The 101 Best Phrases of Sigmund Freud and Psychoanalysis
Sigmund Freud is one of the most remarkable figures in the history of psychology , thanks to his psychosexual theory. The father of psychoanalysis has influenced many psychologists and, despite being criticized by others, his ideas about psychotherapy or personality are still studied in psychology. He will be loved or hated, but Freud is undoubtedly the most famous psychologist.
- To know more about this famous psychologist, you just have to read his biography.
The best phrases of Freud
Since this well-known theorist has been so important for the development of behavioral science, in today's article we have compiled 90 of your best phrases . Enjoy them!
1. The freedom of the individual is not a gift of civilization. He was older before there was any civilization
Freud lived the Victorian era and, therefore, experienced a period of repression . Individual freedom is conditioned by society
2. Since no one can be forced to believe, no one can be forced to believe
Forcing someone to do something they do not want puts their happiness in danger.
3. A man who has been the undisputed favorite of his mother maintains during his life the feeling of a conqueror
In her theory of psychosexual development, the mother has a very important role. You just have to think about the Oedipus complex.
4. The crazy man is a daydreamer
Freud initiated his contact with neurotic patients through hypnosis.
5. If you want to live, prepare to die
The fear of death may not let us live.
6. Unexpressed emotions never die. They are buried alive and come out later in worse ways
A phrase in clear reference to the repression of emotions.
7. Dreams are often deeper when they seem crazier
Freud was also interested in the relationship between dreams and mental health.
8. The dream is the liberation of the spirit from the pressure of external nature, a detachment of the soul from the chains of matter
In the dream we can manifest those repressed desires
9. Illusions are entrusted to us because they save us pain and allow us to enjoy pleasure. We must, therefore, accept them without complaint when they collide with the reality in which they are shattered
Living of illusions is not positive and can hit reality
10. The ego does not own its own house
The ego was one of the aspects that his theory talks about.
11. Love and work are the pillars of our humanity
To have good mental health you have to work and have love.
12. The voice of the intellect is soft, but it does not rest until it has gained an ear
An appointment that invites deep reflection.
13. Each of us has everyone as mortals except himself
An appointment full of meaning pronounced by Sigmund Freud.
14. The price we pay for our advanced civilization is a loss of happiness through the intensification of the feeling of guilt
Society intends to mold us . If we do not connect with ourselves we will never be free.
15. The fear of guns is a sign of sexual delay and emotional maturity
A phrase of Freud for free interpretation.
16. I have been a lucky man in life: nothing was easy for me
Adversities make us grow.
17. Smoking is indispensable if one has nothing to kiss
Freud, talking about how anxiety can dominate us.
18. Anyone who wakes up behaves as he did in dreams would be taken for crazy
Dreams can be our refuge.
19. He who knows how to wait does not need to make concessions
Patience is one of the best virtues of the human being.
20. If two individuals always agree on everything, I can assure that one of the two thinks for both
Another reflection on individual freedom and collective thinking.
21. When someone abuses me, I can defend myself, but against adulation I am helpless
Little can we face an interested praise.
22. Anatomy is the destination
Freud, in reference to the social distinction and the social character of it.
23. We are never as helpless against suffering as when we love
Love can make us vulnerable people.
24. Neurosis is the inability to tolerate ambiguity
The neurosis is characteristic of those people who do not know how to live in uncertainty.
25. Psychiatry is the art of teaching people how to stand on their own feet while resting on sofas
The maximum exponent of psychoanalysis talking about psychiatry.
26. Who thinks about failing, already failed before trying; Who thinks about winning, takes a step forward
Self-fulfilling prophecy is evident in those negative people.
27. It is proper for the philosopher to be able to speculate on all things
The philosopher is constantly philosophizing.
28. Immortality means being loved by many anonymous people
Being immortal means that they recognize you and keep you in the minds of many people.
29. The interpretation of dreams is the real way to the knowledge of the unconscious activities of the mind
Freud was always interested in the interpretation of dreams as this phrase shows.
30. Men are more moral than they think and much more immoral than they can imagine
An ironic quote that deals with the immorality of some.
31. He who has eyes to see and ears to hear can convince himself that no mortal can keep a secret. If their lips are silent, they prattle with their fingers; Betrayal oozes from them through all their pores
False or deceptive people always give themselves away in some visible way.
