Sigmund Freud Quotes

If youth knew; if age could.... -Sigmund Freud

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This quote reflects on the contrast between the energy and enthusiasm of youth and the wisdom and experience that come with age. It suggests that if young individuals possessed the knowledge or insight of older individuals, and if older individuals possessed the vitality or ability of youth, it would be a powerful combination.

We are never so defensless against suffering as wh... -Sigmund Freud

We are never so defensless against suffering as when we love.

The conscious mind may be compared to a fountain playing in the sun and falling back into the great subterranean pool of subconscious from which it rises.

America is the most grandiose experiment the world has seen, but, I am afraid, it is not going to be a success.

The voice of the intellect is a soft one, but it d... -Sigmund Freud

The voice of the intellect is a soft one, but it does not rest until it has gained a hearing.

The psychical, whatever its nature may be, is itse... -Sigmund Freud

The psychical, whatever its nature may be, is itself unconscious.

Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility.

Man has, as it were, become a kind of prosthetic God. When he puts on all his auxiliary organs, he is truly magnificent; but those organs have not grown on him and they still give him much trouble at times.

Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither ... -Sigmund Freud

Flowers are restful to look at. They have neither emotions nor conflicts.

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This quote presents flowers as sources of tranquility and visual relaxation. It suggests that observing flowers can offer a sense of calmness and peace, as they are devoid of the complexities and conflicts inherent in human emotions. It reflects the ability of flowers to evoke a serene and soothing atmosphere, providing a respite from the tumultuous nature of human experiences.

The interpretation of dreams is the royal road to a knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind.

The act of birth is the first experience of anxiety, and thus the source and prototype of the affect of anxiety.

The goal of all life is death.

Men are strong so long as they represent a strong ... -Sigmund Freud

Men are strong so long as they represent a strong idea they become powerless when they oppose it.

Just as a cautious businessman avoids investing all his capital in one concern, so wisdom would probably admonish us also not to anticipate all our happiness from one quarter alone.

The mind is like an iceberg, it floats with one-se... -Sigmund Freud

The mind is like an iceberg, it floats with one-seventh of its bulk above water.

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This quote uses the metaphor of an iceberg to illustrate the idea that only a small portion of the mind's capabilities or thoughts are visible, while the majority remains hidden or subconscious.

What we call happiness in the strictest sense comes from the (preferably sudden) satisfaction of needs which have been dammed up to a high degree.

Love and work... work and love, that's all there is.

Analogies, it is true, decide nothing, but they ca... -Sigmund Freud

Analogies, it is true, decide nothing, but they can make one feel more at home.

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This quote acknowledges the limited logical or conclusive value of analogies but emphasizes their ability to create a sense of familiarity and comfort. It suggests that while analogies may not provide definitive answers, they can evoke a feeling of understanding or belonging, allowing individuals to relate to concepts or ideas more easily.

Analysis does not set out to make pathological reactions impossible, but to give the patient's ego freedom to decide one way or another.

Dreams are often most profound when they seem the ... -Sigmund Freud

Dreams are often most profound when they seem the most crazy.

I have found little that is 'good' about human beings on the whole. In my experience most of them are trash, no matter whether they publicly subscribe to this or that ethical doctrine or to none at all. That is something that you cannot say aloud, or perhaps even think.

Civilization began the first time an angry person ... -Sigmund Freud

Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock.

If a man has been his mother's undisputed darling he retains throughout life the triumphant feeling, the confidence in success, which not seldom brings actual success along with it.

Obviously one must hold oneself responsible for the evil impulses of one's dreams. In what other way can one deal with them? Unless the content of the dream rightly understood is inspired by alien spirits, it is part of my own being.

Civilized society is perpetually menaced with disintegration through this primary hostility of men towards one another.

Religion is an illusion and it derives its strength from the fact that it falls in with our instinctual desires.

What a distressing contrast there is between the radiant intelligence of the child and the feeble mentality of the average adult.

Men are more moral than they think and far more im... -Sigmund Freud

Men are more moral than they think and far more immoral than they can imagine.

Discovering the context

This quote highlights the complexity of human morality, suggesting that individuals may possess a higher moral capacity than they believe, but at the same time, they can also exhibit more immoral behavior than they realize.

Love and work are the cornerstones of our humanness.

The great question that has never been answered, and which I have not yet been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is 'What does a woman want?'

Sigmund Freud Quotes

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