The Future of Truth

by Werner Herzog, Michael Hofmann (Translator)

In this short sequel to his acclaimed memoir, the legendary filmmaker and global cultural icon explores one of his favourite the nature of truth.

What if a lie is told to reveal some underlying truth? Are feelings that seem inappropriate, such as the hysteria following the death of a celebrity, any less real or true than the grief we feel over the death of a loved one? Even if the plot of an opera seems preposterous, can’t it still express strong human emotions that ring true with the audience?

At the heart of the book lies Werner Herzog’s concept of ‘ecstatic truth’ – a truth that is often hidden behind the facts and our conceptions of reality but can be gleaned through the poetic imagination, in art, literature and cinema, when we open ourselves up to an aesthetic experience.

Written in Herzog’s inimitable tyle, the stories, anecdotes and reflections take us from present-day deep fakes and the opportunities and perils of AI to Ancient Egyptian and Rome, where rulers resorted to lies and propaganda in the same way as governments do today; from Scott’s and Amundson’s race to the South Pole to alien abduction stories and the making of Herzog’s own films.

With its singular vision and unique voice, The Future of Truth is a compelling meditation on the relationship between fact and fiction, evidence and the imagination, by one of the most fascinating and idiosyncratic thinkers in the world today.

Genres: Nonfiction, Philosophy, Essays, Audiobook, Film, History, Memoir

106 pages, Kindle Edition

First published February 19, 2024

About the author

Werner Herzog (born Werner Stipetić) is a German film director, screenwriter, actor, and opera director.

He is often associated with the German New Wave movement (also called New German Cinema), along with Rainer Werner Fassbinder, Margarethe von Trotta, Volker Schlöndorff, Wim Wenders and others. His films often feature heroes with impossible dreams, or people with unique talents in obscure fields.

Reviews

[Michael -- Justice for Renee & Alex · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Truth has no future, but truth has no past either."

Werner Herzog, an exceptionally prolific and uncompromising filmmaker, has directed more than 70 films, consistently pursuing his distinctive artistic vision. This collection of eleven lectures offers a look into his perspectives on the concept of truth.

The essence of truth remains perpetually elusive. The value lies not in reaching a final answer, which is impossible, but in the continuous, unending pursuit of it.

As an artist himself, Herzog has always stressed the value of emotional truth over factual truth. The core premise of the book is that deep human understanding often necessitates elements like imagination, stylization, invention, and poetry. He cites the example of Michelangelo's Pietà, where the artist portrays Jesus as the thirty-three-year-old man, but here Mary is reflected as a fifteen-year-old.

“Did Michelangelo intend to deceive us, is he offering us fake news, is his sculpture a lie? Of course not. What Michelangelo has done is to show us the essence of the two figures, the man of sorrows just taken down from
the cross, and the virgin, his mother.”

With Artificial Intelligence able to easily create any version of reality, regardless of its truthfulness, determining what is genuine has become exceedingly difficult. Herzog cautions that we must maintain a constant skepticism and take everything we are shown with a grain of salt. The fabrication of propaganda and false news is not a new phenomenon, having been a practice since antiquity.

In "The Future of Truth," Herzog's witty and entertaining approach is evident. This quick and breezy read uses amusing anecdotes to effectively provoke thought on how we interpret the realities surrounding us.

Thank you to Penguin Press and Edelweiss Plus for providing a review copy in exchange for an honest review. #TheFutureOfTruth

[Florian Ecker · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wer Herzogs Erinnerungen gelesen hat wird feststellen, dass die Zukunft der Wahrheit nicht wirklich viel Neues zu bieten hat. Es liest sich wie eine Essenz seines letzten Buches. Für saftige 22€ empfehle ich, wie sowieso bei jedem Herzog Buch, stattdessen die kostenlose Hörbuch Version auf Spotify aufzusuchen.

[Nick LeBlanc · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars rounded down.

