Quotessence
Home / Quotes / Quote by James Hillman

Quote by James Hillman

Work

Loose Ends: Primary Papers in Archetypal Psychology

This book compiles key scholarly works that delve into the theoretical framework and applications of archetypal psychology, offering insights into the nature of human psychology and its universal patterns. more

Author

James Hillman
James Hillman

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. more

You May Also Like

“When it is impossible to stretch the very elastic threads of historical ratiocination any farther, when actions are clearly contrary to all that humanity calls right or even just, the historians produce a saving conception of 'greatness.' 'Greatness,' it seems, excludes the standards of right and wrong. For the 'great' man nothing is wrong, there is no atrocity for which a 'great' man can be blamed.”

“Slavery, you know, is nothing else than the unwilling labor of many. Therefore to get rid of slavery it is necessary that people should not wish to profit by the forced labor of others and should consider it a sin and a shame. But they go and abolish the external form of slavery and arrange so that one can no longer buy and sell slaves, and they imagine and assure themselves that slavery no longer exists, and do not see or wish to see that it does, because people still want and consider it good and right to exploit the labor of others.”

“I understood, not with my intellect but with my whole being, that no theories of the rationality of existence or of progress could justify such an act; I realized that even if all the people in the world from the day of creation found this to be necessary according to whatever theory, I knew that it was not necessary and that it was wrong. Therefore, my judgments must be based-on what is right and necessary and not on what people say and do; I must judge not according to progress but according to my own heart.”

“I asked: 'What is the meaning of my life, beyond time, cause, and space?' And I replied to quite another question: 'What is the meaning of my life within time, cause, and space?' With the result that, after long efforts of thought, the answer I reached was: 'None'.”