---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: What, then is truth?... Truths are…"
description: "\"What, then is truth?... Truths are illusions about which one has forgotten that this is what they are.\" — Friedrich Nietzsche"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/friedrich-nietzsche-15_forgotten_what-then-is-truth-truths-are-illusions_1842574.jpg"
---

#  What, then is truth?... Truths are illusions about which…

![“What, then is truth?... Truths are illusions about which one has forgotten that this is what they are.” quote by Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/friedrich-nietzsche-15_forgotten_what-then-is-truth-truths-are-illusions_1842574.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/friedrich-nietzsche-15_forgotten_what-then-is-truth-truths-are-illusions_1842574.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/friedrich-nietzsche-15_forgotten_what-then-is-truth-truths-are-illusions_1842574.jpg)

> “What, then is truth?... Truths are illusions about which one has forgotten that this is what they are.”

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

## About This Quote

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

Truth is a construct that we forget is merely an illusion we accept.

**In simple terms:** Truth is an illusion we accept.

Key Takeaway

Question the foundations of your beliefs.

Themes

truth illusion philosophy

Mood

critical inquisitive

Type

philosophical skeptical

When to use this quote

- academic debate
- personal belief systems
- media consumption

Key Concepts

epistemology relativism

Questions to Reflect On

- What assumptions shape your notion of truth?
- Can we live without any absolute truths?

A Different Perspective

Truth may be necessary for societal cohesion.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[Forgotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgotten/) [Illusion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusion/) [Illusions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusions/) [Illusions Forgotten](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/illusions-forgotten-2323988/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Truths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-truths-691374/) [Truths](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truths/) [Truths Illusions](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truths-illusions-816466/)

## Related quotes

> [truths are illusions of which one has forgotten that they are illusions, metaphors that have become worn-out and deprived of their sensuous force, coins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/truths-are-illusions-of-which-one-has-forgotten-that-they-are/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“What therefore is truth? A mobile army of metaphors, metonymies, anthropomorphisms: in short a sum of human relations which became poetically and rhetorically intensified,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-therefore-is-truth-a-mobile-army-of-metaphors-metonymies/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Truth is a mobile army of metaphors, metonyms, anthropomorphisms, in short, a sum of human relations which were poetically and rhetorically heightened, transferred, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/truth-is-a-mobile-army-of-metaphors-metonyms-anthropomorphisms-in/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“truths are illusions about which one has forgotten that this is what they are; metaphors which are worn out and without sensuous power; coins…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/truths-are-illusions-about-which-one-has-forgotten-that-this-is-what/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Are designations congruent with things? Is language the adequate expression of all realities? It is only by means of forgetfulness that man can ever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-neitzsche/are-designations-congruent-with-things-is-language-the-adequate/)

[Friedrich Neitzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-neitzsche/)

> [Om (AUM) is the truth of all truths, the light of all lights and the destroyer of all illusions.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-ray/om-aum-is-the-truth-of-all-truths-the-light-of-all-lights-and-the/)

[Amit Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-ray/)

> [“In order to think and infer it is necessary to assume beings: logic handles only formulas for what remains the same. That is why…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/in-order-to-think-and-infer-it-is-necessary-to-assume-beings-logic/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [What then is truth? A movable host of metaphors, metonymies, and anthropomorphisms: in short, a sum of human relations which have been poetically and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-then-is-truth-a-movable-host-of-metaphors-metonymies-and/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Truth is a mobile army of metaphors, metonyms, anthropomorphisms, in short a sum of human relations which have been subjected to poetic and rhetorical…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/truth-is-a-mobile-army-of-metaphors-metonyms-anthropomorphisms-in-2/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [The truth of no truths becomes, inevitably, truth: a way of naming being, language, and culture that guards the boundaries of thought against claims…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-truth-of-no-truths-becomes-inevitably-truth-a-way-of-naming-being/)

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

> [And now brothers, I will ask you a terrible question, and God knows I ask it also of myself. Is the truth beyond all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-buechner/and-now-brothers-i-will-ask-you-a-terrible-question-and-god-knows-i/)

[Frederick Buechner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-buechner/)