Herzog is a stone cold genius and a hero of mine. I could listen to him talk for hours about pretty much anything. With this little addendum to his recent memoir, you don’t get much you haven’t heard before if you are a fan of his like I am. There are some profound thoughts woven throughout but ultimately it doesn’t add up to much. Nevertheless, I’m glad I read it and I never regret bouncing around in Werner’s head for a while.

Read on hardcover.

[Squolle]

"Die psychologische Interpretation von allem und jedem, beleuchtet dunkle Nischen in unserem Inneren, die man eigentlich nicht ausleuchten sollte. Es gibt sicherlich in seltenen Fällen therapeutische Notfälle. Grundsätzlich angewandt aber verhält sie sich, wie bei einem Haus, das man bis in die letzen Winkel ausleuchtet. Das Haus wird dadurch unbewohnbar. Und ähnlich ergeht es mit Menschen: sie werden unbewohnbar."

Ich verstehe nicht, warum ich Werner Herzog bisher übersehen habe. Ganz, ganz großes Kino.

[Kilburn Adam · Rating 5 out of 5]

Werner Herzog, renowned filmmaker and provocateur, explores philosophical and existential inquiries in his latest book, Die Zukunft der Wahrheit (The Future of Truth). This literary work showcases Herzog's prowess not only as a visual storyteller but also as a profound thinker, offering original and provocative musings on art, poetry, spirituality, science, and philosophy.
Herzog's central thesis challenges conventional perceptions of truth. He posits that truth lies not in realistic representation, but in elevation, stylisation, invention, and poetry. This perspective invites readers to reconsider the nature of truth and reality, suggesting that the poetic and the invented often hold deeper truths than mere factual accuracy.
Through eleven chapters of engaging short lectures, Herzog unfolds his theory of truth. He covers eccentric historical figures, the internet, artificial intelligence, and Fake News, concluding with the paradoxical statement: The truth has no future, but truth has no past either. This encapsulates Herzog's view of truth as an elusive, ever-changing construct.
The book opens with a Persian legend about a shattered mirror, each fragment reflecting a piece of truth. This allegory sets the tone for Herzog's exploration of individual perception and truth's subjective nature. Rather than engaging in philosophical debates, Herzog offers vignettes and anecdotes illustrating the complex relationship between truth, emotion, and artistic creation.
Herzog emphasises the truth of emotions, arguing that while emotions may be unreliable in reality, they become credible through artistic expression. He cites Giuseppe Verdi's opera La Forza del Destino and his own film Family Romance, LLC as examples where fictional premises evoke genuine emotions. Herzog contends: Everything in this film is a lie... but in all the lies, the feelings are always truthful.
Intriguingly, Herzog explores self-deception as a necessary component of human existence. Rejecting rational explanations, he celebrates the power of illusion in evoking deeply felt personal truths. This aligns with Shakespeare's idea that The most truthful poetry is the most feigning, underscoring Herzog's advocacy for ecstatic truth - an elevated, emotional truth transcending factual reality.
In our era of fake news and digital falsifications, Herzog's exploration of truth is particularly relevant. He acknowledges these phenomena's impact while recognising technology's potential to create powerful illusions. Herzog advises considering opposing perspectives to navigate this complex landscape, promoting nuanced engagement with the digital world.
Die Zukunft der Wahrheit stands as a compelling treatise on truth in a postmodern world. Through his eclectic mix of stories, aphorisms, and reflections, Herzog encourages readers to embrace the poetic and imaginative as vital components of truth. His work celebrates the enduring human quest for meaning, urging us to recognise this pursuit as what elevates us above the ordinary.

[Sharof Hamroh]

How do you say in German that I did not get the point of the book?

[Danny · Rating 3 out of 5]

Always happy to hear from Werner and this is interesting and entertaining enough to be worth reading, but it probably could have been a Substack post.

[Keen Reader · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5 Stars!

Herzog digs repeatedly into history discussing the likes of Nero, Ramesses II, Captain Scott and Bokassa, the former dictator of Central African Republic. But do you really want to read five pages dedicated to Werner Herzog describing the plot of a Verdi opera?...

