--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: You can't talk about truth unless you…" description: "\"You can't talk about truth unless you talk about yourself.\" — Cornel West" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/cornel-west-708_about-yourself_you-can-t-talk-about-truth-unless-you-ta_1718452.jpg" --- # You can't talk about truth unless you talk about yourself. ![“You can't talk about truth unless you talk about yourself.” quote by Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/cornel-west-708_about-yourself_you-can-t-talk-about-truth-unless-you-ta_1718452.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/cornel-west-708_about-yourself_you-can-t-talk-about-truth-unless-you-ta_1718452.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/cornel-west-708_about-yourself_you-can-t-talk-about-truth-unless-you-ta_1718452.jpg) > “You can't talk about truth unless you talk about yourself.” [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth requires self-examination; you must know yourself to discuss truth. **In simple terms:** Know yourself to discuss truth. Key Takeaway Practice honest self‑reflection. Themes truth self knowledge Mood introspective thoughtful Type philosophical inspirational When to use this quote - therapy - journaling - public discourse Key Concepts philosophy ethics Questions to Reflect On - What parts of yourself are hidden? - How does self‑awareness shape your truth? A Different Perspective Self‑knowledge can be biased or incomplete. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [About yourself](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about-yourself/) [Healing](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/healing/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk/) [Talk Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/talk-truth-502291/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Unless](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-unless-1111595/) [Unless Talk](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/unless-talk-1314117/) ## Related quotes > [Nothing will change unless you talk about it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eric-reid/nothing-will-change-unless-you-talk-about-it/) [Eric Reid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eric-reid/) > [There is no use talking about the problem unless you talk about the solution](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/betty-williams/there-is-no-use-talking-about-the-problem-unless-you-talk-about-the/) [Betty Williams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/betty-williams/) > [You can't talk about truth without talking about learning how to die because it's precisely by learning how to die, examining yourself and transforming…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-t-talk-about-truth-without-talking-about-learning-how-to-die/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [a writer must always tell the truth (unless he's a journalist)](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/a-writer-must-always-tell-the-truth-unless-he-s-a-journalist/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [But suppose it was truth double strong, it were no truth to me if I couldna take it in. I daresay there's truth in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-gaskell/but-suppose-it-was-truth-double-strong-it-were-no-truth-to-me-if-i/) [Elizabeth Gaskell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-gaskell/) > [“Man rarely produces truth unless he finds a way to profit from it”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/angelos-michalopoulos/man-rarely-produces-truth-unless-he-finds-a-way-to-profit-from-it/) [Angelos Michalopoulos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/angelos-michalopoulos/) > [The truth is, unless you let go, unless you forgive yourself, unless you forgive the situation, unless you realize that the situation is over,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-is-unless-you-let-go-unless-you-forgive-yourself-unless-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [fiction is founded on truth…unless things did happen,people couldn't think of them.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/agatha-christie/fiction-is-founded-on-truth-unless-things-did-happen-people-couldn-t/) [Agatha Christie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/agatha-christie/) > [You need not tell all the truth, unless to those who have a right to know it; but let all you tell be truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/horace-mann/you-need-not-tell-all-the-truth-unless-to-those-who-have-a-right-to/) [Horace Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/horace-mann/) > [People cant handle the truth unless you speak to them with a mirror.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lakia-echols/people-cant-handle-the-truth-unless-you-speak-to-them-with-a-mirror/) [Lakia Echols](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lakia-echols/) > [The truth of course was otherwise, but Lecha had never felt she owed anyone the truth, unless it was truth about their own lives,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leslie-marmon-silko/the-truth-of-course-was-otherwise-but-lecha-had-never-felt-she-owed/) [Leslie Marmon Silko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leslie-marmon-silko/) > [“I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.” —JESUS OF NAZARETH”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/todd-burpo/i-tell-you-the-truth-unless-you-change-and-become-like-little/) [Todd Burpo](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/todd-burpo/) > [Expect no trivial truth from me, unless I am on the witness- stand. I will come as near to lying as you can drive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-david-thoreau/expect-no-trivial-truth-from-me-unless-i-am-on-the-witness-stand-i/) [Henry David Thoreau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-david-thoreau/) > [Conversation succeeds conversation, Until there's nothing left to talk about Except truth, the perennial monologue, And no talker to dispute it but itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-riding/conversation-succeeds-conversation-until-there-s-nothing-left-to-talk/) [Laura Riding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-riding/) > [“Talk to me about the truth of religion and I'll listen gladly. Talk to me about the duty of religion and I'll listen submissively.