---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Emotions can certainly be misleading…"
description: "\"Emotions can certainly be misleading: they can fool you into believing stuff that is definitely, demonstrably untrue. Yet emotions are also our indispe..."
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/francis-spufford-12650_against_emotions-can-certainly-be-misleading-the_1788351.png"
---

#  Emotions can certainly be misleading: they can fool you…

![“Emotions can certainly be misleading: they can fool you into believing stuff that is definitely, demonstrably untrue. Yet emotions are also our indispensable tool for navigating, for feeling our way through, the much larger domain of stuff that isn't susceptible to proof or disproof, that isn't…” quote by Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/francis-spufford-12650_against_emotions-can-certainly-be-misleading-the_1788351.png)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/francis-spufford-12650_against_emotions-can-certainly-be-misleading-the_1788351.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/francis-spufford-12650_against_emotions-can-certainly-be-misleading-the_1788351.png)

> “Emotions can certainly be misleading: they can fool you into believing stuff that is definitely, demonstrably untrue. Yet emotions are also our indispensable tool for navigating, for feeling our way through, the much larger domain of stuff that isn't susceptible to proof or disproof, that isn't checkable against the physical universe.”

[Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Emotions can distort perception, yet they guide us through realms beyond empirical verification.

**In simple terms:** Emotions mislead but also guide beyond facts.

Key Takeaway

Balance intuition with rational checking.

Themes

emotion perception intuition

Mood

reflective cautious

Type

philosophical psychological

When to use this quote

- making decisions
- artistic creation
- personal relationships

Key Concepts

cognitive bias subjective experience

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you differentiate useful intuition from misleading feeling?
- When should you trust data over gut?

A Different Perspective

Emotions may conflict with logical analysis, leading to poor choices.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Domain](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/domain/) [Emotions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/emotions/) [Fool](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fool/) [Universe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/universe/)

## Related quotes

> [Emotions can certainly be misleading: they can fool you into believing stuff that is definitely, demonstrably untrue.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/emotions-can-certainly-be-misleading-they-can-fool-you-into-believing/)

[Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/)

> [I feel very strongly that you shouldn't mix your emotions with business. When it comes to my emotions, I certainly don't mix them with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gautam-singhania/i-feel-very-strongly-that-you-shouldn-t-mix-your-emotions-with/)

[Gautam Singhania](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gautam-singhania/)

> [“Inequality 'Trolls' Misleading Americans”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/inequality-trolls-misleading-americans/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [French and German illustrate the misleading character of apparent grammatical simplicity just as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-sapir/french-and-german-illustrate-the-misleading-character-of-apparent/)

[Edward Sapir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-sapir/)

> [“Nothing is more misleading than the truth.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chloe-lukas/nothing-is-more-misleading-than-the-truth/)

Chloe Lukas

> [You never know what's going to happen when somebody endeavors to do a true crime story. It can be horribly misleading.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcia-clark/you-never-know-what-s-going-to-happen-when-somebody-endeavors-to-do-a/)

[Marcia Clark](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marcia-clark/)

> [I've had two instances when I've met journalists face to face and we've had good interviews and I've said, 'We don't have children, by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gina-mckee/i-ve-had-two-instances-when-i-ve-met-journalists-face-to-face-and-we/)

[Gina McKee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gina-mckee/)

> [It is misleading in a crucial way to view information as something that can be poured into an empty vessel, like a fluid or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anatol-rapoport/it-is-misleading-in-a-crucial-way-to-view-information-as-something/)

[Anatol Rapoport](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anatol-rapoport/)

> [“I became wary of medical blood and urine tests and came to regard them as very misleading.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/steven-magee/i-became-wary-of-medical-blood-and-urine-tests-and-came-to-regard/)

[Steven Magee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/steven-magee/)

> [Bill Clinton was impeached primarily for criminal conduct: lying under oath and misleading a federal grand jury about his affair with Monica Lewinsky. Nixon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jonathan-turley/bill-clinton-was-impeached-primarily-for-criminal-conduct-lying-under/)

[Jonathan Turley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jonathan-turley/)

> [No good model ever accounted for all the facts, since some data was bound to be misleading if not plain wrong.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-d-watson/no-good-model-ever-accounted-for-all-the-facts-since-some-data-was/)

[James D. Watson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-d-watson/)

> [Lyrics are always misleading because they make people think that that's what the music is about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-eno/lyrics-are-always-misleading-because-they-make-people-think-that-that/)