This has its interesting moments, but it felt so aimless and whimsical as to be just a self-indulgent vanity project. In many ways this read like a toothless, diluted version of Zizek. He’s been given a platform, but he appears to have very little of interest or originality to say and you come away thinking so what was the point of all that then?...

[Igo Lubczański · Rating 5 out of 5]

‘Truth has no future, but truth has no past either. But we will not, must not, cannot, give up the search for it.’

This small book written by Werner Herzog is a collage of thoughts presenting themselves as the essay on the titular topic of the future of truth.

Herzog thinks about the difference between truth, being genuine, fantasy and ponders even if our brains are capable of storing such concepts as ‘truth’.

I can see a lot of constructivist narrations here, which I am inclined to believe as a product of post-modernist society.

For all its worth, it gives hope amongst the decade of fake news and AI generated slop that defies the conventions of what's true.

[Eric Anderson · Rating 5 out of 5]

A quick, yet deeply insightful read. I could hear the cadence and clear speech of Herzog's voice in my head as I read, maybe I've seen too many of his docs lol. He isn't really trying to parse the entirety of truth but communicates stories and thoughts on many of modern times' (within the last 5 years) attacks and complications on truth. I chuckled, pondered considerably and immensely enjoyed the pages. Fitting book to start the year of 2026 off with where truth is a murky if not non existent reality in modern politics and news sharing.

[Jolanta (knygupė)]

2.5*

[Colton · Rating 3 out of 5]

Herzog is more concerned with the problems of truth more than his idea of what truth could be, his "ecstatic" truth.

Still, I found his audiobook reading of it to be invigorating, even if some stories are repeated (boiling wallpaper for nutrients in glue).

At first I was worried that Herzog's descriptions of AI would feed into the current moral panic, but it's a relief to see someone take a grounded and ambivalent look at fake news using history. It's not common.

[Ayun Halliday · Rating 4 out of 5]

If you can do Werner's accent, do yourself a favor and read it aloud.

Full of way out personal anecdotes, bits of obscure history, and unvarnished observations about AI and "ecstatic truth". It took me a long time to wend my way through my (autographed!) copy because I am a bear of very little brain, and I needed to go back and reread certain passages to let it sink in.

Recommended!

[Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

This was disappointing, but only because I was expecting something different. There is very little stringing these entries together, and does not have a clear connection.

[Josh C · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5

Got a targeted ad for a signed copy of this book for a pretty good deal and if that's not late stage capitalism at its best, I don't know what is. When I opened it up I threw away the signature's verification document.

I think Herzog might be a little worried about dying without people hearing what he has to say. His whole body of work has been built upon the hunt for the ecstatic truth, the poem that illuminates our soul. This book in itself is a bit of a poem. If you're a good reader, you can easily finish it in one or two quick sittings. I think this might become a bit of a Josh Cheatham classic in the coming years.

[Kirsten · Rating 5 out of 5]

Een reeks aan grijpende reflecties over de huidige tijd, verwoven met referenties naar cinematische werken. Herzog durft terechte vragen te stellen, waarom zoveel investeren in Mars als utopische uitweg als we met dat geld ook een poging kunnen doen om de wereld een betere plek te maken. Wat ook is blijven hangen is de normatieve kracht van feiten, staat dat gelijk aan de waarheid? Een boek waar iedereen zich goed aan doet om een keer op te pakken, en om er over een aantal jaar weer bij te pakken om te reflecteren op de veranderingen ten opzichte van het boek als ijkpunt.

[Cody Gilman · Rating 3 out of 5]

I have no experience with Herzog or any of his other artistic endeavors. In this short book Herzog explores what is truth, gives historical examples of truth being distorted, compares these examples to modern times, and posits on, as the title states, future of truth.

Herzog believes, as I do, that truth cannot be limited to the factual, objective, or tangible. While there may be some truth in these things there is also truth in human interaction, in emotion, in the ecstatic. Humans throughout centuries have been deceived by costumes, forgeries, and clones.

