--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: It is impossible for someone to lie…" description: "\"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..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/harry-frankfurt-32619_impossible_it-is-impossible-for-someone-to-lie-unle_2369830.png" --- # It is impossible for someone to lie unless he thinks he… ![“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.” quote by Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/harry-frankfurt-32619_impossible_it-is-impossible-for-someone-to-lie-unle_2369830.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/harry-frankfurt-32619_impossible_it-is-impossible-for-someone-to-lie-unle_2369830.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/harry-frankfurt-32619_impossible_it-is-impossible-for-someone-to-lie-unle_2369830.png) > “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](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. People lie because they believe they know the truth, so lying can be seen as a twisted form of respect for that truth. **In simple terms:** Lying shows a distorted respect for truth. Key Takeaway Question the assumptions behind your truths. Themes ethics truth lie Mood critical thoughtful Type philosophical ethical When to use this quote - debate - legal testimony - personal relationships Key Concepts philosophy cognitive bias integrity Questions to Reflect On - What truth do you think you know? - When does respecting truth become harmful? A Different Perspective Lying can still cause harm despite perceived respect. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) [Knows](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/knows/) [Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies/) [Lies Responding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies-responding-5832252/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Person Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/person-lies-905892/) [Persons](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/persons/) [Respectful](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/respectful/) [Responding](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responding/) [Responding Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/responding-truth-3941347/) [Thinking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/thinking/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) [Truth Person](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth-person-435734/) ## Related quotes > [Responding to truth will keep you safe. Reacting to error will only create another error.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-johnson/responding-to-truth-will-keep-you-safe-reacting-to-error-will-only/) [Bill Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-johnson/) > [When you are relaxed and you hear what you know is the truth, regardless of your experience, you love. You love the truth. You…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-de-ruiter/when-you-are-relaxed-and-you-hear-what-you-know-is-the-truth/) [John de Ruiter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-de-ruiter/) > [Perhaps he d always known that the truth of a person lies in the heart.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jodi-picoult/perhaps-he-d-always-known-that-the-truth-of-a-person-lies-in-the-heart/) [Jodi Picoult](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jodi-picoult/) > [If you want to be loved, start loving others who need your love…If you want others to sympathize with you, start showing sympathy to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paramahansa-yogananda/if-you-want-to-be-loved-start-loving-others-who-need-your-love-if-you/) [Paramahansa Yogananda](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paramahansa-yogananda/) > [The reality of the other person lies not in what he reveals to you, but what he cannot reveal to you. Therefore, if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-reality-of-the-other-person-lies-not-in-what-he-reveals-to-you/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The world's most sensible and the most idiotic person lies within us.. the worst part is we can't say who is who”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chetan-bhagat/the-world-s-most-sensible-and-the-most-idiotic-person-lies-within-us/) [Chetan Bhagat](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chetan-bhagat/) > [Behind every successful person...lies a pack of haterz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amee/behind-every-successful-person-lies-a-pack-of-haterz/) [Amee](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amee/) > [Its bad when a person lies so much they start to believe their own lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/its-bad-when-a-person-lies-so-much-they-start-to-believe-their-own/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [People think that a liar gains a victory over his victim. What I’ve learned is that a lie is an act of self-abdication, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ayn-rand/people-think-that-a-liar-gains-a-victory-over-his-victim-what-i-ve/) [Ayn Rand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ayn-rand/) > [“liar is a person who lies.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aabid/liar-is-a-person-who-lies/) [Aabid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aabid/) > [I am way to honest that I get myself in trouble. If you're being a person who lies over revealing the truth, then I…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-am-way-to-honest-that-i-get-myself-in-trouble-if-you-re-being-a/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“One or two is early enough for a person who lies till ten.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-bronte/one-or-two-is-early-enough-for-a-person-who-lies-till-ten/) [Emily Brontë](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-bronte/) > [Behind Every successful person lies s pack of haterz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kellz/behind-every-successful-person-lies-s-pack-of-haterz/) [Kellz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kellz/) > [People who are too lazy to look for the truth have no right to blame the person who lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/people-who-are-too-lazy-to-look-for-the-truth-have-no-right-to-blame/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [If a person lies to you about what's in their bank account, they'll lie to you about other things as well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christie-brinkley/if-a-person-lies-to-you-about-what-s-in-their-bank-account-they-ll/) [Christie Brinkley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christie-brinkley/) ## More by Harry Frankfurt > [The fact about himself that the liar hides is that he is attempting to lead us away from a correct apprehension of reality; we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/the-fact-about-himself-that-the-liar-hides-is-that-he-is-attempting/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit. Everyone knows this. Each of us contributes his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/one-of-the-most-salient-features-of-our-culture-is-that-there-is-so/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/i-was-raised-in-brooklyn-and-in-baltimore-my-father-was-a-bookkeeper/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [Bullshit is unavoidable when circumstances require someone to talk without knowing what he is talking about. Thus, the production of bullshit is stimulated whenever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/bullshit-is-unavoidable-when-circumstances-require-someone-to-talk/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [Someone who lies and someone who tells the truth are playing on opposite sides, so to speak, in the same game. Each responds to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/someone-who-lies-and-someone-who-tells-the-truth-are-playing-on/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [The bullshitter is neither on the side of the true or the side of the false. His eye is not on the facts at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/the-bullshitter-is-neither-on-the-side-of-the-true-or-the-side-of-the/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [One of the most salient features of our culture is that there is so much bullshit.