--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The need for truth is not constant; no…" description: "\"The need for truth is not constant; no more than is the need for repose. An idea which is a distortion may have a greater intellectual thrust than the ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6d/susan-sontag-332_balance_the-need-for-truth-is-not-constant-no-mo_2562686.jpg" --- # The need for truth is not constant; no more than is the… ![“The need for truth is not constant; no more than is the need for repose. An idea which is a distortion may have a greater intellectual thrust than the truth; it may better serve the needs of the spirit, which vary. The truth is balance, but the opposite of truth, which is unbalance, may not be a…” quote by Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6d/susan-sontag-332_balance_the-need-for-truth-is-not-constant-no-mo_2562686.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6d/susan-sontag-332_balance_the-need-for-truth-is-not-constant-no-mo_2562686.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/b6d/susan-sontag-332_balance_the-need-for-truth-is-not-constant-no-mo_2562686.jpg) > “The need for truth is not constant; no more than is the need for repose. An idea which is a distortion may have a greater intellectual thrust than the truth; it may better serve the needs of the spirit, which vary. The truth is balance, but the opposite of truth, which is unbalance, may not be a lie.” [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Truth and repose are not equally needed; distortions can energize the spirit, while truth offers balance but can be unsettling. **In simple terms:** Truth balances; distortions can inspire. Key Takeaway Seek balance, recognize when distortion serves purpose. Themes truth balance spiritual need distortion Mood contemplative thoughtful Type philosophical reflective When to use this quote - creative writing - personal reflection - spiritual practice - academic analysis Key Concepts philosophy psychology aesthetics Questions to Reflect On - When does a distortion become harmful? - How can balance be maintained? A Different Perspective Distortions may mislead or cause confusion. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Balance](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) [Distortion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/distortion/) [Ideas](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ideas/) [Intellectual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intellectual/) [Lying](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/lying/) [Opposites](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/opposites/) [Religion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/religion/) [Spirit](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/spirit/) [Truth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/truth/) ## Related quotes > [The truth is balance. However the opposite of truth, which is unbalance, may not be a lie.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-truth-is-balance-however-the-opposite-of-truth-which-is-unbalance/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“The truth is, balance is bunk. It is an unattainable pipe dream... . The quest for balance between work and life, as we’ve come to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gary-keller/the-truth-is-balance-is-bunk-it-is-an-unattainable-pipe-dream-the/) [Gary Keller](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gary-keller/) > [“ Two contrary reasons . We must begin with that, otherwise we cannot understand anything and everything is heretical. And even at the end…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/blaise-pascal/two-contrary-reasons-we-must-begin-with-that-otherwise-we-cannot/) [Blaise Pascal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/blaise-pascal/) > [“The opposite of every truth is just as true! That’s like this: any truth can only be expressed and put into words when it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-opposite-of-every-truth-is-just-as-true-that-s-like-this-any/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“...the opposite of every truth is just as true! That is to say, any truth can only be expressed and put into words when…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-opposite-of-every-truth-is-just-as-true-that-is-to-say-any-truth/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [“Men say that we ought not to enquire into the supreme God and the nature of the universe, nor busy ourselves in searching out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/plato/men-say-that-we-ought-not-to-enquire-into-the-supreme-god-and-the/) [Plato](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/plato/) > [We have demythologized prematurely, that we've actually lost the vocabulary for discussing reality at its largest scales. The idea that myth is the opposite…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilynne-robinson/we-have-demythologized-prematurely-that-we-ve-actually-lost-the/) [Marilynne Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilynne-robinson/) > [I hate myself so much. I always believe the opposite of the truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-hate-myself-so-much-i-always-believe-the-opposite-of-the-truth/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [A great truth is a truth whose opposite is also a truth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-mann/a-great-truth-is-a-truth-whose-opposite-is-also-a-truth/) [Thomas Mann](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-mann/) > [The opposite of every truth is just as true.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hermann-hesse/the-opposite-of-every-truth-is-just-as-true/) [Hermann Hesse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hermann-hesse/) > [The idea that myth is the opposite of knowledge, or the opposite of truth, is simply to disallow it. 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It’s also the truth that I’m not a good bet…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lily-morton/the-truth-is-that-i-will-always-need-you-more-than-you-need-me-it-s/) [Lily Morton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lily-morton/) > [Everyone wants to be truth tellers today while never thinking we are the ones who need the truth told to us. It's quite amusing.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sho-baraka/everyone-wants-to-be-truth-tellers-today-while-never-thinking-we-are/) [Sho Baraka](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sho-baraka/) ## More by Susan Sontag > [the appetite for thinking must be regulated, as all sensible people know, for it may stifle one's life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-appetite-for-thinking-must-be-regulated-as-all-sensible-people/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [We are ruled by quotations.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/we-are-ruled-by-quotations/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Unfortunately, moral beauty in art - like physical beauty in a person - is extremely perishable. It is nowhere so durable as artistic or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/unfortunately-moral-beauty-in-art-like-physical-beauty-in-a-person-is/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Like the collector, the photographer is animated by a passion that, even when it appears to be for the present, is linked to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/like-the-collector-the-photographer-is-animated-by-a-passion-that/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [ Anthropology has always struggled with an intense, fascinated repulsion towards its subject… \[The anthropologist\] submits himself to the exotic to confirm his own inner… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/anthropology-has-always-struggled-with-an-intense-fascinated/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [“Why not eliminate schooling between age 12-16? It’s biologically + psychologically too turbulent a time to be cooped up inside, made to sit all…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/why-not-eliminate-schooling-between-age-12-16-it-s-biologically/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [To photograph