What interested me while reading this was Herzogs seemingly impressive intuition, which Herzog would likely label as ecstatic. In one portion Herzog recalls an experience he had where while dressed as a catholic priest for a role he was approached by a man who was awaiting the return of his wife and child, which he had been doing for two years. The man asks Herzog to take his confession, despite knowing that Herzog is not a real priest. After the man gives his confession Herzog who can tell that the man is telling part truths asks if he cheated on his wife, which the man then denies. Herzog, instead of backing off, asks if the man cheated on his wife with five women, which the man awestruck confesses to. The man then departs, saying resolutely that his wife and child will return the following day. Herzog concludes this profound intuition by saying that the man got more peace confession to Herzog than if he confessed to an actual priest. My problem with this is that while this may be true, Herzog has no way of knowing this, and makes a truth claim which he nor anybody else has any way of knowing, intuitively or otherwise.

The second example comes when Herzog is interviewing a convicted murderer on death row a week before his slated execution. Despite near conclusive physical, testimonial, and circumstantial evidence that the man committed the crime he still defends his innocence to Herzog, and a week later he repeated his claims of innocence until his last breath. Herzog concludes that the man has lied so throughly that he has deceived even himself of what the real truth of the situation is. My problem with this claim is the same as the first example, Herzog has no way of knowing the internal dialogue of this man, which remains in the realm of the Unseen, but claims knowledge of it regardless.

Overall, interesting little read. I agree with Herzogs conclusion that we need to read as much as we can, fact check everything, and always try to seek out the Truth in any way we can.

[Graham · Rating 2 out of 5]

I wanted to enjoy this much more than I ended up. Like most people, I find Werner Herzog to be a compelling and interesting figure, and certainly someone who has experienced all that he has as a film director/scholar/man-about-town is full of compelling stories. And this book is certainly full of them; from conversations with cannibalistic dictators to alien cult leaders to scaling Argentine glaciers, one can't help but marvel at all that Herr Herzog has done.

The idea presented is good: in a world of AI-generated images, fake news, and a general distrust of all institutions, questions about truth are pressing. And I would say that I am even intrigued by Herzog's idea of truth being less of a clear, "tangible" thing like a fact, and more of a journey of exploration and uncovering. Whether it's through the bombast of opera or the illusion of a village of a Potemkin village along the river bank or an actor pretending to be your friend, Herzog makes the case that "ecstatic truth" is what we really seek, a peeking beyond just the facts and into something deeper.

For example, a viewer of one of his films may uncover ecstatic truth through Herzog's use of images and story. The catch is that a quote used at the beginning of the film, attributed to someone famous, that is designed to get you in the proper headspace to understand the film, is entirely a lie. This is not "truth" as we may define it (it's actually quite the opposite) but as long as the lie is in a sense transparent it can function as a vehicle for "ecstatic truth."

This is certainly worth unpacking and thinking about, but Herzog doesn't fully sell the idea. Many of the chapters seem a little disconnected, and while I think with a lot of squinting and focus you can thread together the different anecdotes, I'm not sure I walked away with anything more than a vague hand-wavy idea of "ecstatic truth."

I would be okay with that a little more were it not for the last chapter, in which he gives a few solutions. "Check multiple sources!" he says. "Read. Read. Read. Read. Read. Read. Read. Read" he says. (Cue me awkwardly nodding along, listening [not reading] to the audio book version of this.) These are solutions I agree with, but they're not really much different then what I used to tell my high school students back when I was a teacher.

Perhaps that's the point, and the "ecstatic truth" of the book is that there's nothing we can do but the tried and true. But at the end of this book I did feel a little like the penguin on the cover: adrift and uncertain of which direction I should go next.

[Francis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Prikkelend boek over "de waarheid". Wat is waarheid? Hoe komen we daarop uit? En gevoelens dan? Hebben die altijd gelijk?

Fake news heeft al altijd bestaan. Het vroegst gedocumenteerde nepnieuws, dateert al van 1274 voor Christus. Ramses II vocht tegen de Hettieten en claimde de overwinning. In werkelijkheid, was er géén winnaar hier.

