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Desire Quote by Albert Einstein

“We all know, from what we experience with and within ourselves, that our conscious acts spring from our desires and our fears. Intuition tells us that that is true also of our fellows and of the higher animals. We all try to escape pain and death, while we seek what is pleasant. We are all ruled…” quote by Albert Einstein
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“We all know, from what we experience with and within ourselves, that our conscious acts spring from our desires and our fears. Intuition tells us that that is true also of our fellows and of the higher animals. We all try to escape pain and death, while we seek what is pleasant. We are all ruled in what we do by impulses; and these impulses are so organised that our actions in general serve for our self preservation and that of the race. Hunger, love, pain, fear are some of those inner forces which rule the individual's instinct for self preservation. At the same time, as social beings, we are moved in the relations with our fellow beings by such feelings as sympathy, pride, hate, need for power, pity, and so on. All these primary impulses, not easi ly described in words, are the springs of man's actions. All such action would cease if those powerful elemental forces were to cease stirring within us. Though our conduct seems so very different from that of the higher animals, the primar”

Albert Einstein

About This Quote

Source Lecture: Philosophy of Human Nature, Princeton, 1935

Human behavior is driven by fundamental impulses—desire, fear, self‑preservation, and social emotions—shaping both individual and collective actions.

In simple terms: Our actions stem from basic desires and social feelings.

Key Takeaway

Understand and manage core impulses.

Themes

psychology philosophy biology

Mood

reflective inquisitive

Type

philosophical psychological

When to use this quote

  • personal decision making
  • conflict resolution
  • leadership
  • team dynamics

Key Concepts

impulse theory social behavior

Questions to Reflect On

  • What impulses dominate your choices?
  • How can awareness of impulses improve relationships?
A Different Perspective

Overemphasis on biology can neglect cultural and rational influences.

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