The Quotation IndexThe trusted reference for quotations and the sources behind them
Tag Tag Rationalisation
It’s common for men to give pretended reasons instead of one real one.
Benjamin Franklin Poor Richard’s Almanack · 1732-1758

Quotes

“So convenient a thing is it to be a reasonable creature, since it enables one to find or make a reason for everything one has a mind to do.”

Benjamin Franklin · The Autobiography of Benjamin Franklin, 1771-1790 · Primary source

“Men follow their sentiments and their self-interest, but it pleases them to imagine that they follow reason. And so they look for, and always find, some theory which, a posteriori, makes their actions appear to be logical. If that theory could be demolished scientifically, the only result would be that another theory would be substituted for the first one, and for the same purpose.”

Vilfredo Pareto · Manual of Political Economy, 1906 · Primary source

Related Tags

Motives 1 Self-deception 6 Justification 3 Honesty 11 Reasoning 7 Motivation 11 Bias 6 Self-interest 4 Emotion 2 Motivated reasoning 2