11+ Harry Frankfurt Quotes (Ethics, Freedom And Will)

Harry Frankfurt is an American philosopher and professor emeritus at Princeton University. He is best known for his 1986 book "On Bullshit" which examines the concept of bullshit in terms of its societal implications. He is also known for his 2005 book "On Truth" which focuses on the concept of truth in the context of contemporary philosophy.

The bullshitter is neither on the side of the true or the side of the false. His eye is not on the facts at all. He does not reject the authority of the truth, as the liar does, and oppose himself to it. He pays no attention to it at all. By virtue of this, bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are. — Harry Frankfurt

Bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are. — Harry Frankfurt

One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. — Harry Frankfurt

It is impossible for someone to lie unless he thinks he knows the truth. Producing bullshit requires no such conviction. — Harry Frankfurt

Bullshit is unavoidable whenever circumstance require someone to talk without knowing what he is talking about. — Harry Frankfurt

I was raised in Brooklyn and in Baltimore. My father was a bookkeeper. When I was 36 years old, my mother told me I was adopted. — Harry Frankfurt

It is only because a person has volitions of the second order that he is capable both of enjoying and of lacking freedom of the will. — Harry Frankfurt

I used to teach at Yale, which was at one time a center of postmodernist literary theory. Derrida was there. Paul de Man was there. — Harry Frankfurt

There are significant relationships, of course, between wanting things and caring about them..The notion of caring is in large part constructed out of the notion of desire. Caring about something may be, in the end, nothing more than a certain complex mode of wanting it. However, simply attributing desire to a person does not in itself convey that the person cares about the object he desires. — Harry Frankfurt

As a philosopher, I'm not obliged to explore every unknown wilderness. — Harry Frankfurt

It is impossible for someone to lie unless he thinks he knows the truth. A person who lies is thereby responding to the truth, and he is to that extent respectful of it. — Harry Frankfurt

Life Lessons by Harry Frankfurt

1. Harry Frankfurt's work emphasizes the importance of making conscious and intentional choices in order to lead a meaningful life.
2. He advocates for the idea that we should strive to be autonomous and independent in our thinking, rather than allowing ourselves to be influenced by external forces.
3. Frankfurt's work also emphasizes the importance of being aware of our own desires and motivations, and understanding how they shape our decisions.