Fred Kaplan Quotes

Many, many people exaggerate their accomplishments, blame their failures on others, and misrepresent reality in order to make themselves look better. This behavior is ubiquitous—sometimes intentional, more often subconscious. In ordinary life, we tolerate it, mutely or not, hoping that we are not as bad as the person whose lies we are listening to.

All writers are liars. They twist events to suit themselves. They make use of their own tragedies to make a better story... They are terrible people.

Self-interest speaks all sorts of tongues and plays all sorts of characters, even that of disinterestedness

Wishful thinking is not idealism. It is self-indulgence at best and self-exaltation at worst. In either case, it is usually at the expense of others. In other words, it is the opposite of idealism.

Where ambition can cover its enterprises, even to the person himself, under the appearance of principle, it is the most incurable and inflexible of passions.

An ounce of hypocrisy is worth a pound of ambition.

I mistrust the judgment of every man in a case in which his own wishes are concerned.

Ambition is the mother of hypocrisy and prefers to skulk in corners and dark places. It cannot endure the light of day. It is an unclean vice wallowing in the depths, always hidden, but with ever an eye to advancement.

The love of admiration leads to fraud, much more than the love of commendation; but, on the other hand, the latter is much more likely to spoil our: good actions by the substitution of an inferior motive.

The more you speak of yourself, the more you are likely to lie.

You've got to lie to stay halfway interested in yourself.

To speak ill of others is a dishonest way of praising ourselves. Nothing is often a good thing to say, and always a clever thing to say.

Truth disappears with the telling of it.

Yes, I know I've played these women, but I'm not really conniving at all.

Of course, politicians always say they're just describing their opponents' positions, even if they are in fact offering absurd caricatures, if not outright lies.

Man is essentially a selfish creature. The differences in the degree with which this developed are infinite.

Selfishness is the greatest curse of the human race.

I think I lie way too much to even know what I've lied about.

The name and pretense of virtue is as serviceable to self-interest as are real vices.

Once you start lying, you get kind of comfortable. You start believing it. Especially if you truly believe you didn't really cheat because you were doing what everybody else was doing.

The egoist is fooled by no ideals: he discards them or uses them, as may suit his own interest.

Talking much about oneself can also be a means to conceal oneself.

Everything you add to the truth subtracts from the truth.

It's when someone has an agenda of their own for the record that it doesn't work for me.

I exaggerate when I'm angry, but I've never gone around telling people things that aren't true about me.