--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We cannot leave history entirely to…" description: "\"We cannot leave history entirely to nonclinical observers and to professional historians.\" — Erik Erikson" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/erik-erikson-12932_cannot_we-cannot-leave-history-entirely-to-nonc_324403.jpg" --- # We cannot leave history entirely to nonclinical observers… ![“We cannot leave history entirely to nonclinical observers and to professional historians.” quote by Erik Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/erik-erikson-12932_cannot_we-cannot-leave-history-entirely-to-nonc_324403.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/erik-erikson-12932_cannot_we-cannot-leave-history-entirely-to-nonc_324403.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/erik-erikson-12932_cannot_we-cannot-leave-history-entirely-to-nonc_324403.jpg) > “We cannot leave history entirely to nonclinical observers and to professional historians.” [Erik Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-erikson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Emphasizes need for clinicians to contribute to historical narratives, not just external observers. **In simple terms:** Clinicians should help shape history. Key Takeaway Include professional insight in historical records. Themes history clinical perspective collaboration Mood reflective critical Type analytical thought‑provoking When to use this quote - Medical education - archival projects - policy development Key Concepts Medical humanities interdisciplinary research Questions to Reflect On - How can clinicians be trained in historical analysis? - What biases arise when only professionals record history? A Different Perspective Clinicians may lack training in historiography. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Historians](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/historians/) [History](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/history/) ## Related quotes > ['Operation Ajax' presents history in an entirely new way. It takes a true story and uses cutting-edge technology, never before used in this way,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-kinzer/operation-ajax-presents-history-in-an-entirely-new-way-it-takes-a/) [Stephen Kinzer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-kinzer/) > [ I have learned more \[from Balzac\] than from all the professional historians, economists, and statisticians put together. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/friedrich-engels/i-have-learned-more-from-balzac-than-from-all-the-professional/) [Friedrich Engels](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/friedrich-engels/) > [“Professional historians approach such stories with great caution, knowing there will certainly be many fake baubles in the pile. Some accounts will be almost…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-fidler/professional-historians-approach-such-stories-with-great-caution/) Richard Fidler > [My favorite thing is talking to people about history - that's what I like doing. The sort of history I do isn't just for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucy-worsley/my-favorite-thing-is-talking-to-people-about-history-that-s-what-i/) [Lucy Worsley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucy-worsley/) > [Just think, if I had understood my lawyer and if he and I had communicated properly in January 1958, this whole history would have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gordon-gould/just-think-if-i-had-understood-my-lawyer-and-if-he-and-i-had/) [Gordon Gould](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gordon-gould/) > [...History it seemed could be something entirely different a splash of blood whose agony didn't fade overnight or over centuries.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-kostova/history-it-seemed-could-be-something-entirely-different-a-splash-of/) [Elizabeth Kostova](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-kostova/) > [“History is hard to know, because of all the hired bullshit, but even without being sure of “history” it seems entirely reasonable to think…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hunter-s-thompson/history-is-hard-to-know-because-of-all-the-hired-bullshit-but-even/) [Hunter S. