" }, { "name": "terrorism", "slug": "terrorism", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/terrorism" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sheri_S._Tepper#Raising_the_Stones_(1990)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:22" }, { "id": "af9558da-5051-4eba-ac26-5e01f301da60", "slug": "mendost-is-not", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/jinian-footseer/mendost-is-not", "text": "Mendost is not long on thinking, but he has a clear picture of himself as he believes he is.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Sheri S. Tepper", "slug": "sheri-s-tepper", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper" }, "book": { "title": "Jinian Footseer", "slug": "jinian-footseer", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/sheri-s-tepper/jinian-footseer" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 39, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Sheri_S._Tepper#Jinian_Footseer_(1985)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:18" }, { "id": "fd9e3217-272e-45c9-b09e-1d69c8b95d17", "slug": "for-it-is-my-belief", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joseph-conrad/lord-jim/for-it-is-my-belief", "text": "For it is my belief no man ever understands quite his own artful dodges to escape from the grim shadow of self-knowledge.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Joseph Conrad", "slug": "joseph-conrad", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joseph-conrad" }, "book": { "title": "Lord Jim", "slug": "lord-jim", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/joseph-conrad/lord-jim" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-knowledge", "slug": "self-knowledge", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-knowledge" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lord_Jim#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:16" }, { "id": "02bcf9ce-836d-4bd4-8109-eb77e69c8013", "slug": "if-a-captive", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/simone-weil/simone-weil-an-anthology/if-a-captive", "text": "If a captive mind is unaware of being in prison, it is living in error. If it has recognized the fact, even for the tenth of a second, and then quickly forgotten it in order to avoid suffering, it is living in falsehood. Men of the most brilliant intelligence can be born, live and die in error and falsehood. In them, intelligence is neither a good, nor even an asset. The difference between more or less intelligent men is like the difference between criminals condemned to life imprisonment in smaller or larger cells. The intelligent man who is proud of his intelligence is like a condemned man who is proud of his large cell.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Simone Weil", "slug": "simone-weil", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/simone-weil" }, "book": { "title": "Simone Weil: An Anthology", "slug": "simone-weil-an-anthology", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/simone-weil/simone-weil-an-anthology" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 69, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pride", "slug": "pride", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pride" }, { "name": "intelligence", "slug": "intelligence", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/intelligence" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Simone_Weil#Human_Personality_(1943)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:13" }, { "id": "7aeb86d1-435e-4c48-a07a-645149ed3dff", "slug": "yes-he-said", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/octavia-e-butler/dawn/yes-he-said", "text": "“Yes,” he said, “intelligence does enable you to deny facts you dislike. But your denial doesn’t matter. A cancer growing in someone’s body will go on growing in spite of denial. And a complex combination of genes that work together to make you intelligent as well as hierarchical will still handicap you whether you acknowledge it or not.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Octavia E. Butler", "slug": "octavia-e-butler", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/octavia-e-butler" }, "book": { "title": "Dawn", "slug": "dawn", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/octavia-e-butler/dawn" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 39, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "intelligence", "slug": "intelligence", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/intelligence" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Octavia_Butler#Dawn_(1987)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:09" }, { "id": "975819a1-e88d-4977-8fc0-e68b635afe0c", "slug": "the-blind-see", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dan-brown/the-da-vinci-code/the-blind-see", "text": "The blind see what they want to see.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Dan Brown", "slug": "dan-brown", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dan-brown" }, "book": { "title": "The Da Vinci Code", "slug": "the-da-vinci-code", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/dan-brown/the-da-vinci-code" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Da_Vinci_Code#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:51:07" }, { "id": "ae1a63f2-8b12-4320-9548-407527245dee", "slug": "most-people-are", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/noam-chomsky/the-chomsky-reader/most-people-are", "text": "Most people are not liars. They can't tolerate too much cognitive dissonance. I don't want to deny that there are outright liars, just brazen propagandists. You can find them in journalism and in the academic professions as well. But I don't think that's the norm. The norm is obedience, adoption of uncritical attitudes, taking the easy path of self-deception.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Noam Chomsky", "slug": "noam-chomsky", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/noam-chomsky" }, "book": { "title": "The Chomsky Reader", "slug": "the-chomsky-reader", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/noam-chomsky/the-chomsky-reader" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 39, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "lies", "slug": "lies", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/lies" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/The_Chomsky_Reader#Quotes", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:50:47" }, { "id": "3210b59f-2115-4b62-9ea3-61c1690a4621", "slug": "he-had-pretended", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/em-forster/maurice/he-had-pretended", "text": "He had pretended to himself that he had enjoyed it, and thus increased his misery.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "E.M. Forster", "slug": "em-forster", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/em-forster" }, "book": { "title": "Maurice", "slug": "maurice", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/em-forster/maurice" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": null, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Maurice_(novel)#Part_Two", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:49:37" }, { "id": "e9366b80-d618-4b3c-b44f-f91e575c45f0", "slug": "even-a-mirror", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/roger-zelazny/lord-of-light/even-a-mirror", "text": "Even a mirror will not show you yourself, if you do not wish to see.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Roger Zelazny", "slug": "roger-zelazny", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/roger-zelazny" }, "book": { "title": "Lord of Light", "slug": "lord-of-light", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/roger-zelazny/lord-of-light" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 123, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-knowledge", "slug": "self-knowledge", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-knowledge" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Lord_of_Light#THREE", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:49:09" }, { "id": "97d2084a-1baa-4819-8f25-aa166d38d956", "slug": "now-it-seemed", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/clifford-d-simak/a-choice-of-gods/now-it-seemed", "text": "Now it seemed that this had been a self-sustained illusion he had nourished carefully to bolster a sense of his own importance.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Clifford D. Simak", "slug": "clifford-d-simak", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/clifford-d-simak" }, "book": { "title": "A Choice of Gods", "slug": "a-choice-of-gods", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/clifford-d-simak/a-choice-of-gods" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 140, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Clifford_D._Simak#A_Choice_of_Gods_(1972)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:49:01" }, { "id": "0f4eb2a4-c829-4ce9-8f20-c23afbfd69aa", "slug": "my-own-self-deception", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock/the-city-in-the-autumn-stars/my-own-self-deception", "text": "My own self-deception at least promised some kind of pleasure. Theirs offered nothing but terror and guilt.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Michael Moorcock", "slug": "michael-moorcock", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock" }, "book": { "title": "The City in the Autumn Stars", "slug": "the-city-in-the-autumn-stars", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock/the-city-in-the-autumn-stars" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 375, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michael_Moorcock#The_City_in_the_Autumn_Stars_(1986)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:45" }, { "id": "2f1fcdc9-5444-47d2-b1c8-f9e8a054f6a6", "slug": "but-we-are", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock/the-steel-tsar/but-we-are", "text": "But we are all victims, Captain Bastable, just as in other ways we are all aggressors. At root we are victims to the comforting lies we tell ourselves, of our willingness to shift moral responsibility onto leaders, organized religion—onto a deity or a race, if all else fails. Onto God, onto politicians, onto creatures from other planets. It is always the same impulse, to refuse responsibility. If we do not take responsibility for our own actions, ultimately we perish.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Michael Moorcock", "slug": "michael-moorcock", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock" }, "book": { "title": "The Steel Tsar", "slug": "the-steel-tsar", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock/the-steel-tsar" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 395, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "responsibility", "slug": "responsibility", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/responsibility" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michael_Moorcock#The_Steel_Tsar_(1981)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:44" }, { "id": "81ce5a88-b331-42e5-ae53-d026c927991d", "slug": "it-becomes-so-easy", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock/the-king-of-the-swords/it-becomes-so-easy", "text": "“It becomes so easy to believe what one wishes to believe,” Jhary said wearily. “So easy.”", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Michael Moorcock", "slug": "michael-moorcock", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock" }, "book": { "title": "The King of the Swords", "slug": "the-king-of-the-swords", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock/the-king-of-the-swords" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 320, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" }, { "name": "beliefs", "slug": "beliefs", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/beliefs" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michael_Moorcock#The_King_of_the_Swords_(1971)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:41" }, { "id": "bcfaaf4e-9bd0-413e-ae84-da86dd99d4b2", "slug": "how-true-it-is-when", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock/the-dragon-in-the-sword/how-true-it-is-when", "text": "How true it is when they say there is nothing which makes a man more furious than the discovery that he has deceived himself!", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Michael Moorcock", "slug": "michael-moorcock", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock" }, "book": { "title": "The Dragon in the Sword", "slug": "the-dragon-in-the-sword", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock/the-dragon-in-the-sword" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 509, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "anger", "slug": "anger", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/anger" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michael_Moorcock#The_Dragon_in_the_Sword_(1986)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:39" }, { "id": "72f43de1-880a-4e2b-bb76-1842f67a6afc", "slug": "her-smile-was", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock/the-dragon-in-the-sword/her-smile-was", "text": "Her smile was all pride. I had seen many like her in the past. She believed herself cleverer than she was because it suited others to let her maintain that delusion.", "language": "en", "author": { "name": "Michael Moorcock", "slug": "michael-moorcock", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock" }, "book": { "title": "The Dragon in the Sword", "slug": "the-dragon-in-the-sword", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/michael-moorcock/the-dragon-in-the-sword" }, "character": null, "chapter": null, "chapter_parent": null, "page": 561, "verified": false, "original": null, "other_languages": [], "topics": [ { "name": "pride", "slug": "pride", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/pride" }, { "name": "self-deception", "slug": "self-deception-2", "url": "https://www.leafyquotes.com/topics/self-deception-2" } ], "source": { "name": "Wikiquote", "url": "https://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Michael_Moorcock#The_Dragon_in_the_Sword_(1986)", "license": { "label": "CC BY-SA 4.0", "url": "https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/" } }, "added_at": "2026-09-25T22:48:39" } ] }