> [The gospel is not a truth among other truths. Rather, it sets a question mark against all truths.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-barth/the-gospel-is-not-a-truth-among-other-truths-rather-it-sets-a/)

[Karl Barth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-barth/)

> [“I preach there are all kinds of truth, your truth and somebody else's, but behind all of them, there's only one truth and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/flannery-o-connor/i-preach-there-are-all-kinds-of-truth-your-truth-and-somebody-else-s/)

[Flannery O'Connor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/flannery-o-connor/)

> [“They decided now, talking it over in their tight little two-and-quarter room flat, that most people who call themselves 'truth seekers' - persons who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sinclair-lewis/they-decided-now-talking-it-over-in-their-tight-little-two-and/)

[Sinclair Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sinclair-lewis/)

> [Historically whoever advocates truth always suffers. I am just a fighter for the truth. Our truths are universal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/merve-kavakc/historically-whoever-advocates-truth-always-suffers-i-am-just-a/)

[Merve Kavakc](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/merve-kavakc/)

## More by Friedrich Nietzsche

> [Animals know nothing of themselves, and they also know nothing of the world.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/animals-know-nothing-of-themselves-and-they-also-know-nothing-of-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Every select man strives instinctively for a citadel and a privacy, where he is FREE from the crowd, the many, the majority-- where he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/every-select-man-strives-instinctively-for-a-citadel-and-a-privacy/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“It breaks my heart. Better than your words, your eye tells me all your peril. You are not yet free, you still search for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-breaks-my-heart-better-than-your-words-your-eye-tells-me-all-your/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“79. A soul which knows that it is loved, but does not itself love, betrays its sediment: its dregs come up.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/79-a-soul-which-knows-that-it-is-loved-but-does-not-itself-love/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [We deceive ourselves when giving respect to the person for whom we have surrendered ourselves, when we respectively expect them to be as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/we-deceive-ourselves-when-giving-respect-to-the-person-for-whom-we/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“The great periods of our life occur when we gain the courage to rechristen what is bad about us as what is best.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-great-periods-of-our-life-occur-when-we-gain-the-courage-to/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“What is life? Life - that is: continually shedding something that wants to die. Life - that is: being cruel and inexorable against everything…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-is-life-life-that-is-continually-shedding-something-that-wants/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [It is thus only this personal feeling of misery that we get rid of by acts of pity.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/it-is-thus-only-this-personal-feeling-of-misery-that-we-get-rid-of-by/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Writers whose thoughts are expressed with clarity and precision are assumed by readers to be superficial. Where the meaning is obscured, then readers give…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/writers-whose-thoughts-are-expressed-with-clarity-and-precision-are/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“he does not wear a twitching, mobile, human face, but rather a mask, as it were, with its features in dignified equilibrium; he does…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/he-does-not-wear-a-twitching-mobile-human-face-but-rather-a-mask-as/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Chastity is a virtue with some, but with many it is almost a vice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/chastity-is-a-virtue-with-some-but-with-many-it-is-almost-a-vice/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [The earth is like the breasts of a woman: useful as well as pleasing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/the-earth-is-like-the-breasts-of-a-woman-useful-as-well-as-pleasing/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [“Of all that is written I love only what a man has written in his own blood.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/of-all-that-is-written-i-love-only-what-a-man-has-written-in-his-own/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [No shepherd and one herd! Everybody wants the same, everybody is the same: whoever feels different goes voluntarily into a madhouse.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/no-shepherd-and-one-herd-everybody-wants-the-same-everybody-is-the/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

> [Pain makes hens and poets cackle.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/pain-makes-hens-and-poets-cackle/)

[Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

[Explore all 3,486 Friedrich Nietzsche quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/)

## More Forgotten quotes

> [While the 1963 Birmingham church bombing is the most historic, there also was a series of church burnings in the 1990s. Recognition of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anthea-butler/while-the-1963-birmingham-church-bombing-is-the-most-historic-there/)

[Anthea Butler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anthea-butler/)

> [Family means no one gets left behind or forgotten.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-ogden-stiers/family-means-no-one-gets-left-behind-or-forgotten/)

[David Ogden Stiers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-ogden-stiers/)

