Love is generally confused with dependence; but in point of fact, you can love only in proportion to your capacity for independence.
Rollo MayRead
Dogmatism of all kinds--scientific, economic, moral, as well as political--are threatened by the creative freedom of the artist. This is necessarily and inevitably so. We cannot escape our anxiety over the fact that the artists together with creative persons of all sorts, are the possible destroyer of our nicely ordered systems. (p. 76)
Interpretation
What this quote means
Artists challenge established beliefs and systems through their creative expression.
In this quote, Rollo May highlights the inherent tension between artistic freedom and the conventional structures of society, such as scientific and moral dogmas. He suggests that artists, by their very nature, have the potential to disrupt and dismantle these orderly systems, provoking anxiety among those who adhere to established norms, as creativity poses a threat to dogmatic certainty.
Themes
ArtCreativityDogmatismFreedomAnxietyDisruption
In practice
Example use cases
In a speech about the importance of art in society.
More from Rollo May
All quotes →To love means to open ourselves to the negative as well as the positive - to grief, sorrow, and disappointment as well as to joy, fulfillment, and an intensity of consciousness we did not know was possible before
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Terrorism and the whole drug scene are vivid examples of the fact that what persons abhor most of all in life is the possibility that they will not matter.
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Humor is the healthy way of feeling "distance" between one's self and the problem, a way of standing off and looking at one's problem with perspective.
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Beauty is the experience that gives us a sense of joy and a sense of peace simultaneously.
Rollo MayRead
The poet, like the lover, is a menace on the assembly line.
Rollo MayRead
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