Grounded in the natural philosophy of the Middle Ages, alchemy formed a bridge: on the one hand into the past, to Gnosticism, and on the other into the future, to the modern psychology of the unconscious.
Carl JungRead
Normality is a fine ideal for those who have no imagination.
Interpretation
What this quote means
Normality limits creativity and individuality, appealing primarily to those lacking imagination.
Carl Jung's quote suggests that the concept of normality serves as a benchmark for those who conform and lack creative thinking. It implies that a true visionary thrives outside the boundaries of what is considered normal, embracing imagination and originality instead. By framing normality as an ideal, Jung critiques the notion that fitting into societal norms is beneficial, instead advocating for the importance of imagination in fostering uniqueness and depth in human experience.
Themes
NormalityImaginationCreativityIndividualityConformity
In practice
Example use cases
This quote could be used in a speech about embracing creativity in education.
More from Carl Jung
All quotes βThe majority of my patients consisted not of believers but of those who had lost their faith.
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Complexes are psychic contents which are outside the control of the conscious mind. They have been split off from consciousness and lead a separate existence in the unconscious, being at all times ready to hinder or to reinforce the conscious intentions.
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We are in a far better position to observe instincts in animals or in primitives than in ourselves. This is due to the fact that we have grown accustomed to scrutinizing our own actions and to seeking rational explanations for them.
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From the viewpoint of analytic psychology, the theatre, aside from any aesthetic value, may be considered as an institution for the treatment of the mass complex.
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I have treated many hundreds of patients. Among those in the second half of life - that is to say, over 35 - there has not been one whose problem in the last resort was not that of finding a religious outlook on life.
Carl JungRead
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Where the preamble declares, that coercion is a departure from the plan of the holy author of our religion, an amendment was proposed by inserting "Jesus Christ," so that it would read "A departure from the plan of Jesus Christ, the holy author of our religion;" the insertion was rejected by the great majority, in proof that they meant to comprehend, within the mantle of its protection, the Jew and the Gentile, the Christian and Mohammedan, the Hindoo and Infidel of every denomination.
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What you see determines how you interpret the world, which in turn influences what you expect of the world and how you expect the story of your life to unfold.
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At the end of the table, the secretary was reading the decision in some case, but in such a mournful and monotonous voice, that the condemned man himself would have fallen asleep while listening to it. The judge, no doubt, would have been the first of all to do so, had he not entered into an engrossing conversation while it was going on.
Nikolai GogolRead