Vervolgens geeft de schrijver nog een hoop voorbeelden van oud nepnieuws, zoals de zogenaamde schenking van Constantijn. Men ontdekte dat dit nep was omdat men hier Latijn gebruikt dat pas 5 eeuwen na Constantijn gangbaar was...

Ook legt de auteur uit hoe we ons kunnen wapenen tegen fake news:

"Met internet is altijd dezelfde voorzichtigheid geboden als met media in het algemeen – met alle media, zonder uitzondering. Dat zou onze eerste reflex moeten zijn. Zoals sinds de Romeinse oudheid al in het strafrecht is vastgelegd, moet in een rechtszaak de onschuldpresumptie van toepassing zijn op de beklaagde. Dat is een groot goed van onze beschaving. Maar wat het internet betreft, zou het een automatisme moeten worden om het tegenovergestelde aan te nemen: een ‘schuldpresumptie’, een wantrouwen kortom, de veronderstelling van manipulatie, propaganda en leugens. Dit lijkt mij de enige houding om met nepnieuws om te gaan. Dat mag pessimistisch klinken, maar ik zie geen alternatief om ons tegen nepnieuws te beschermen."

Dit is best een interessant boek. De auteur legt linken en verbindt zaken die we niet zo vanzelfsprekend aan mekaar zouden knopen. Ook "leuk" om te weten dat fake news altijd al bestaan heeft, en zeker geen recente uitvinding is!

[Ira · Rating 5 out of 5]

Not a simple issue to tackle, truth, but then you wouldn’t expect such one-of-a-kind mind to take on simple challenges. It has always been his great skill to portray the complex with simplicity, in the way Bertolt Brecht one said, ‘it is simplicity that is the hardest to achieve’ – one of my own favourite quotes ever which I struggle to source or find the original for. I am convinced it is by Brecht because he was the master of defamiliarization and this would be something he would say – but to get back to the book, which is also riddled with digressions, Werner Herzog's work is the embodiment of that achievement, which for me is the holy grail of critique. He deploys the simple to trigger the complex in you, and so reminds us we are all capable of it, capable of critique, or whatever makes us human. In this book he tackles the question of the day: truth; he doesn’t give in to moralist posturing about realism nor downplays the role of the imagination in human life, but delivers snippets, anecdotes, that encourage us to look at life through a prism. And that’s probably our only chance for meaning, or something, to reveal itself, come out of the shadows to feed our sense of wonder, ἀ-λήθεια. Thanks, Mr Herzog.

[Alec Piergiorgi · Rating 3 out of 5]

Note: 3.5/5
Note: This review is based on the audiobook narrated by Werner Herzog.

This was pretty decent, but it's really just a collection of Herzog's own personal reflections on the concept of truth rather than anything more concrete and philosophically serious. That isn't to say he doesn't have some great insights tucked away; he offers historical analyses of when the truth of a situation got buried and a new "truth" was born. He makes the basic argument (summed up in the final chapter) that truth is a critical concept for humanity to survive and work together, but he remains ambivalent about whether there is actually any Truth.

I liked his recollections of his personal travels, and some reflections he had during the production of some of his movies, and on how they connect to the possibilities of truth. His section toward the end on A.I. seemed a bit odd. I guess some people might be upset he wasn't more anti-AI, but he takes an objective approach to understanding the technology and its consequences. This part just seemed to be the thinnest part of his commentary, personally.

Whatever faults this one does have, it's probably better than 90% of the serious stuff that's written on this topic.

[Erik Empson · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fun little book though disappointingly short. As you'd expect Herzog comes at his subject from oblique angles. His argument is not particularly surprising if you have watched his films: that the truth is a slippery concept and we find it below the skin, in the contradictions and paradoxes of human life. And that this has been a facet of human experience across the ages. Truth does not equal fact, and only in unlikely juxtapositions and exagerrated or even false representations can it be seen. There are lots of typically eclectic examples that demonstrate this, from Nero to Catherine the Great. Added to this is some insight into his films, as well as some explanation of the final, beguiling crocodile scene in Cave of Forgotten Dreams. Worth the read just to enjoy some of the dialectical gymnastics.

