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Quote by Walter Kaufmann

“Not all deceptions are palatable. Untruths are too easy to come by, too quickly exploded, too cheap and ephemeral to give lasting comfort. Mundus vult decipi, but there is a hierarchy of deceptions. Near the bottom of the ladder is journalism: a steady stream of irresponsible distortions that most people find refreshing although on the morning after, or at least within a week, it will be stale and flat. On a higher level we find fictions that men eagerly believe, regardless of the evidence, because they gratify some wish. Near the top of the ladder we encounter curious mixtures of untruth and truth that exert a lasting fascination on the intellectual community.”

Quote by Walter Kaufmann

Author

Walter Kaufmann
Walter Kaufmann

Walter Kaufmann was a German-born American philosopher known for his research on existentialism and German philosophy. His works delved deeply into the thoughts of thinkers such as Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Sartre, profoundly influencing 20th-century philosophy. more

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