---
title: "4 Deception Quotes By Sam Harris"
description: "4 Deception quotes by Sam Harris. Plus more from Sam Harris and more Deception sayings from other authors."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/sam-harris-457_amplify_the-most-transformative-experiences-peop_240479.jpg"
---

> [The most transformative experiences people have - bliss, devotion, self transcendence - are currently anchored to the worst parts of culture and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-most-transformative-experiences-people-have-bliss-devotion-self/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/sam-harris-457_amplify_the-most-transformative-experiences-peop_240479.jpg)

> [Many of my fellow atheists consider all talk of 'spirituality' or 'mysticism' to be synonymous with mental illness, conscious fraud, or self-deception.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/many-of-my-fellow-atheists-consider-all-talk-of-spirituality-or/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb5/sam-harris-457_atheist_many-of-my-fellow-atheists-consider-all_1344781.jpg)

> [Strange bonds of trust and self-deception tend to grow between journalists and their subjects.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/strange-bonds-of-trust-and-self-deception-tend-to-grow-between/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/sam-harris-457_deception_strange-bonds-of-trust-and-self-deceptio_1663009.jpg)

> [Every one of the world's "great" religions utterly trivializes the immensity and beauty of the cosmos. Books like the Bible and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/every-one-of-the-world-s-great-religions-utterly-trivializes-the/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

[Image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/sam-harris-457_beauty_every-one-of-the-world-s-great-religions_2696393.jpg)

## Other authors on Deception

- [Suzanne Finnamore 32 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/suzanne-finnamore/)
- [Craig D. Lounsbrough 16 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/craig-d-lounsbrough/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b001/author-francois-de-la-rochefoucauld-146.jpg) Francois de La Rochefoucauld 15 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/francois-de-la-rochefoucauld/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b010/author-friedrich-nietzsche-36363.jpg) Friedrich Nietzsche 13 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/friedrich-nietzsche/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b022/author-sun-tzu-87907.jpg) Sun Tzu 12 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/sun-tzu/)
- [Israelmore Ayivor 12 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/israelmore-ayivor/)
- [Mokokoma Mokhonoana 11 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/mokokoma-mokhonoana/)
- [Michael Bassey Johnson 7 quotes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/michael-bassey-johnson/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b016/author-marcus-aurelius-63282.jpg) Marcus Aurelius 7 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/marcus-aurelius/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b004/author-anil-ambani-13447.jpg) Pamela Meyer 6 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/pamela-meyer/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b019/author-pema-chodron-74476.jpg) Pema Chodron 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/pema-ch-dr-n/)
- [ ![](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/uploads/sms4s/authors/processed/b019/author-paul-virilio-74221.jpg) Paul Virilio 5 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/paul-virilio/)

## More by Sam Harris

> [“Moderates in every faith are obliged to loosely interpret (or simply ignore) much of their canons in the interests of living in the modern…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/moderates-in-every-faith-are-obliged-to-loosely-interpret-or-simply/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [There is no question but that nominally religious scientists like Francis Collins and Kenneth R. Miller are doing lasting harm to our discourse by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/there-is-no-question-but-that-nominally-religious-scientists-like/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [We have Christians against Muslims against Jews, and no matter how liberal your theology, merely identifying yourself as a Christian or a Jew lends…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/we-have-christians-against-muslims-against-jews-and-no-matter-how/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [“Your principal concern appears to be that the Creator of the universe will take offense at something people do while naked. This prudery of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/your-principal-concern-appears-to-be-that-the-creator-of-the-universe/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [“As manuals for contemplative understanding, the Bible and the Koran are worse than useless. Whatever wisdom can be found in their pages is never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/as-manuals-for-contemplative-understanding-the-bible-and-the-koran/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [About 120 million of us place the big bang 2,500 years after the Babylonians and Sumerians learned to brew beer. If our polls are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/about-120-million-of-us-place-the-big-bang-2-500-years-after-the/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [“If your golf instructor were to insist that you shave your head, sleep no more than four hours each night, renounce sex, and subsist…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/if-your-golf-instructor-were-to-insist-that-you-shave-your-head-sleep/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [The fact that one can lose one's sense of self in an ocean of tranquility does not mean that one's consciousness is immaterial or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-fact-that-one-can-lose-one-s-sense-of-self-in-an-ocean-of/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [The second commandment is "Thou shall not construct any graven images." Is this really the pinnacle of what we can achieve morally? The second…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-second-commandment-is-thou-shall-not-construct-any-graven-images/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [“But the reality of consciousness appears irreducible. Only consciousness can know itself—and directly, through first-person experience.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/but-the-reality-of-consciousness-appears-irreducible-only/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [“Whether or not one likes Huntington's formulation, one thing is clear: the evil that has finally reached our shores is not merely the evil…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/whether-or-not-one-likes-huntington-s-formulation-one-thing-is-clear/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [The problem is that religion tends to give people bad reasons to be good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-problem-is-that-religion-tends-to-give-people-bad-reasons-to-be/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [Muslim moderates, wherever they are, must be given every tool necessary to win a war of ideas with their co-religionists. Otherwise, we will have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/muslim-moderates-wherever-they-are-must-be-given-every-tool-necessary/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [The idea that any one of our religions represents the infallible word of the One True God requires an encyclopedic ignorance of history, mythology,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-idea-that-any-one-of-our-religions-represents-the-infallible-word/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

