--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every age develops its own peculiar forms…" description: "\"Every age develops its own peculiar forms of pathology, which express in exaggerated form its underlying character structure.\" — Christopher Lasch" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe4/christopher-lasch-8262_age_every-age-develops-its-own-peculiar-form_2338674.jpg" --- # Every age develops its own peculiar forms of pathology… ![“Every age develops its own peculiar forms of pathology, which express in exaggerated form its underlying character structure.” quote by Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe4/christopher-lasch-8262_age_every-age-develops-its-own-peculiar-form_2338674.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe4/christopher-lasch-8262_age_every-age-develops-its-own-peculiar-form_2338674.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe4/christopher-lasch-8262_age_every-age-develops-its-own-peculiar-form_2338674.jpg) > “Every age develops its own peculiar forms of pathology, which express in exaggerated form its underlying character structure.” [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Each era creates distinct social problems that reveal its deeper values and anxieties. **In simple terms:** Times show unique problems reflecting core values. Key Takeaway Recognize how current issues reveal societal values. Themes society psychology history Mood analytical critical Type sociological philosophical When to use this quote - political discourse - media analysis - public health trends - urban planning Key Concepts pathology cultural critique Questions to Reflect On - What modern 'pathology' reveals our era's core values? - How can we address these issues constructively? A Different Perspective Focusing on pathology may overlook positive aspects of an era. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Age](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) [Birthday](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/birthday/) [Character](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/character/) [Structure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/structure/) ## Related quotes > [“The direction in which the culture of an age develops is, humanly speaking, chosen by a few exceptionally intelligent men. The popular authors then…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-h-clark/the-direction-in-which-the-culture-of-an-age-develops-is-humanly/) [Gordon H. 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In his classic guide Story, Robert McKee says: We cannot ask which is more important, structure or character, because…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/k-m-weiland/plot-structure-and-character-arc-are-integral-to-one-another-in-his/) [K.M. Weiland](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/k-m-weiland/) > [Liberals have been driven to the desperate expedient of attributing . . .social pathology in today's ghettos to 'a legacy of slavery' even though…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-sowell/liberals-have-been-driven-to-the-desperate-expedient-of-attributing/) [Thomas Sowell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-sowell/) > [The shock of unemployment becomes a pathology in its own right.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-farrar-capon/the-shock-of-unemployment-becomes-a-pathology-in-its-own-right/) [Robert Farrar Capon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-farrar-capon/) > [“The evolved preference for sugary and fatty foods (a functional mechanism) may lead to obesity because of a mismatch with modern nutrition (a maladaptive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-del-giudice/the-evolved-preference-for-sugary-and-fatty-foods-a-functional/) [Marco del Giudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-del-giudice/) > [My nutritionist read my pathology report and said, "There's only one way you can beat your cancer." "What's that?" "You have to find out…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kathy-acker/my-nutritionist-read-my-pathology-report-and-said-there-s-only-one/) [Kathy Acker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kathy-acker/) > [The attack on youth is a national pathology, unwarranted by fact, smokescreen for the failure of adulthood and its leadership to confront larger predicaments.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-a-males/the-attack-on-youth-is-a-national-pathology-unwarranted-by-fact/) Mike A. Males > [As the many male victims of rape in the regime's disgusting jails can testify, this state-run pathology of sexual repression and sexual sadism is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-hitchens/as-the-many-male-victims-of-rape-in-the-regime-s-disgusting-jails-can/) [Christopher Hitchens](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-hitchens/) > [“As a rule, sexually selected traits tend to be more condition-dependent --and thus more vulnerable to dysfunctions-- than other phenotypes. This contributes to explain…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-del-giudice/as-a-rule-sexually-selected-traits-tend-to-be-more-condition/) [Marco del Giudice](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-del-giudice/) > [Objection, evasion, joyous distrust, and love of irony are signs of health; everything absolute belongs to pathology.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-nietzsche/objection-evasion-joyous-distrust-and-love-of-irony-are-signs-of/) [Friedrich Nietzsche](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-nietzsche/) > [You cannot separate passion from pathology any more than you can separate a person's spirit from his body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-selzer/you-cannot-separate-passion-from-pathology-any-more-than-you-can/) [Richard Selzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-selzer/) > [“Memory research that supports a non-pathologizing, coherence-based model of symptom production in the wide range of cases where symptoms are generated by emotional memory.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bruce-ecker/memory-research-that-supports-a-non-pathologizing-coherence-based/) Bruce Ecker > [We know nothing of the principle of health, the positive of which pathology is the negative, except from observation and experience. And nothing but…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/florence-nightingale/we-know-nothing-of-the-principle-of-health-the-positive-of-which/) [Florence Nightingale](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/florence-nightingale/) ## More by Christopher Lasch > [The news appeals to the same jaded appetite that makes a child tire of a toy as soon as it becomes familiar and demand…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/the-news-appeals-to-the-same-jaded-appetite-that-makes-a-child-tire/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [Most women are pragmatists who have allowed extremists on the left and right to manipulate the family issue for their own purposes.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/most-women-are-pragmatists-who-have-allowed-extremists-on-the-left/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [“Members of the educated elite upheld open-mindedness as the supreme political virtue but refused to debate their own idea of the good life, perhaps…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/members-of-the-educated-elite-upheld-open-mindedness-as-the-supreme/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [Neoclassical economics insists that advertising cannot force consumers to buy anything they don't already want to buy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/neoclassical-economics-insists-that-advertising-cannot-force/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [It is the logic of consumerism that undermines the values of loyalty and permanence and promotes a different set of values that is destructive…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/it-is-the-logic-of-consumerism-that-undermines-the-values-of-loyalty/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [It is a tribute to the peculiar horror of contemporary life that it makes the worst features of earlier times -- the stupefaction of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/it-is-a-tribute-to-the-peculiar-horror-of-contemporary-life-that-it/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [Relentless improvement of the product and upgrading of consumer tastes are the heart of mass merchandising.