Sigmund Freud

Psychoanalysis

Modern influential 108 sayings

Sayings by Sigmund Freud

Infantile sexuality is the key to all neuroses.

1905 — Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality
Controversial Unverifiable

The aim of psychoanalysis is to make the unconscious conscious.

N/A (common theme) — Attributed, common theme in his work
Controversial Unverifiable

Man has a primary need to avoid pain.

1920 — Beyond the Pleasure Principle
Controversial Unverifiable

Our civilization is largely responsible for our misery.

1930 — Civilization and Its Discontents
Controversial Unverifiable

A man who has been the undisputed favorite of his mother retains throughout life the triumphant feeling, the confidence in success, which not seldom brings actual success with it.

1917 — A Childhood Recollection from Dichtung und Wahrheit
Controversial Unverifiable

From the moment of birth, man is destined to suffer.

N/A (common theme) — Attributed, common theme in his work
Controversial Unverifiable

All of us are a little mad.

N/A (common theme) — Attributed, common theme in his work
Controversial Unverifiable

The path to happiness is through the fulfillment of the pleasure principle.

1920 — Beyond the Pleasure Principle
Controversial Unverifiable

The unconscious is the true psychic reality.

1899 — The Interpretation of Dreams
Controversial Unverifiable

The aim of all life is to return to the inorganic state.

1920 — Beyond the Pleasure Principle
Controversial Unverifiable

The greater the progress of science, the more it pushes back the limits of the unknown, but also the more it reveals the immensity of the unknown.

N/A (common theme) — Attributed, common theme in his work
Controversial Unverifiable

Sexual enlightenment of children is not only possible but necessary.

1905 — Three Essays on the Theory of Sexuality
Controversial Unverifiable

The creative writer is a valuable ally of the analyst.

1908 — Creative Writers and Day-Dreaming
Controversial Unverifiable

No one who has a true grasp of the human mind will ever be a judge.

N/A (common theme) — Attributed, common theme in his work
Controversial Unverifiable

The analyst must be cold, distant, and impersonal.

1912 — Recommendations to Physicians Practicing Psycho-Analysis
Controversial Unverifiable

The discovery of the unconscious is the most important step forward in the history of psychology.

N/A (common theme) — Attributed, common theme in his work
Controversial Unverifiable

The goal of psychoanalysis is to strengthen the ego, to make it more independent of the superego, to widen its field of perception and enlarge its organization, so that it can appropriate fresh portions of the id.

1933 — New Introductory Lectures on Psycho-Analysis
Controversial Unverifiable

The first requisite of civilization is that we should learn to distinguish between the good and the bad.

N/A (common theme) — Attributed, common theme in his work
Controversial Unverifiable

What is common in all these situations is the use of the unconscious as a means of communication.

N/A (common theme) — Attributed, common theme in his work
Controversial Unverifiable

The neurotic is a person who has not been able to overcome his childhood conflicts.

N/A (common theme) — Attributed, common theme in his work
Controversial Unverifiable