[David Dayen · Rating 4 out of 5]

What you need to know about Werner Herzog: 1) Do not, under any circumstances, bring up the concept of colonizing Mars. Not unless you want to hear an *extended* critique. 2) This is a man who fabricated a quote by Blaise Pascal in the opening of one of his movies, is proud of it, and included the anecdote in a book called The Future of Truth. 3) He is well aware of the prank played on news anchors at a station in San Francisco where racist fake names were given to them as the pilots of a Asiana Airlines jet, and he also includes that in a book called The Future of Truth (though he's not proud of it). These things alone are enough to recommend, and there are more in this slim volume.

[Abby Fergz · Rating 4 out of 5]

God had a great mirror, and when God looked in the mirror, he saw the truth. One day God dropped the mirror, and the mirror shattered in a thousand pieces. Men fought to secure a piece of the mirror for
themselves. They all looked into their own shards, saw themselves, and thought they saw the truth.

-PERSIAN LEGEND

I thought i would find myself feeling desolate hopelessness at the end of this book but on the contrary I found an inkling of hope? To imagine that truth is not some polestar destination but maybe the striving toward (like the overused not the destination but the journey that matters) in itself delivers the purpose we earn for.

[John Threebreadt · Rating 4 out of 5]

Etwas überholt aufgrund der Existenz von Herzogs Autobiographie. Für grosse Fans ist es aber trotzdem lesenswert, da der Rote Faden sich durch das Thema "Wahrheit" zieht und ein paar noch aus der Autobiographie unbekannte Geschichten dabei sind, wie zum Beispiel die Geschichte eines rosa Plüsch-Schweins, dass ausgiebige Archiv-Arbeit für Herzogs Filmographie leistete.

[Megan Spinney · Rating 4 out of 5]

3.5 ⭐️ — “Truth has no future, but truth has no past either. But we will not, must not, cannot, give up the search for it.” — I didn’t realize when I picked this up that it was an addendum to Herzog’s memoir but nonetheless, it was a solid read. Interesting perspective on truth, spanning from early civilizations all the way to present day with AI. Food for thought!

[Elisha Damsker · Rating 4 out of 5]

Все говорят: нет правды на земле.

Читается в один присест. Ощущение, что сел на кухне пофилософствовать с интересным собеседником. Не до конца понятна его точка зрения, с половиной утверждений хочется спорить, но истории у него интересные. Заодно он мне прорекламировал кучу своих фильмов, а я и рад.

[Shane1step · Rating 4 out of 5]

Истории о фейках в истории, шоубизе, социуме, в кино и интернете, в эпиграфах Херцога к собственным фильмам. Ложь, которая порой правдивее факта. Увлекательно, но иногда я совершенно не понимал, зачем мне это рассказывают

[Wilson · Rating 4 out of 5]

“How much are we willing to delegate? How much of our autonomy are we willing to renounce?”

I liked some of the essays, especially criticizing the use of AI, but a lot of it was pretty rambling (as always).

Side note I kinda wish he never got instagram

[witzelsucht · Rating 3 out of 5]

“If you don’t read, you will never make anything great.”

A lively gallivant across a range of subjects that strike Herzog’s fancy, loosely themed around untruth, delusion, propaganda, and the human propensity for self-deception: from Nero and Sporus and Potemkin villages to fake news and AI. I particularly enjoyed his excoriation of the pipe-dream of colonising Mars.

A despiser of cinéma vérité, Herzog pursues what he calls the ecstatic truth, aiming to reveal the greater emotional truth of a story by massaging facts, reframing anecdotes, and basically telling some little white lies when he deems them appropriate. Your mileage for the book will probably depend on whether you agree with or appreciate his manifesto. If you do, it’s delightful.

I listened to the audiobook and would gladly hear Herzog tell absolute whoppers all the livelong day, so I really liked this. It’s not as good as Every Man for Himself and God Against All, which is so packed with entertaining tales from his life, but it’s a fun insight into some things that animate him and capture his imagination.