Harry Frankfurt Quotes
Harry Frankfurt was an American moral philosopher, professor emeritus at Princeton University, and one of the most influential analytic theorists of the will. Freedom of the Will and the Concept of a Person introduced the now-classical distinction between first-order and second-order desires, in which a person is the kind of agent who can want to want differently than she does. The quotes below are attributed to Harry Frankfurt, organized by topic.
Harry Frankfurt on Freedom
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Attributed to Harry Frankfurt:
“Wholeheartedness is the highest form of freedom.”
Harry Frankfurt on Justice
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“It is frequently insufficient to identify the motives that guide our conduct, or that shape our attitudes and our thinking, just by observing vaguely that there are various things we want . That often leaves out too much. In numerous contexts, it is both more precise and more fully explanatory to say that there is something we care about .”
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Harry Frankfurt on Knowledge
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“Our natures are, indeed, elusively insubstantial — notoriously less stable and less inherent than the natures of other things. And insofar as this is the case, sincerity itself is bullshit.”
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Harry Frankfurt on Love
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Attributed to Harry Frankfurt:
“Love consists in the disinterested concern for the good of the beloved.”
Harry Frankfurt on Mind
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Attributed to Harry Frankfurt:
“A person is one who can will to will differently than she does.”
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Attributed to Harry Frankfurt:
“What we do is shaped less by our desires than by what we care about.”
Harry Frankfurt on Truth
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Attributed to Harry Frankfurt:
“Bullshit is speech that is unconcerned with truth.”