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/one-of-the-most-salient-features-of-our-culture-is-that-there-is-so-2/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [“Bullshit is unavoidable whenever circumstances require someone to talk without knowing what he is talking about. Thus the production of bullshit is stimulated whenever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/bullshit-is-unavoidable-whenever-circumstances-require-someone-to/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [Recognizing truth requires selflessness. You have to leave yourself out of it so you can find out the way things are in themselves, not…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/recognizing-truth-requires-selflessness-you-have-to-leave-yourself/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/i-used-to-teach-at-yale-which-was-at-one-time-a-center-of/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/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…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/it-is-only-because-a-person-has-volitions-of-the-second-order-that-he/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [Bullshit is a greater enemy of the truth than lies are.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/bullshit-is-a-greater-enemy-of-the-truth-than-lies-are/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [“When a honest man speaks, he says only what he believes to be true; and for the liar, it is correspondingly indispensable that he…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/when-a-honest-man-speaks-he-says-only-what-he-believes-to-be-true-and/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) > [As a philosopher, I'm not obliged to explore every unknown wilderness.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/as-a-philosopher-i-m-not-obliged-to-explore-every-unknown-wilderness/) [Harry Frankfurt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) [Explore all 15 Harry Frankfurt quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/) ## More Impossible quotes > [Making movies seemed so impossible as far as getting my ideas funded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/making-movies-seemed-so-impossible-as-far-as-getting-my-ideas-funded/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [All Germany was in turmoil. Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/) [James Cross Giblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cross-giblin/) > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [History is, in its essentials, the science of change. It knows and it teaches that it is impossible to find two events that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bloch/history-is-in-its-essentials-the-science-of-change-it-knows-and-it/) [Marc Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bloch/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [every being is unique.god neva creates carbon copies,he alys creates originals.he is truly a creator.he neva repeats.but man goes on living in imitation.we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-being-is-unique-god-neva-creates-carbon-copies-he-alys-creates/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is not enough to dream of the Impossible Love - it is necessary to conquer it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-is-not-enough-to-dream-of-the-impossible-love-it-is-necessary-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I've heard from the movie marketplace that James Cameron did such a killer job with 'Titanic' that it's almost impossible to do anything better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-ve-heard-from-the-movie-marketplace-that-james-cameron-did-such-a/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [Among the many factors that make a return to halcyon days of the first decades of the postwar era virtually impossible is the decline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gilpin/among-the-many-factors-that-make-a-return-to-halcyon-days-of-the/) [Robert Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gilpin/) > [Ronaldo is just an athlete. He works so hard and back to back; he is always there. But if you work hard, can you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-davids/ronaldo-is-just-an-athlete-he-works-so-hard-and-back-to-back-he-is/) [Edgar Davids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-davids/) > [In such a diversity it was impossible I should be disposed to melancholy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-boone/in-such-a-diversity-it-was-impossible-i-should-be-disposed-to/) [Daniel Boone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-boone/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [I just like stories about redemption about getting a second chance at life, I think everyone in the world has a few major mistakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/i-just-like-stories-about-redemption-about-getting-a-second-chance-at/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [It's impossible to know who Donald might have been under different circumstances and with different parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-l-trump/it-s-impossible-to-know-who-donald-might-have-been-under-different/) [Mary L. Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-l-trump/) [Browse all 7,633 Impossible quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "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.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Harry Frankfurt" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/it-is-impossible-for-someone-to-lie-unless-he-thinks-he-knows-the/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Impossible" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/it-is-impossible-for-someone-to-lie-unless-he-thinks-he-knows-the/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/harry-frankfurt-32619_impossible_it-is-impossible-for-someone-to-lie-unle_2369830.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/harry-frankfurt-32619_impossible_it-is-impossible-for-someone-to-lie-unle_2369830.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/0cc/harry-frankfurt-32619_impossible_it-is-impossible-for-someone-to-lie-unle_2369830.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“It is impossible for someone to lie unless he thinks he knows the truth. A person who lies is thereby…” — Harry Frankfurt", "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": "Harry Frankfurt", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/harry-frankfurt/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "It is impossible for someone to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/it-is-impossible-for-someone-to-lie-unless-he-thinks-he-knows-the/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/harry-frankfurt/it-is-impossible-for-someone-to-lie-unless-he-thinks-he-knows-the/#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 } } ] } ```