32. Where does a thought go when it is forgotten?
Freud asked himself this question in clear reference to the unconscious.
33. The act of birth is the first experience of anxiety and therefore the source and prototype of the affect of anxiety
Freud says that the stress produced in childbirth represents the first time we feel anxiety and suggests that it is normal.
34. The virtuous man contented himself by dreaming what the evil one does in real life
The wicked have no qualms and act independently of the moral consequences.
35. Analogies, it is true, do not decide anything, but they can make you feel more at home
The comfort zone is a place where we feel comfortable.
36. I can not think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection
If the figure of the mother was important in his theory, so was the figure of the father.
37. Not everything depends on the wishes, but even so, I have decided to try to carry out my wishes
Fighting for our desires is one of our great motivations.
38. From error to error the full truth is discovered
The mistakes we make are one of the best ways to learn.
39. The goal of life is death
An appointment with a certain tone of irony that refers to death.
40. Just as no one can be forced to believe, no one can be forced into disbelief
Freud, talking about hypnosis . Suggestion depends on whether the person is allowed to suggest.
41. The best is the enemy of the good
The bad thing makes us mobilize, fight to be in the good and value it.
42. For the first time the child should exchange pleasure for social dignity
There is a moment in life when you begin to balance between those you love and what society allows you to want.
43. It could be said of psychoanalysis that if you give the little finger you will soon have the whole hand
Psychoanalysis is a theory that became very popular and that, with certain modifications, is still alive.
44. In mourning the world has become poor and empty; in melancholy the ego in itself
Melancholy is a decision we make, the ego is something that we have to live.
45. Fear is a suffering that produces the expectation of an evil
Fear is an emotion and at the same time a feeling. After the cognitive assessment, we anticipate something bad.
46. Civilization began the first moment when a pissed off man threw a word instead of a rock
Language has had a great influence on the development of humanity
47. A woman should soften but not weaken a man
The relationships between a man and a woman must always be positive.
48. The more accessible the fruits of knowledge, the more widespread is the decline of religious beliefs
Religious beliefs are fed by ignorance
49. In matters of sexuality, we are currently, all of us, sick or healthy, nothing but hypocrites
Freud lived in the Victorian era, characterized by a great social repression . That is why it is one of the main themes of his theory.
50. One is very crazy when he is in love
Love makes us go crazy, but it is a unique feeling.
51. Children are completely selfish; they feel their needs intensely and struggle hard to satisfy them
Children do not think about the social consequences, only what satisfies them at the individual level.
52. Religious doctrines are illusions that do not admit evidence and nobody can be forced to consider them as true or to believe in them.
There is no way to prove a religion and, therefore, nobody can prove or disprove it.
53. What progress we have made. In the Middle Ages they would have burned me. Now they are happy to burn my books
Another appointment with great sense of humor . Freud talks about the criticisms he received.
54. Only own experience makes man wise
The best source of knowledge is experience. It is what is called experiential learning.
55. The tendency to aggression is innate, independent, an instinctive disposition in a man. It constitutes a powerful obstacle to culture.
Culture takes care that one of our greatest instincts, aggression, does not manifest.
56. No, our science is not an illusion. But it would be an illusion to suppose that what science can not give us what we can get elsewhere
Freud's theory has been criticized for not being scientific.
57Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom implies responsibility and most people fear responsibility
Many people prefer to follow culturally established patterns, because it is more comfortable.
58. One day, looking back, you will realize that these years of struggle have been the most beautiful in your life
Fighting for what you want can make us immensely happy.
59. Modern science has not yet produced a reassuring medication as effective as a few kind words are
Kind words are one of the keys to mental health. This is the idea on which many therapeutic theories revolve today.
60. America is a mistake, a gigantic mistake
The United States did not seem to like Sigmund Freud
61. It would be very nice if there were a god, who had created the world and was a benevolent providence; that there was a moral order in the universe and a future life; but it is a very surprising fact that all this is exactly what we feel obliged to wish for there to be
As you can see in this quote, Freud was not exactly religious .
62. Every joke, deep down, conceals a truth
A similar quote behind each lie is always a saved truth.
63. The mind is like an iceberg, it floats with 70% of its volume on water
70% would refer to the unconscious, according to Freud.
64. Plato said that the good are those who are content to dream what the bad guys do
The bad guys do not stop to think about whether what they do is right or wrong.
