--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: But the truth is that no person ever…" description: "\"But the truth is that no person ever understands another, from beginning to end of life, there is no truth that can be known, only the story we imagine..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e9/orson-scott-card-134_being-true_but-the-truth-is-that-no-person-ever-und_2872091.jpg" --- # But the truth is that no person ever understands another… ![“But the truth is that no person ever understands another, from beginning to end of life, there is no truth that can be known, only the story we imagine to be true, the story they really believe to be true about themselves; and all of them lies.” quote by Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e9/orson-scott-card-134_being-true_but-the-truth-is-that-no-person-ever-und_2872091.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e9/orson-scott-card-134_being-true_but-the-truth-is-that-no-person-ever-und_2872091.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e9/orson-scott-card-134_being-true_but-the-truth-is-that-no-person-ever-und_2872091.jpg) > “But the truth is that no person ever understands another, from beginning to end of life, there is no truth that can be known, only the story we imagine to be true, the story they really believe to be true about themselves; and all of them lies.” [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Understanding others fully is impossible; we only know our imagined narratives, which are often false. **In simple terms:** We can’t truly know others; we only have stories. Key Takeaway Seek empathy while recognizing its limits. Themes misunderstanding subjectivity truth Mood thoughtful critical Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - relationships - conflict resolution - teamwork Key Concepts epistemology narrative theory Questions to Reflect On - How do your narratives shape perception? - Can we ever bridge the gap? A Different Perspective Stories can become self‑fulfilling, limiting openness. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [End of life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/end-of-life/) [Lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lies/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Life truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life-truth/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Stories](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/stories/) [True lies](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/true-lies/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [Being true to yourself means living in truth with each person in your life. It means refusing to say or do something that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/being-true-to-yourself-means-living-in-truth-with-each-person-in-your/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [My friend James Cameron and I made three films together - True Lies, The Terminator and Terminator 2. Of course, that was during his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/arnold-schwarzenegger/my-friend-james-cameron-and-i-made-three-films-together-true-lies-the/) [Arnold Schwarzenegger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/arnold-schwarzenegger/) > ['True Lies' reinvented me in the eyes of a new generation and got me offers.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/art-malik/true-lies-reinvented-me-in-the-eyes-of-a-new-generation-and-got-me/) [Art Malik](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/art-malik/) > [First, you have stereotypes, and that will be the black drug dealer, the east Asian kung fu master, the Middle Eastern terrorist in 'True…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/riz-ahmed/first-you-have-stereotypes-and-that-will-be-the-black-drug-dealer-the/) [Riz Ahmed](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/riz-ahmed/) > [No ideology better understands the need for enemies than neoconservatism, and when the cold war dramatically and unexpectedly ended, the way was prepared for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-fisher/no-ideology-better-understands-the-need-for-enemies-than/) [Mark Fisher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-fisher/) > [“Real Truth exists because True Lies exist.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/triforce-gamemaster/real-truth-exists-because-true-lies-exist/) TriForce Gamemaster > [That awesome feeling when your best friend lied to you..fake friends, true lies.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bhumika/that-awesome-feeling-when-your-best-friend-lied-to-you-fake-friends/) [Bhumika](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bhumika/) > [Books do pretend ...but squeezed in between is even more that is true—without what you may call the lies, the pages would be too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-pearl/books-do-pretend-but-squeezed-in-between-is-even-more-that-is-true/) [Matthew Pearl](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-pearl/) > [When I worked with Jamie Lee Curtis in True Lies, she told me, You need a plan B, because when you have six months…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/eliza-dushku/when-i-worked-with-jamie-lee-curtis-in-true-lies-she-told-me-you-need/) [Eliza Dushku](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/eliza-dushku/) > [I had the best time I ever had on a Jim Cameron movie - True Lies, 1994. It was the single most freeing experience…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jamie-lee-curtis/i-had-the-best-time-i-ever-had-on-a-jim-cameron-movie-true-lies-1994/) [Jamie Lee Curtis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jamie-lee-curtis/) > [Some of these things are true and some of them lies. But they are all good stories.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hilary-mantel/some-of-these-things-are-true-and-some-of-them-lies-but-they-are-all/) [Hilary Mantel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hilary-mantel/) > [All myth is an enriched pattern, a two-faced proposition, allowing its operator to say one thing and mean another, to lead a double life.