On the whole, you could say that if you are defending your…
““On the whole, you could say that if you are defending your opinions, you are not serious. Likewise, if you are trying to avoid something unpleasant inside of yourself, that is also not being serious. A great deal of our whole life is not serious. And society teaches you that. It teaches you not to be very serious – that there are all sorts of incoherent things, and there is nothing that can be done about it, and that you will only stir yourself up uselessly by being serious. But in a dialogue you have to be serious. It is not a dialogue if you are not – not in the way I’m using the word. There is a story about Freud when he had cancer of the mouth. Somebody came up to him and wanted to talk to him about a point in psychology. The person said, “Perhaps I’d better not talk to you, because you’ve got this cancer which is very serious. You may not want to talk about this.” Freud’s answer was, “This cancer may be fatal, but it’s not serious.” And actually, of course, it was just a lot of cells growing. I think a great deal of what goes on in society could be described that way – that it may well be fatal, but it’s not serious.””
About This Quote
This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.
He differentiates between trivial seriousness and the essential seriousness required for genuine dialogue, using Freud’s cancer anecdote to illustrate that seriousness is about relevance, not danger.
In simple terms: Seriousness matters in dialogue, not in all life aspects.
Key Takeaway
Take dialogue seriously, ignore trivial seriousness.
Themes
communication
philosophy
psychology
Mood
reflective
thoughtful
Type
philosophical
inspirational
When to use this quote
- team meetings
- therapy sessions
- public debates
Key Concepts
dialogue relevance
seriousness vs. triviality
Freud anecdote
Questions to Reflect On
- When should seriousness be set aside?
- How does seriousness affect listening?
A Different Perspective
Overemphasis on seriousness can stifle creativity.