Animal Quote by Sam Harris
“Our moral reasoning is plagued by two illusions. The first illusion can be called the wag-the-dog illusion: We believe that our own moral judgment (the dog) is driven by our own moral reasoning (the tail). The second illusion can be called the wag-theother-dog's-tail illusion: In a moral argument, we expect the successful rebuttal of an opponent's arguments to change the opponent's mind. Such a belief is like thinking that forcing a dog's tail to wag by moving it with your hand will make the dog happy.”
About This Quote
Source Book: The Moral Landscape, Sam Harris, 2010
Moral judgments are mistaken to be self‑driven; arguments rarely change minds.
In simple terms: Moral reasoning is illusionary.
Key Takeaway
Question assumptions about persuasion.
Themes
ethics
psychology
argumentation
bias
Mood
analytical
skeptical
Type
philosophical
educational
When to use this quote
- debate
- policy making
- education
- conflict resolution
Key Concepts
philosophy
cognitive science
Questions to Reflect On
- Why do we cling to our views?
- What truly shifts belief?
A Different Perspective
Changing hearts often requires empathy, not logic alone.
![“Moderates in every faith are obliged to loosely interpret (or simply ignore) much of their canons in the interests of living in the modern world. [...] The first thing to observe about the moderate’s retreat from scriptural literalism is that it draws its inspiration not from scripture but from…” quote by Sam Harris](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/img-quotes/b44/sam-harris-457_bible_moderates-in-every-faith-are-obliged-to_6967.jpg)
