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The adoption of the required attitude of mind towards ideas that seem to emerge "of their own free will" and the abandonment of the critical function that is normally in operation against them seem to be hard of achievement for some people. The "involuntary thoughts" are liable to release a most violent resistance, which seeks to prevent their emergence. If we may trust that great poet and philosopher Friedrich Schiller, however, poetic creation must demand an exactly similar attitude.
Sigmund Freud
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Interpretation

What this quote means

Creativity often requires a willingness to embrace spontaneous ideas while overcoming internal resistance.

In this quote, Sigmund Freud emphasizes the importance of adopting a receptive mindset for artistic creation. He suggests that just as involuntary thoughts can be met with resistance, the same is true for creative ideas that emerge spontaneously; overcoming this internal pushback is crucial for poets and artists to fully express their creativity.

Themes

CreativitySpontaneityResistanceArtistic ExpressionMindset

In practice

Example use cases

An artist could reference this quote during a workshop on overcoming creative blocks.

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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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