> [“What could possibly cause billions of human beings to reconsider their religious beliefs? And yet, it is obvious that an utter revolution in our…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/what-could-possibly-cause-billions-of-human-beings-to-reconsider/)

[Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-harris/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "ItemList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/sam-harris/#itemlist",
            "name": "4 Deception Quotes By Sam Harris",
            "numberOfItems": 4,
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "The most transformative experiences people have - bliss, devotion, self transcendence - are currently anchored to the worst parts of culture and to ways of thinking that merely amplify superstition, self-deception, and conflict.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Sam Harris"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/the-most-transformative-experiences-people-have-bliss-devotion-self/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/sam-harris-457_amplify_the-most-transformative-experiences-peop_240479.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/sam-harris-457_amplify_the-most-transformative-experiences-peop_240479.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/sam-harris-457_amplify_the-most-transformative-experiences-peop_240479.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“The most transformative experiences people have - bliss, devotion, self transcendence - are currently…” — Sam Harris",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Many of my fellow atheists consider all talk of 'spirituality' or 'mysticism' to be synonymous with mental illness, conscious fraud, or self-deception. I have argued elsewhere that this is a problem - because millions of people have had experiences for which 'spiritual' and 'mystical' seem the only terms available.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Sam Harris"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/many-of-my-fellow-atheists-consider-all-talk-of-spirituality-or/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb5/sam-harris-457_atheist_many-of-my-fellow-atheists-consider-all_1344781.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb5/sam-harris-457_atheist_many-of-my-fellow-atheists-consider-all_1344781.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/cb5/sam-harris-457_atheist_many-of-my-fellow-atheists-consider-all_1344781.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Many of my fellow atheists consider all talk of 'spirituality' or 'mysticism' to be synonymous with mental…” — Sam Harris",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Strange bonds of trust and self-deception tend to grow between journalists and their subjects.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Sam Harris"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/strange-bonds-of-trust-and-self-deception-tend-to-grow-between/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/sam-harris-457_deception_strange-bonds-of-trust-and-self-deceptio_1663009.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/sam-harris-457_deception_strange-bonds-of-trust-and-self-deceptio_1663009.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/e50/sam-harris-457_deception_strange-bonds-of-trust-and-self-deceptio_1663009.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Strange bonds of trust and self-deception tend to grow between journalists and their subjects.” — Sam Harris",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "item": {
                        "@type": "Quotation",
                        "text": "Every one of the world's \"great\" religions utterly trivializes the immensity and beauty of the cosmos. Books like the Bible and the Koran get almost every significant fact about us and our world wrong. Every scientific domain -- from cosmology to psychology to economics -- has superseded and surpassed the wisdom of Scripture. Everything of value that people get from religion can be had more honestly, without presuming anything on insufficient evidence. The rest is self-deception, set to music.",
                        "creator": {
                            "@type": "Person",
                            "name": "Sam Harris"
                        },
                        "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-harris/every-one-of-the-world-s-great-religions-utterly-trivializes-the/",
                        "image": {
                            "@type": "ImageObject",
                            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/sam-harris-457_beauty_every-one-of-the-world-s-great-religions_2696393.jpg",
                            "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/sam-harris-457_beauty_every-one-of-the-world-s-great-religions_2696393.jpg",
                            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0f4/sam-harris-457_beauty_every-one-of-the-world-s-great-religions_2696393.jpg",
                            "width": 1080,
                            "height": 1080,
                            "caption": "“Every one of the world's \"great\" religions utterly trivializes the immensity and beauty of the cosmos. Books…” — Sam Harris",
                            "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
                            "creator": {
                                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
                            }
                        }
                    }
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "CollectionPage",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/sam-harris/#webpage",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/sam-harris/",
            "name": "Deception Quotes by Sam Harris",
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "mainEntity": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/sam-harris/#itemlist"
            },
            "primaryImageOfPage": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/sam-harris-457_amplify_the-most-transformative-experiences-peop_240479.jpg"
            },
            "description": "4 Deception quotes by Sam Harris. Plus more from Sam Harris and more Deception sayings from other authors.",
            "breadcrumb": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/sam-harris/#breadcrumb"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "BreadcrumbList",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/sam-harris/#breadcrumb",
            "itemListElement": [
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 1,
                    "name": "Home",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 2,
                    "name": "Quotes",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 3,
                    "name": "Topics",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/categories/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Deception",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 5,
                    "name": "Sam Harris",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/deception/sam-harris/"
                }
            ]
        },
        {
            "@type": "WebSite",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "publisher": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization"
            }
        },
        {
            "@type": "Organization",
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization",
            "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes",
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/",
            "logo": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png",
                "width": 512,
                "height": 512
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
