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James Hillman

James Hillman Quotes

Psychologist

James Hillman (April 12, 1926 - October 27, 2011) was an American psychologist and a prominent figure in the field of analytical psychology. His research focused on dream analysis, mythology, and the relationship between the human psyche and nature. Hillman's works have had a profound impact on psychology, literature, and the arts.

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Famous James Hillman Quotes

“Just stop for a minute and you'll realize you're happy just being. I think it's the pursuit that screws up happiness. If we drop the pursuit, it's right here.”

Ifs Thinking Happiness Realizing Minutes Pursuit Just Being Being Happy Screws Screw Ups

Author:James Hillman

“I think we're miserable partly because we have only one god, and that's economics.”

Thinking Economic Economics Miserable

Author:James Hillman

“I don't think anything changes until ideas change. The usual American viewpoint is to believe that something is wrong with the person.”

Thinking Believe Persons Ideas Usual Viewpoints

Author:James Hillman

“All we can do when we think of kids today is think of more hours of school, earlier age at the computer, and curfews. Who would want to grow up in that world?”

Thinking World Want Kids Age Today School Grows Can Do Hours Growing Up Computer Birthday 60th Birthday Curfew

Author:James Hillman

“I don't think anything changes until ideas change.”

Thinking Ideas Things Change

Author:James Hillman

“We vote for Perot. We think he's a great, marvelous, honest man. We send money to his campaign, even though he is one of the richest capitalists in our culture. Imagine, sending money to Perot! It's unbelievable, yet it's part of that worship of individuality.”

Thinking Men Culture Imagine Honest Worship Vote Individuality Campaigns Capitalist Marvelous Unbelievable Honest Man

Author:James Hillman

“In the past, friendship was a huge thing. But it's hard for us to think of friendship as a calling, because it's not a vocation.”

Thinking Hard Past Huge Calling Vocation

Author:James Hillman

“I think the worst atmosphere for a six-year-old is one in which there are no expectations whatsoever. That is, it's worse for the child to grow up in a vacuum where "whatever you do is alright, I'm sure you'll succeed." That is a statement of disinterest. It says, "I really have no fantasies for you at all."”

Thinking Years Children Grows Fantasy Growing Up Worst Succeed Six Expectations Statements Atmosphere Vacuums Alright Six Year Olds Disinterest

Author:James Hillman

“I don't think you can revive traditions on purpose.”

Thinking Purpose Tradition Revive

Author:James Hillman

“How can Hitler, or some other murderer, appear in this world? I don't think any single theory can account for the phenomenon, and I think it's a mistake to try to reduce it to being brutalized by your parents or having grown up in some horrible situation - like Charles Manson.”

Thinking World Trying Parent Mistake Situation This World Theory Accounts Horrible Phenomenon Murderer Manson

Author:James Hillman

“I think there is such a thing as a bad seed that comes to flower in certain people. The danger with that theory is that we begin to look for those "troublemakers" early on and try to weed them out. That's very dangerous, because it could work against kids who are just routine troublemakers.”

People Thinking Trying Looks Kids Certain Dangerous Danger Flower Theory Seeds Routine Weed Troublemaker Bad Seed

Author:James Hillman

“I tend to think that you fulfill your own destiny, whether you realize it or not.”

Thinking Realizing Destiny

Author:James Hillman

“You may not become a celebrity. You may even experience lots of illness or divorce, or unhappiness. But I think there is still a thread of individual character that determines how you live through those things.”

Thinking May Stills Character Individual Determine Illness Divorce Unhappiness Thread

Author:James Hillman

“People used to trust their doctor. They went to an expert. Now people have new ideas and are thinking for themselves. That's a very important change in our collective psychology.”

People Thinking Important Ideas Used Psychology Doctors Experts Collectives New Ideas

Author:James Hillman

“As the popular trust in science fades - and many sociologists say that's happening today - people will develop a distrust of purely "scientific" psychology. Researchers in the universities haven't picked up on this; they're more interested in genetics and computer models of thinking than ever. But, in general, there is a huge distrust of the scientific establishment now.”

People Thinking Today Psychology Havens Huge Computer Models Happenings University Establishment Fades Distrust Genetics Researchers Sociologists

Author:James Hillman

“The new age self-help phenomenon is pretty mushy, but it's also very American. Our history is filled with traveling preachers and quack medicine and searches for the soul. I don't see this as a new thing. I think the new age is part of a phenomenon that's been there all along.”

Thinking Soul Self Helping Age Self Help Filled Medicine Phenomenon Preacher New Things New Age Quacks

Author:James Hillman

“I sometimes get short-tempered in a public situation because I think, Oh God, I can't go back over that again. I can't put that into a two-word answer. I can't. Wherever I go, people say, "Can I ask you a quick question?" It's always, "a quick question." Well, my answers are slow.”

People Thinking Wells I Can Two Sometimes Asks Answers Situation

Author:James Hillman

“My war - and I have yet to win a decisive battle - is with the modes of thought that and conditioned feelings that prevail in psychology and therefore also in the way we think and feel about our being. Of these conditions none are more tyrannical than the convictions that clamp the mind and heart into positivistic science (geneticism and computerism), economics (bottom-line capitalism), and single-minded faith (fundamentalism).”

Thinking Way Feels Mind Heart War Feelings Winning Lines Psychology Conditions Battle Capitalism Economics Bottom Conviction Fundamentalism Heart And Mind Bottom Line

Author:James Hillman

“I see happiness as a by-product. I don't think you can pursue happiness. I think that phrase is one of the very few mistakes the Founding Fathers made”

Thinking Made Father Mistake Products Pursue Phrases Founding

Author:James Hillman

About the Author

Born: April 12, 1926
Died: October 27, 2011
Known for: Psychologist
Quotes: 158

Related Topics

Soul Thinking People Way Psychology World Persons Ideas Ifs May Needs Calling Children Humans Knows Parent Realizing Theory Want Character

Popular Topics

People Ifs Thinking Knows Men World Way Want Love Life Inspirational Needs Giving Feels Should Writing Trying Years Mind Firsts

Books & Sources

The Essential James Hillman: A Blue FireRelated source material

The Force of Character: And the Lasting LifeRelated source material

City and Soul: Uniform EditionRelated source material

The Soul's Code: In Search of Character and CallingRelated source material

We've had a hundred years of psychotherapy-- and the world's getting worseRelated source material

The Myth of Analysis: Three Essays in Archetypal PsychologyRelated source material

Alchemical Psychology: Uniform EditionRelated source material

Dream AnimalsRelated source material

Healing fictionRelated source material

Inter Views: Conversations With Laura Pozzp on Psychotherapy, Biography, Love, Soul, Dreams, Work, Imagination and the State of the CultureRelated source material

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