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anne-carson/all-myth-is-an-enriched-pattern-a-two-faced-proposition-allowing-its/) [Anne Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anne-carson/) > [Kids; 10 seconds of joy, 30 years of misery](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-arnold/kids-10-seconds-of-joy-30-years-of-misery/) [Tom Arnold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-arnold/) > [“I'm still in love with the parts I believed to be true. All the lies that began and ended with 'I love you'.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alfa-h/i-m-still-in-love-with-the-parts-i-believed-to-be-true-all-the-lies/) [Alfa H](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alfa-h/) > [A novel which persuades us of its truth is true however full of lies it may be](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mario-vargas-llosa/a-novel-which-persuades-us-of-its-truth-is-true-however-full-of-lies/) [Mario Vargas Llosa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mario-vargas-llosa/) ## More by Orson Scott Card > [“You underestimate yourself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/you-underestimate-yourself/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [We're like the wicked witch. We promise gingerbread, then eat the little brats alive.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/we-re-like-the-wicked-witch-we-promise-gingerbread-then-eat-the/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [I think that most of us, anyway, read these stories that we know are not "true" because we're hungry for another kind of truth:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-think-that-most-of-us-anyway-read-these-stories-that-we-know-are/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Why did he hesitate? He finally admitted to himself that he was like an American child who was almost completely certain about Santa Claus,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/why-did-he-hesitate-he-finally-admitted-to-himself-that-he-was-like/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“I don't know of a soul who doesn't maintain two separate lists of doctrines - the ones they believe they believe; and the ones…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/i-don-t-know-of-a-soul-who-doesn-t-maintain-two-separate-lists-of/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Good people do not let others suffer needlessly.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/good-people-do-not-let-others-suffer-needlessly/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“The devil?” Jason heaved the tick over his shoulder like a collier with his sack. “Satan. The adversary. The enemy of the plan of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/the-devil-jason-heaved-the-tick-over-his-shoulder-like-a-collier-with/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“What we've done is make the categories of science fiction and fantasy larger, freer, and more inclusive than any other genre of contemporary literature.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/what-we-ve-done-is-make-the-categories-of-science-fiction-and-fantasy/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Where ideas are real and reality is shadow.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-ideas-are-real-and-reality-is-shadow/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Ender, for the past few months you have been the battle commander of our fleets. This was the Third Invasion. There were no games,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/ender-for-the-past-few-months-you-have-been-the-battle-commander-of/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Science fiction is about what could be but isn't; fantasy is about what couldn't be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/science-fiction-is-about-what-could-be-but-isn-t-fantasy-is-about/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [Knowledge is just opinion that you trust enough to act upon.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/knowledge-is-just-opinion-that-you-trust-enough-to-act-upon/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Of course they accused Marcão of having done it without provocation—that’s the way of torturers of every age, to put the blame on the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/of-course-they-accused-marc-o-of-having-done-it-without-provocation/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Civilization is only a pretense; in the crisis, we become mere apes again, forgetting the rational biped of our pretensions and becoming instead the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/civilization-is-only-a-pretense-in-the-crisis-we-become-mere-apes/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) > [“Where did this whole thing begin? If what we think of as reality is just a pattern that somebody brought Outside, and the universe…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/where-did-this-whole-thing-begin-if-what-we-think-of-as-reality-is/) [Orson Scott Card](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) [Explore all 1,158 Orson Scott Card quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/) ## More Being true quotes > [Life as we know it is fundamentally unsatisfying. I think most folks feel this to be true. They know that a life of aimless…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-yates/life-as-we-know-it-is-fundamentally-unsatisfying-i-think-most-folks/) [Michael Yates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-yates/) > [Whatever your conscious mind assumes and believes to be true, your subconscious mind will accept and bring to pass. Believe in good fortune, divine…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-murphy/whatever-your-conscious-mind-assumes-and-believes-to-be-true-your/) [Joseph