[Brian Eno](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-eno/)

> [“...his horoscope had been pretty misleading as well. It had mentioned an unusual amount of planetary activity in his sign and had urged him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/his-horoscope-had-been-pretty-misleading-as-well-it-had-mentioned-an/)

[Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/)

> [The memory of the Second World War hangs over Europe, an inescapable and irresistible point of reference. Historical parallels are usually misleading and dangerous.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/antony-beevor/the-memory-of-the-second-world-war-hangs-over-europe-an-inescapable/)

[Antony Beevor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/antony-beevor/)

> [One of the worst things to come out of the Consumer Protection Board's misleading claims is the impression that government resources are to hard…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-lesko/one-of-the-worst-things-to-come-out-of-the-consumer-protection-board/)

[Matthew Lesko](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-lesko/)

## More by Francis Spufford

> [If your memory was OK you could descend upon on a bookshop – a big enough one so that the staff wouldn’t hassle a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/if-your-memory-was-ok-you-could-descend-upon-on-a-bookshop-a-big/)

[Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/)

> [There have been low moments before, but Christianity is an incredibly adaptable organism, using different parts of its repertoire to mutate into new ecological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/there-have-been-low-moments-before-but-christianity-is-an-incredibly/)

[Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/)

> [“Beyond the breakwater you can no longer touch bottom, but you are not afraid, for in this sea the harder you swim the stronger…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/beyond-the-breakwater-you-can-no-longer-touch-bottom-but-you-are-not/)

[Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/)

> [Self-awareness is not the same thing as self-approval, any more than imagination is the same thing as day-dreaming.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/self-awareness-is-not-the-same-thing-as-self-approval-any-more-than/)

[Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/)

> [What follows is more about books than it is about me, but nonetheless it is my inward autobiography, for the words we take into…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/what-follows-is-more-about-books-than-it-is-about-me-but-nonetheless/)

[Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/)

> [Despite the best efforts of apologists like William Lane Craig, the 'evidence' for Christianity's truth is, in truth, not the kind that science will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/despite-the-best-efforts-of-apologists-like-william-lane-craig-the/)

[Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/)

> [“You do not chuse where You bestow your Heart. Your Heart bestows Itself, will-you-nill-you, in the Midst of other Business. —”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/you-do-not-chuse-where-you-bestow-your-heart-your-heart-bestows/)

[Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/)

> [Anyone can be self-educated if they find the loose end of something to care about passionately.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/anyone-can-be-self-educated-if-they-find-the-loose-end-of-something/)

[Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/)

> [You never came out the way you came in.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/you-never-came-out-the-way-you-came-in/)

[Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/)

> [For a believer, Christian faith is true to the human heart, not in the sense that any old thing we fancy believing in will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/for-a-believer-christian-faith-is-true-to-the-human-heart-not-in-the/)

[Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/)

> [When I'm tired and therefore indecisive, it can take half an hour to choose the book I am going to have with me while…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/when-i-m-tired-and-therefore-indecisive-it-can-take-half-an-hour-to/)

[Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/)

> [“...what goes on inside believers is mysterious. So far as it can be guessed at - if for some reason you wanted to guess…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/what-goes-on-inside-believers-is-mysterious-so-far-as-it-can-be/)

[Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/)

> [I can always tell when you're reading somewhere in the house,' my mother used to say. 'There's a special silence, a reading silence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/i-can-always-tell-when-you-re-reading-somewhere-in-the-house-my/)

[Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/)

> [I think I have made allowances for the kind of despair which would test my faith, but you cannot know in advance what disaster…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/i-think-i-have-made-allowances-for-the-kind-of-despair-which-would/)

[Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/)

> [You don't have to become an investment banker as a way of demonstrating that education has worked for you. But librarians have to believe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/you-don-t-have-to-become-an-investment-banker-as-a-way-of/)

[Francis Spufford](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/)

[Explore all 54 Francis Spufford quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/)

## More Against quotes

> [I love casting against type and doing things you wouldn't expect, because I think you get more interesting performances that way. Hollywood loves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-s-goyer/i-love-casting-against-type-and-doing-things-you-wouldn-t-expect/)

[David S. Goyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-s-goyer/)

> [I think I am against stereotype. Generally, Asian guys are more quiet - they study and have a good work ethic. Generally, I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bobby-lee/i-think-i-am-against-stereotype-generally-asian-guys-are-more-quiet/)