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/relentless-improvement-of-the-product-and-upgrading-of-consumer/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [The model of ownership, in a society organized round mass consumption, is addiction.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/the-model-of-ownership-in-a-society-organized-round-mass-consumption/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [We demand too much of life, too little of ourselves.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/we-demand-too-much-of-life-too-little-of-ourselves/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [We live in a historical period characterized by a sharp discrepancy between the intellectual development of man... and his mental-emotional development, which has left…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/we-live-in-a-historical-period-characterized-by-a-sharp-discrepancy/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [The intellectual debility of contemporary conservatism is indicated by its silence on all important matters.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/the-intellectual-debility-of-contemporary-conservatism-is-indicated/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [Ostensibly rigorous and realistic, contemporary conservatism is an ideology of denial. Its symbol is a smile button.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/ostensibly-rigorous-and-realistic-contemporary-conservatism-is-an/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [Adherents of the new religious right reject the separation of politics and religion, but they bring no spiritual insights to politics.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/adherents-of-the-new-religious-right-reject-the-separation-of/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [Today Americans are overcome not by the sense of endless possibility but by the banality of the social order they have erected against it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/today-americans-are-overcome-not-by-the-sense-of-endless-possibility/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) > [Propaganda in the ordinary sense of the term plays a less important part in a consumer society, where people greet all official pronouncements with…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/propaganda-in-the-ordinary-sense-of-the-term-plays-a-less-important/) [Christopher Lasch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) [Explore all 82 Christopher Lasch quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/) ## More Age quotes > [I need a bath." He chuckled. "You smell of smoke, as do I." The duke turned, leaning heavily on his cane. "Jameson, open the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-hawkins/i-need-a-bath-he-chuckled-you-smell-of-smoke-as-do-i-the-duke-turned/) [Karen Hawkins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-hawkins/) > [While we've youth in our hearts, we can never grow old.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/while-we-ve-youth-in-our-hearts-we-can-never-grow-old/) [Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/oliver-wendell-holmes-jr/) > [It's easier to change a law than an age-old mentality. Deep down, many prejudices, many hostilities, many fears persist. But if we take a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dacia-maraini/it-s-easier-to-change-a-law-than-an-age-old-mentality-deep-down-many/) [Dacia Maraini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dacia-maraini/) > [When I first started writing, when I was 15, I would go to work with people and they would tell me my lyrics were…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sabrina-claudio/when-i-first-started-writing-when-i-was-15-i-would-go-to-work-with/) [Sabrina Claudio](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sabrina-claudio/) > [Real people speak in my books about the main events of the age, such as the war, the Chernobyl disaster, and the downfall of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/svetlana-alexievich/real-people-speak-in-my-books-about-the-main-events-of-the-age-such/) [Svetlana Alexievich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/svetlana-alexievich/) > [As a child I was very involved with sports and I knew at age 9 that I wanted to be an Olympic champion.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marion-jones/as-a-child-i-was-very-involved-with-sports-and-i-knew-at-age-9-that-i/) [Marion Jones](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marion-jones/) > [If there is any period one would desire to be born in, is it not the age of Revolution; when the old and the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ralph-waldo-emerson/if-there-is-any-period-one-would-desire-to-be-born-in-is-it-not-the/) [Ralph Waldo Emerson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ralph-waldo-emerson/) > [By making conscious choices in our behavior and where we focus our attention, we can transform our experience of our body, decrease our biological…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/by-making-conscious-choices-in-our-behavior-and-where-we-focus-our/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [I am just enjoying the dream of being Milan coach at the age of 40.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/i-am-just-enjoying-the-dream-of-being-milan-coach-at-the-age-of-40/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [Age is an accumulation of life and loss. Adulthood is a series of lines crossed.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ellen-goodman/age-is-an-accumulation-of-life-and-loss-adulthood-is-a-series-of/) [Ellen Goodman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ellen-goodman/) > [I calculated that if I live up to the age of 80, then I end up using 450 toothbrushes in my life. All that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dia-mirza/i-calculated-that-if-i-live-up-to-the-age-of-80-then-i-end-up-using/) [Dia Mirza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dia-mirza/) > [Why is wisdom so fair? Why is beauty so wise? 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That was a hard work.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-kaulitz/we-have-started-to-make-music-at-age-seven-that-was-a-hard-work/) [Bill Kaulitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-kaulitz/) [Browse all 18,948 Age quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/age/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every age develops its own peculiar forms of pathology, which express in exaggerated form its underlying character structure.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Christopher Lasch" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/every-age-develops-its-own-peculiar-forms-of-pathology-which-express/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Age" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/every-age-develops-its-own-peculiar-forms-of-pathology-which-express/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe4/christopher-lasch-8262_age_every-age-develops-its-own-peculiar-form_2338674.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe4/christopher-lasch-8262_age_every-age-develops-its-own-peculiar-form_2338674.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fe4/christopher-lasch-8262_age_every-age-develops-its-own-peculiar-form_2338674.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Every age develops its own peculiar forms of pathology, which express in exaggerated form its underlying…” — Christopher Lasch", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Christopher Lasch", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/christopher-lasch/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Every age develops its own peculiar...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/every-age-develops-its-own-peculiar-forms-of-pathology-which-express/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/christopher-lasch/every-age-develops-its-own-peculiar-forms-of-pathology-which-express/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```