65. Religion is comparable to a neurosis of childhood
Another Freudian reflection on religion
66. The first requisite of civilization is justice
Without justice, a civilization can not advance.
67. The intention that man should be happy is not in the plan of creation
The idea of what happiness is is a social construction
68. One hundred percent truth is as rare as one hundred percent alcohol
A curious comparison between alcohol and truth.
69. Since I started the study of the unconscious, I found myself very interesting
When studying the unconscious, surely Freud carried out a deep introspection.
70. Being completely honest with yourself is a good exercise
Honesty is one of the best virtues of the human being.
71. We will all die, but our works will remain
If they are successful, they will remind us after death.
72. A man should not fight to eliminate their complexes, but to enter into an agreement with them: they are legitimately those who direct their behavior in the world
Acceptance is one of the best ways to overcome emotional problems.
73. It is a good exercise to be completely honest with yourself
Sincerity with oneself is another of the great virtues of the human being
74. The sexual life of adult women is a dark continent for psychology
Evidently, at the time that Freud lived, the sexuality of women was a taboo subject.
75. Time spent with cats is never wasted
A curious quote from Freud that mentions cats.
76. One owns what is silent and slave of what speaks
Free association was a technique used by Freud , and consists in verbalizing our unconscious thoughts.
77. I have found few good things about humans in general. In my experience, most are trash, it does not matter if they subscribe publicly to an ethical doctrine or not. It's something you can not say very loudly or even think
An ironclad criticism of how some human beings behave.
78. Civilization is permanently threatened by disintegration due to the primary hostility of man
One of the drives that Freud spoke of was the death drive, a destructive impulse.
79. Humanity progresses. Today it only burns my books; centuries ago they would have burned me
Human beings and the culture we build is progressing and evolving.
80. Immorality, no less than morality, has always found support in religion
Freud was very critical of religion, as can be seen in his sentences.
81. The first notions of sexuality appear in the infant
His theory talks about the different stages of the child's psychosexual development.
82. With only fear of mediocrity, you are already safe
Fearing mediocrity can be very stimulating and motivating.
83. Sometimes a cigar is just a cigar
It is not necessary to interpret everything that evokes that symbol to us as a phallic element. Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar.
84. No critic is more capable than I of clearly perceiving the disproportion that exists between the problems and the solution that I bring to them.
Freud always defended his ideas despite being criticized.
85. There are two ways to be happy in this life, one is to become the idiot and the other is to be
Ignorance can make us immensely happy.
86. The big question that has never been answered and that I have not been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research on the human soul is, what does a woman want?
The complexity of women, according to Freud, is reflected in this phrase.
87. The first human to insult his enemy instead of throwing a stone at him was the founder of civilization
An appointment that can be interpreted in different ways.
88. One can defend against attacks; against praise he is helpless
When someone praises you, it's hard not to thank them.
89. The unconscious of a human being can react to that of another without passing through the conscious
Although we are rational beings, in many occasions, our instincts come to light.
90. If the inspiration does not come to me I go out to meet him, halfway there
Inspiration must be sought many times.
91. Like the physical, the psychic is not necessarily what it appears
A way to imply the existence of the unconscious mind.
92. Sadism is fine where it is, but it must correct its ends
Freud was very interested in the study of sexual inclinations that went against the morals of the time.
93. Where does a thought go when it is forgotten?
A poetic reflection on the unconscious.
94. Religion is an illusion whose strength derives from the way it fits with our instinctive desires
Freud links the existence of religious cults with drives.
95. Where the id is, there must be the I
The role of the ego is partly to counteract the forces of the irrational part of the human being.
96. You wanted to kill your father to be him. Now you are a father, but one dead
Another of Freud's phrases related to the oedipal complex.
97. It is a human predisposition to consider false the unpleasant ideas
This idea seems to fit with the concept of cognitive dissonance.
98. Civilization is constantly threatened by hostility between people
Freud had a perspective on society similar to that of Thomas Hobbes.
99. A religion, even if it calls itself the religion of peace, must be hard and ruthless to those who do not belong to it.
Another of Freud's criticisms of religion.
100. Man has become a prosthetic god
The father of psychoanalysis reflects on the self-imposition of dogmas.
101. When you do not have what you want, you must want what you have
A phrase of Freud about the management of expectations.