Murphy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-murphy/) > [Some article called me the most feared man in Silicon Valley. Good Lord! Why? My teenage boys got a kick out of it: 'Dad,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nathan-myhrvold/some-article-called-me-the-most-feared-man-in-silicon-valley-good/) [Nathan Myhrvold](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nathan-myhrvold/) > [So Americans understand the costs of war. Yet as a country, we will never tolerate our security being threatened, nor stand idly by when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barack-obama/so-americans-understand-the-costs-of-war-yet-as-a-country-we-will/) [Barack Obama](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barack-obama/) > [Intuitionists think that there are cases in which, say, some identity statement between real numbers is neither true nor false, even though we know…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-f-heck/intuitionists-think-that-there-are-cases-in-which-say-some-identity/) [Richard F. Heck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-f-heck/) > [Don't be pretentious is my first advice to young writers. This is the big problem - just because you're getting an MFA doesn't mean…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-shteyngart/don-t-be-pretentious-is-my-first-advice-to-young-writers-this-is-the/) [Gary Shteyngart](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-shteyngart/) > [There is no normal. I've never met a normal person. The concept is flawed. It implies that there is only one way people are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maureen-johnson/there-is-no-normal-i-ve-never-met-a-normal-person-the-concept-is/) [Maureen Johnson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maureen-johnson/) > [I learned a tremendous amount about what was important to me as a head coach in that I was not in charge. I didn't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pete-carroll/i-learned-a-tremendous-amount-about-what-was-important-to-me-as-a/) [Pete Carroll](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pete-carroll/) > [Life is all about being true to yourself and what you believe in](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andy-biersack/life-is-all-about-being-true-to-yourself-and-what-you-believe-in/) [Andy Biersack](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andy-biersack/) > [I have spent most of my life unlearning things that were proved not to be true](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/r-buckminster-fuller/i-have-spent-most-of-my-life-unlearning-things-that-were-proved-not/) [R. Buckminster Fuller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/r-buckminster-fuller/) > [It seemed too good to be true. That's grace.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/judah-smith/it-seemed-too-good-to-be-true-that-s-grace/) [Judah Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/judah-smith/) > [You create the happiness and the balance that you have, and your own power. This is one thing that I know to be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bonnie-raitt/you-create-the-happiness-and-the-balance-that-you-have-and-your-own/) [Bonnie Raitt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bonnie-raitt/) > [Being true to yourself means living in truth with each person in your life. It means refusing to say or do something that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/brian-tracy/being-true-to-yourself-means-living-in-truth-with-each-person-in-your/) [Brian Tracy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/brian-tracy/) > [History is nothing but gossip about the past, with the hope that it might be true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gore-vidal/history-is-nothing-but-gossip-about-the-past-with-the-hope-that-it/) [Gore Vidal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gore-vidal/) > [It is not the responsibility of the enlightened teacher to bring the student to enlightenment. That may be true in the classroom, but in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/it-is-not-the-responsibility-of-the-enlightened-teacher-to-bring-the/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) Browse all 1,447 Being true quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "But the truth is that no person ever understands another, from beginning to end of life, there is no truth that can be known, only the story we imagine to be true, the story they really believe to be true about themselves; and all of them lies.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Orson Scott Card" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/but-the-truth-is-that-no-person-ever-understands-another-from/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Being true" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/but-the-truth-is-that-no-person-ever-understands-another-from/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e9/orson-scott-card-134_being-true_but-the-truth-is-that-no-person-ever-und_2872091.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e9/orson-scott-card-134_being-true_but-the-truth-is-that-no-person-ever-und_2872091.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1e9/orson-scott-card-134_being-true_but-the-truth-is-that-no-person-ever-und_2872091.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“But the truth is that no person ever understands another, from beginning to end of life, there is no truth…” — Orson Scott Card", "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": "Orson Scott Card", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-scott-card/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "But the truth is that no...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/but-the-truth-is-that-no-person-ever-understands-another-from/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-scott-card/but-the-truth-is-that-no-person-ever-understands-another-from/#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 } } ] } ```