people is to violate them, by seeing them as they never see themselves, by having knowledge of them that they can never…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/to-photograph-people-is-to-violate-them-by-seeing-them-as-they-never/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [One set of messages of the society we live in is: Consume. Grow. Do what you want. Amuse yourselves. The very working of this…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/one-set-of-messages-of-the-society-we-live-in-is-consume-grow-do-what/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Currently intellectuals in Western Europe and North America are extremely demoralized and shaken by the rise of a virulent conservative tendency (which some have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/currently-intellectuals-in-western-europe-and-north-america-are/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [With the modern diseases (once TB, now cancer) the romantic idea that the disease expresses the character is invariably extended to assert that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/with-the-modern-diseases-once-tb-now-cancer-the-romantic-idea-that/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [As objects of contemplation, images of the atrocious can answer to several different needs. To steel oneself against weakness. To make oneself more numb.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/as-objects-of-contemplation-images-of-the-atrocious-can-answer-to/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The creative phase of an idea coincides with the period during which it insists, cantankerously, on its boundaries, on what makes it different; but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-creative-phase-of-an-idea-coincides-with-the-period-during-which/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [Photographs objectify: they turn an event or a person into something that can be possessed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/photographs-objectify-they-turn-an-event-or-a-person-into-something/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [I'm not interested in giving aid and comfort to the neo­-Conservatives.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/i-m-not-interested-in-giving-aid-and-comfort-to-the-neo-conservatives/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) > [The feminist movement has been important to me because it's made me feel less odd and also because it has made me understand some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susan-sontag/the-feminist-movement-has-been-important-to-me-because-it-s-made-me/) [Susan Sontag](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) [Explore all 644 Susan Sontag quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susan-sontag/) ## More Balance quotes > [Balance suggests a perfect equilibrium. There is no such thing. That is a false expectation… There are going to be priorities and dimensions of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/denise-morrison/balance-suggests-a-perfect-equilibrium-there-is-no-such-thing-that-is/) [Denise Morrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/denise-morrison/) > [The bones of my architecture are very much related to the structure, to the physical fact of how a building can stand up; it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/santiago-calatrava/the-bones-of-my-architecture-are-very-much-related-to-the-structure/) [Santiago Calatrava](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/santiago-calatrava/) > [I can still function when I don't have that balance I crave. I had a tendency to be precious about acting, thinking of it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/laura-regan/i-can-still-function-when-i-don-t-have-that-balance-i-crave-i-had-a/) [Laura Regan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/laura-regan/) > [she got a reputation for an easy smile and a sharp tongue, and using one to balance the other, she seemed friendly but distant](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dorothy-allison/she-got-a-reputation-for-an-easy-smile-and-a-sharp-tongue-and-using/) [Dorothy Allison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dorothy-allison/) > [Life's unfairness is not irrevocable; we can help balance the scales for others, if not always for ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hubert-h-humphrey/life-s-unfairness-is-not-irrevocable-we-can-help-balance-the-scales/) [Hubert H. Humphrey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hubert-h-humphrey/) > [“We don't need to strive towards balance, we rather need to work on the obstacles that are preventing the natural flow of balance.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/a-a-alebraheem/we-don-t-need-to-strive-towards-balance-we-rather-need-to-work-on-the/) [A.A. Alebraheem](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/a-a-alebraheem/) > [I think that kind of balance comes with the process of growing together as a band, the Little Dragon. We love to write, we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yukimi-nagano/i-think-that-kind-of-balance-comes-with-the-process-of-growing/) [Yukimi Nagano](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yukimi-nagano/) > [Balance is the ability to be happy in the midst of the most chaotic or even boring or transient circumstance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frederick-lenz/balance-is-the-ability-to-be-happy-in-the-midst-of-the-most-chaotic/) [Frederick Lenz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frederick-lenz/) > [At times of recession, running a budget deficit is highly desirable. Once the economy begins to recover, you have to balance the budget. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-soros/at-times-of-recession-running-a-budget-deficit-is-highly-desirable/) [George Soros](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-soros/) > [It's my intention to make something stand outside the realm of album art, but it also feels comfortable to me to be in it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-dyer-baizley/it-s-my-intention-to-make-something-stand-outside-the-realm-of-album/) [John Dyer Baizley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-dyer-baizley/) > [Once you've gotten your money in balance, you know how much you have to spend on things that are just fun.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-warren/once-you-ve-gotten-your-money-in-balance-you-know-how-much-you-have/) [Elizabeth Warren](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-warren/) > [I never understood how much running changes your life. I'm now obsessed. When not trying to beat my personal best, I'm talking to other…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sadiq-khan/i-never-understood-how-much-running-changes-your-life-i-m-now/) [Sadiq Khan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sadiq-khan/) > [Whatever needed to be done, I need to know how to do it just as well as my wife. You know, for us to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jason-isbell/whatever-needed-to-be-done-i-need-to-know-how-to-do-it-just-as-well/) [Jason Isbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jason-isbell/) > [I don't think my parents would have let me go straight into acting full time when I was 12. I do like to have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/felicity-jones/i-don-t-think-my-parents-would-have-let-me-go-straight-into-acting/) [Felicity Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/felicity-jones/) > [When it comes down to music, I have no balance. I am 100 percent. It is like full throttle. Five hundred miles an hour.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/yanni/when-it-comes-down-to-music-i-have-no-balance-i-am-100-percent-it-is/) [Yanni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/yanni/) [Browse all 5,166 Balance quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/balance/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "The need for truth is not constant; no more than is the need for repose. An idea which is a distortion may have a greater intellectual thrust than the truth; it may better serve the needs of the spirit, which vary. 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