We have to realize that we are as deeply afraid to live and to love as we are to die.
R. D. LaingRead
Society highly values its normal man. It educates children to lose themselves and to become absurd, and thus to be normal.
Interpretation
What this quote means
The quote critiques societal norms that pressure individuals to conform at the expense of their true selves.
R. D. Laing's quote reflects a deep commentary on the nature of conformity and the psychological impact of societal expectations. It suggests that society prizes conformity—what it defines as 'normal'—and, in its pursuit of this normalcy, it inadvertently encourages individuals to suppress their authenticity and embrace absurdity. This raises questions about the cost of fitting in and the detriment to personal identity and mental health that can result from this pressure.
Themes
SocietyNormalcyAbsurdityConformityIdentity
In practice
Example use cases
In a discussion about the pressures of societal norms at a youth seminar.
More from R. D. Laing
All quotes →Madness need not be all breakdown. It may also be break-through. It is potential liberation and renewal as well as enslavement and existential death.
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Whether life is worth living depends on whether there is love in life.
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The experience and behavior that gets labeled schizophrenic is a special strategy that a person invents in order to live in an unlivable situation.
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The range of what we think and do is limited by what we fail to notice.
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Here we have the paradox, the potentially tragic paradox, that our relatedness to others is an essential aspect of our being, as is our separateness, but any particular person is not a necessary part of our being.
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