"We are all several different people. There are different aspects of our nature that are competing"
About this Quote
Ramis slips a whole philosophy of the self into plainspoken, almost shruggy language. “We are all several different people” rejects the clean, motivational idea of a single, coherent “true self.” It’s an actor’s sentence, but also a comedian’s: identity as an ensemble cast, not a starring role. The second line sharpens it from observation into friction. These “aspects of our nature” aren’t harmonizing; they’re “competing.” That verb matters. It frames inner life less like a journey toward authenticity and more like a negotiation, a power struggle, a writers’ room where every impulse thinks it has the funniest line.
The intent feels practical, not mystical. Ramis isn’t selling multiplicity as edgy or enlightened; he’s normalizing contradiction. Coming from a performer best known for characters trapped in loops of self-improvement and self-sabotage, the subtext reads as a quiet defense of human inconsistency. You can be generous and petty in the same hour. You can want intimacy and also want to disappear. The point isn’t to “pick” which version is real; it’s to admit the contest so you can stop being shocked by it.
Contextually, it lands in a late-20th-century culture obsessed with personal branding and tidy backstories. Ramis offers an antidote: you’re not a brand, you’re a committee. The wit is that he makes that messy truth sound not tragic but workable, even a little freeing.
The intent feels practical, not mystical. Ramis isn’t selling multiplicity as edgy or enlightened; he’s normalizing contradiction. Coming from a performer best known for characters trapped in loops of self-improvement and self-sabotage, the subtext reads as a quiet defense of human inconsistency. You can be generous and petty in the same hour. You can want intimacy and also want to disappear. The point isn’t to “pick” which version is real; it’s to admit the contest so you can stop being shocked by it.
Contextually, it lands in a late-20th-century culture obsessed with personal branding and tidy backstories. Ramis offers an antidote: you’re not a brand, you’re a committee. The wit is that he makes that messy truth sound not tragic but workable, even a little freeing.
Quote Details
| Topic | Deep |
|---|---|
| Source | Help us find the source |
More Quotes by Harold
Add to List








