Skip to content
quotesby

About this quote

What does it mean?
Lying has lost its deceptive purpose; now lies signal that the liar neither needs nor values the listener’s opinion.
In plain terms
People lie to show they don’t care about the other’s view.
What can you take from it?
Notice when a lie is a power move rather than a cover‑up.

Where it applies

  • political discourse
  • personal relationships
  • media reporting

Putting it to work

  • question the motive behind statements
  • promote transparent communication

Questions to consider

  • When does a lie become a tool of power?
  • How can trust be rebuilt after such lies?

Another view

Some lies still aim to mislead, not just display indifference.

More from Theodor Adorno

  1. 'The joke of our time is the suicide of intention.'

    Permalink to quote #99
  2. 'The man for whom time stretches out painfully is one waiting in vain, disappointed at not finding tomorrow already continuing yesterday.'

    Permalink to quote #101
  3. 'The intellectuals themselves are already so heavily committed to what is endorsed in their isolated sphere, that they no longer desire anything that does not …

    Permalink to quote #98

Related quotes

  1. Thus ended our little talk: yet it left a pleasant impression. True, the subject was strange enough; my sisters might have been shocked at it; and at my freedo…

    Dinah Maria MulockDinah Maria Mulock quote #44
  2. If you don't want to control what I think, why did you raise your voice? Why did you argue with me at all?

    Orson Scott CardOrson Scott Card quote #462
  3. The striving for significance, this sense of yearning, always points out to us that all psychological phenomena contain a movement that starts from a feeling o…

    Alfred AdlerAlfred Adler quote #1