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The individual does actually carry on a double existence: one designed to serve his own purposes and another as a link in a chain, in which he serves against, or at any rate without, any volition of his own.
Sigmund Freud
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Individuals navigate between their personal desires and societal roles, often without conscious choice.

This quote by Sigmund Freud highlights the complexity of human existence where individuals maintain two distinct lives: one focused on fulfilling personal ambitions and the other shaped by social expectations and responsibilities. Essentially, it suggests that people often operate within a framework of societal norms that can dictate or influence their actions, sometimes against their own will or innate desires, leading to a sense of dissonance in their identities.

Themes

IdentitySocietyVolitionExistencePurpose

In practice

Example use cases

In a discussion about personal fulfillment versus social obligation.

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"He sido un hombre afortunado en la vida, nada me ha sido facil." "I've been a fortunate man in life, nothing has come easy"
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One day, in retrospect, the years of struggle will strike you as the most beautiful.
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We are never so defenseless against suffering as when we love, never so forlornly unhappy as when we have lost our love object or its love.
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I cannot think of any need in childhood as strong as the need for a father's protection.
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The tendency to aggression is an innate, independent, instinctual disposition in man... it constitutes the powerful obstacle to culture.
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