The Wisdom Letter #221
4 quotes from Sigmund Freud (1856–1939)
✹ For today’s Wisdom Letter, we have carefully curated four bite-sized quotes from the Austrian neurologist, Sigmund Freud (1856–1939), each paired with a philosophical question meant to provoke deep reflection:
Quote № 01:
“It is always possible to bind together a considerable number of people in love, so long as there are other people left over to receive manifestations of their aggressiveness.”
— Sigmund Freud, “Civilization and Its Discontents”
~ Follow-up Question:
Does the formation of unity within a group inherently depend on the presence of an “other” to oppose, or can a community be built on shared values and love without a common adversary?
Quote № 02:
“No one who, like me, conjures up the most evil of those half-tamed demons that inhabit the human beast, and seeks to wrestle with them, can expect to come through the struggle unscathed.”
— Sigmund Freud
~ Follow-up Question:
When we confront the darker aspects of human nature, are we inevitably changed by the encounter, or is it possible to understand evil without being personally affected by it?
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Quote № 03:
“One day in retrospect the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.”
— Sigmund Freud
~ Follow-up Question:
Why does struggle, when viewed through the lens of hindsight, often appear more meaningful or beautiful than when it is experienced in the moment? Is it the growth, the perseverance, or the contrast with later ease that makes it so?
Quote № 04:
“Just as a cautious businessman avoids tying up all his capital in one concern, so, perhaps, worldly wisdom will advise us not to look for the whole of our satisfaction from a single aspiration.”
— Sigmund Freud, “Civilization and Its Discontents”
~ Follow-up Question:
How can we distinguish between spreading our aspirations wisely and avoiding deep commitment out of fear of failure or disappointment?
✽ Thank you for reading today’s Wisdom Letter.
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Todays Quote2. is the one that captured my attention. As we say in the Psychology industry, "Freud wasn't wrong about everything". :-)
Nietzsche tells us that when fighting demons be sure not to also become a demon.
I think when fighting demons, it is impossible not to be affected by them, but that does not mean it must irrevocably changes us in a negative direction. I was a Police Officer for 20 years and have been a psychologist for 10. In both professions, one experiences directly or through the stories of clients the evils and demons of this world. Once something has been seen or has been experienced, it cannot be unseen or un-experienced. I often refer to a loss of innocence in these experiences. But has it also turned me into evil or a demon, I don't think so, I hope not anyway ha ha.
Thanks for your posting of this interesting and thoughtful Substack. You have provided increased knowledge for me of many worthwhile quotations and the questions which they inspire . With regard to today’s third post and question- I would answer that for me while obviuosly looking back on a great struggle that there is obviously relief that it has ended and that I hopefully survived with my body and psyche intact that the most satisfaction occurs when I have achieved my goal or at Lear made considerable progress toward it and that goal was in service of a better world and allowing others to figuratively stand on my shoulders as a result.