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-s-lewis-2/talk-to-me-about-the-truth-of-religion-and-i-ll-listen-gladly-talk-to/) [C.S. Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-s-lewis-2/) ## More by Cornel West > [There has certainly been ugly, right-wing hatred targeting Barack Obama.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/there-has-certainly-been-ugly-right-wing-hatred-targeting-barack-obama/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [What is accurately portrayed is the rich humanity not just of Martin Luther King but of the movement, which was a multiracial movement. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/what-is-accurately-portrayed-is-the-rich-humanity-not-just-of-martin/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I feel as if I have been blessed to undergo a transformation from 'gangster' to 'redeemed sinner with gangster proclivities.'](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-feel-as-if-i-have-been-blessed-to-undergo-a-transformation-from/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [“Like King, we need to put on our cemetery clothes and be coffin-ready for the next great democratic battle.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/like-king-we-need-to-put-on-our-cemetery-clothes-and-be-coffin-ready/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [ “You can't really move forward until you look back. \[From Remaking America panel discussion at George Washington University\]” ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-t-really-move-forward-until-you-look-back-from-remaking/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [When we think of globalization we are thinking in part of structures and institutions that have been developed over time and that have allowed…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/when-we-think-of-globalization-we-are-thinking-in-part-of-structures/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The challenge artists face today is whether to be an underground, unheard genius, or to dilute their art for the marketplace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-challenge-artists-face-today-is-whether-to-be-an-underground/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The need of black conservatives to gain the respect of their white peers deeply shapes certain elements of their conservatism. In this regard, they…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-need-of-black-conservatives-to-gain-the-respect-of-their-white/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [For me, musicians are poets. Beethoven describes himself as a poet of tones, just like Coltrane's a poet of tempo.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/for-me-musicians-are-poets-beethoven-describes-himself-as-a-poet-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [I don't draw any distinctions between forms of bigotry or forms of ideology that lose sight of the humanity of people. I can't stand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/i-don-t-draw-any-distinctions-between-forms-of-bigotry-or-forms-of/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Barack Obama has domesticated the left in such a way that we feel as if we have no alternative but him...I refuse to accept…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/barack-obama-has-domesticated-the-left-in-such-a-way-that-we-feel-as/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Larry Summers, I think, he had a long history of arrogance and relative ignorance about poor people's culture and working people's culture and so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/larry-summers-i-think-he-had-a-long-history-of-arrogance-and-relative/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [The greatest gift you can give someone is the gift of inspiration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/the-greatest-gift-you-can-give-someone-is-the-gift-of-inspiration/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [You can see it in terms of the obsession on Wall Street with not just profits but greed, more profit, more profit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-see-it-in-terms-of-the-obsession-on-wall-street-with-not-just/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) > [Anybody who takes Martin Luther King seriously has got to go beyond the standard understanding of who he was, has to connect those dots.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/anybody-who-takes-martin-luther-king-seriously-has-got-to-go-beyond/) [Cornel West](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) [Explore all 400 Cornel West quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/) ## More About yourself quotes > [“they all have always loved you Will Herondale, for you cannot hide what is good about yourself, however har you try.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cassandra-clare/they-all-have-always-loved-you-will-herondale-for-you-cannot-hide/) [Cassandra Clare](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cassandra-clare/) > [If you can't love yourself, how in the hell you gonna love somebody else?