[Bobby Lee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bobby-lee/)

> [I'm not against gay people. I have a relative who is also gay. We can't help it if they were born that way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/manny-pacquiao/i-m-not-against-gay-people-i-have-a-relative-who-is-also-gay-we-can-t/)

[Manny Pacquiao](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/manny-pacquiao/)

> [It's going to be used in the last days to get people to come against Christ, and that's the issue: they come against the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-lahaye/it-s-going-to-be-used-in-the-last-days-to-get-people-to-come-against/)

[Tim LaHaye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-lahaye/)

> [We do not know which irresponsible Israeli prime minister will take office and decide to use nuclear weapons in the struggle against neighboring Arab…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mordechai-vanunu/we-do-not-know-which-irresponsible-israeli-prime-minister-will-take/)

[Mordechai Vanunu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mordechai-vanunu/)

> [In France they spend six months training policemen, then they give them a gun and put them on the streets, and I don't know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mathieu-kassovitz/in-france-they-spend-six-months-training-policemen-then-they-give/)

[Mathieu Kassovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mathieu-kassovitz/)

> [France has not only built a bureaucratic barrier against American culture, it has constructed a notorious intellectual case against it as well. The French…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tyler-cowen/france-has-not-only-built-a-bureaucratic-barrier-against-american/)

[Tyler Cowen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tyler-cowen/)

> [My problems are sort of more on a nuisance level. I can't stand scratchy clothes, I've got to have soft kinds of cotton against…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/temple-grandin/my-problems-are-sort-of-more-on-a-nuisance-level-i-can-t-stand/)

[Temple Grandin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/temple-grandin/)

> [I don't have any regrets or hold any grudge against anyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cooper-kupp/i-don-t-have-any-regrets-or-hold-any-grudge-against-anyone/)

[Cooper Kupp](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cooper-kupp/)

> [Ronaldo will always score against everyone.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/giorgio-chiellini/ronaldo-will-always-score-against-everyone/)

[Giorgio Chiellini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/giorgio-chiellini/)

> [Well, just that there would be somebody in the office and the voters - it was more or less an understanding in the entire…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-breyer/well-just-that-there-would-be-somebody-in-the-office-and-the-voters/)

[Stephen Breyer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-breyer/)

> [The Constitution is very clear on the - on the declaration of war or reacting to international crimes - crimes against nations. It is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-pitts/the-constitution-is-very-clear-on-the-on-the-declaration-of-war-or/)

Joe Pitts

> [It goes way, way back when we were under Sweden's rule. We always think they are better than us. We played against them so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saku-koivu/it-goes-way-way-back-when-we-were-under-sweden-s-rule-we-always-think/)

[Saku Koivu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saku-koivu/)

> [I'm against unanswerable concentrations of power, whether that be government or private industry or religious figures - anybody who is not accountable to the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-suarez/i-m-against-unanswerable-concentrations-of-power-whether-that-be/)

[Daniel Suarez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-suarez/)

> [I'm an Indian and I shall not do anything that goes against my ethos.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sherlyn-chopra/i-m-an-indian-and-i-shall-not-do-anything-that-goes-against-my-ethos/)

[Sherlyn Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sherlyn-chopra/)

Browse all 2,190 Against quotes

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "Emotions can certainly be misleading: they can fool you into believing stuff that is definitely, demonstrably untrue. Yet emotions are also our indispensable tool for navigating, for feeling our way through, the much larger domain of stuff that isn't susceptible to proof or disproof, that isn't checkable against the physical universe.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Francis Spufford"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/emotions-can-certainly-be-misleading-they-can-fool-you-into-believing-2/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Against"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/emotions-can-certainly-be-misleading-they-can-fool-you-into-believing-2/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/francis-spufford-12650_against_emotions-can-certainly-be-misleading-the_1788351.png",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/francis-spufford-12650_against_emotions-can-certainly-be-misleading-the_1788351.png",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/d55/francis-spufford-12650_against_emotions-can-certainly-be-misleading-the_1788351.png",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Emotions can certainly be misleading: they can fool you into believing stuff that is definitely…” — Francis Spufford",
                "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": "Francis Spufford",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/francis-spufford/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "Emotions can certainly be misleading: they...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/emotions-can-certainly-be-misleading-they-can-fool-you-into-believing-2/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/francis-spufford/emotions-can-certainly-be-misleading-they-can-fool-you-into-believing-2/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