> [I was just going to say something, but I forgot when I started looking at you.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-was-just-going-to-say-something-but-i-forgot-when-i-started-looking/)

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

> [Black women's intersectional experiences of racism and sexism have been a central but forgotten dynamic in the unfolding of feminist and antiracist agendas.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/black-women-s-intersectional-experiences-of-racism-and-sexism-have/)

[Kimberle Williams Crenshaw](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kimberle-williams-crenshaw/)

> [I mean, sitcoms shouldn't be doing 'Saturday Night Live.' You can't just do bit after bit after bit. You have to string it together…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joyce-dewitt/i-mean-sitcoms-shouldn-t-be-doing-saturday-night-live-you-can-t-just/)

[Joyce DeWitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joyce-dewitt/)

> [People paid money for tickets to see us and be entertained by us, and we've never forgotten that. Anything after that was a bonus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/malcolm-young/people-paid-money-for-tickets-to-see-us-and-be-entertained-by-us-and/)

[Malcolm Young](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/malcolm-young/)

> [“Forgotten hero was never the real hero, real hero can not be forgotten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/forgotten-hero-was-never-the-real-hero-real-hero-can-not-be-forgotten/)

[Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/)

> [We began as mineral. We emerged into plant life, and into the animal state, and then into being human, and always we have forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rumi/we-began-as-mineral-we-emerged-into-plant-life-and-into-the-animal/)

[Rumi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rumi/)

> [It's the frames which make some things important and some things forgotten. It's all only frames from which the content rises.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eve-babitz/it-s-the-frames-which-make-some-things-important-and-some-things/)

[Eve Babitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eve-babitz/)

> [Our public officials have forgotten that they are ultimately accountable to the people who put them in office, that the information they keep in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yoko-ono/our-public-officials-have-forgotten-that-they-are-ultimately/)

[Yoko Ono](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yoko-ono/)

> [I have never forgotten a picture that I ever made.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-bourke-white/i-have-never-forgotten-a-picture-that-i-ever-made/)

[Margaret Bourke-White](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-bourke-white/)

> [I had forgotten that talking to you is like trying to pet a cactus." Saiman said dryly. "Thank you for reminding me." "Always happy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ilona-andrews/i-had-forgotten-that-talking-to-you-is-like-trying-to-pet-a-cactus/)

[Ilona Andrews](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ilona-andrews/)

> [Im afraid of being forgotten. Because, it seems everyone I get close to, ends up forgetting me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arcine-arciniegas/im-afraid-of-being-forgotten-because-it-seems-everyone-i-get-close-to/)

[Arcine Arciniegas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arcine-arciniegas/)

> [A lover asked his beloved, Do you love yourself more than you love me? Beloved replied, I have died to myself and I live…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/a-lover-asked-his-beloved-do-you-love-yourself-more-than-you-love-me/)

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

> [“I had forgotten how wonderful it is to stand on a bridge and catch the scent of rain in the air. I had forgotten…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-steinbach/i-had-forgotten-how-wonderful-it-is-to-stand-on-a-bridge-and-catch/)

[Alice Steinbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-steinbach/)

[Browse all 2,870 Forgotten quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/forgotten/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "What, then is truth?... Truths are illusions about which one has forgotten that this is what they are.",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Friedrich Nietzsche"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-then-is-truth-truths-are-illusions-about-which-one-has-forgotten/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "Forgotten"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-then-is-truth-truths-are-illusions-about-which-one-has-forgotten/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/friedrich-nietzsche-15_forgotten_what-then-is-truth-truths-are-illusions_1842574.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/friedrich-nietzsche-15_forgotten_what-then-is-truth-truths-are-illusions_1842574.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/beb/friedrich-nietzsche-15_forgotten_what-then-is-truth-truths-are-illusions_1842574.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“What, then is truth?... Truths are illusions about which one has forgotten that this is what they are.” — Friedrich Nietzsche",
                "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": "Friedrich Nietzsche",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "What, then is truth?... Truths are...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-then-is-truth-truths-are-illusions-about-which-one-has-forgotten/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/what-then-is-truth-truths-are-illusions-about-which-one-has-forgotten/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