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupaul/if-you-can-t-love-yourself-how-in-the-hell-you-gonna-love-somebody/) [RuPaul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupaul/) > [People are in denial all the time, hiding things. If I tell you a racist or dirty joke and you laugh, you're telling me…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/martin-landau/people-are-in-denial-all-the-time-hiding-things-if-i-tell-you-a/) [Martin Landau](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/martin-landau/) > [Change your thoughts, change your life. —LAO TZU When I was fighting depression, I remember hearing this expression and not understanding it at first.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/demi-lovato/change-your-thoughts-change-your-life-lao-tzu-when-i-was-fighting/) [Demi Lovato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/demi-lovato/) > [Dreams really tell you about yourself more than anything else in this world could ever tell you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvia-browne/dreams-really-tell-you-about-yourself-more-than-anything-else-in-this/) [Sylvia Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvia-browne/) > [Celebrate all the things you don't like about yourself. love yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lady-gaga/celebrate-all-the-things-you-don-t-like-about-yourself-love-yourself/) [Lady Gaga](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lady-gaga/) > [Start enjoying the things you like about yourself, and if there are things you want to change, either get to work on it or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benji-madden/start-enjoying-the-things-you-like-about-yourself-and-if-there-are/) [Benji Madden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benji-madden/) > [Always be yourself. There's only one you. You should embrace anything that you don't like about yourself because that's individual and that's you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jesy-nelson/always-be-yourself-there-s-only-one-you-you-should-embrace-anything/) [Jesy Nelson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jesy-nelson/) > [It's too distracting to read about yourself. You want to be perfect and you want everyone to love you, and that's never going to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saoirse-ronan/it-s-too-distracting-to-read-about-yourself-you-want-to-be-perfect/) [Saoirse Ronan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saoirse-ronan/) > [If you want to know how to make people shun you and laugh at you behind your back and even despise you, here is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dale-carnegie/if-you-want-to-know-how-to-make-people-shun-you-and-laugh-at-you/) [Dale Carnegie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dale-carnegie/) > [The only thing a master can teach is how to learn about yourself. There are no secrets. They are only techniques to waken yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alejandro-jodorowsky/the-only-thing-a-master-can-teach-is-how-to-learn-about-yourself/) [Alejandro Jodorowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alejandro-jodorowsky/) > [I don't want to sell myself short. You hurt your spouse, not so much by the infidelity, but by the negative feelings about yourself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-zaslow/i-don-t-want-to-sell-myself-short-you-hurt-your-spouse-not-so-much-by/) [Michael Zaslow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-zaslow/) > [A stranger can see in an instant something in you that you might spend years learning about yourself. How awful we all are when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-elliott/a-stranger-can-see-in-an-instant-something-in-you-that-you-might/) [Stephen Elliott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-elliott/) > [Knowing is the most profound kind of love, giving someone the gift of knowledge about yourself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marsha-norman/knowing-is-the-most-profound-kind-of-love-giving-someone-the-gift-of/) [Marsha Norman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marsha-norman/) > [Start telling the truth now and never stop. Begin by telling the truth to yourself about yourself. Then tell the truth to yourself about…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/neale-donald-walsch/start-telling-the-truth-now-and-never-stop-begin-by-telling-the-truth/) [Neale Donald Walsch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/neale-donald-walsch/) [Browse all 770 About yourself quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/about-yourself/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "You can't talk about truth unless you talk about yourself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Cornel West" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-t-talk-about-truth-unless-you-talk-about-yourself/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "About yourself" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-t-talk-about-truth-unless-you-talk-about-yourself/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/cornel-west-708_about-yourself_you-can-t-talk-about-truth-unless-you-ta_1718452.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/cornel-west-708_about-yourself_you-can-t-talk-about-truth-unless-you-ta_1718452.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d49/cornel-west-708_about-yourself_you-can-t-talk-about-truth-unless-you-ta_1718452.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“You can't talk about truth unless you talk about yourself.” — Cornel West", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "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": "Cornel West", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cornel-west/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "You can't talk about truth unless...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-t-talk-about-truth-unless-you-talk-about-yourself/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cornel-west/you-can-t-talk-about-truth-unless-you-talk-about-yourself/#breadcrumb" }, { "@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 } } ] } ```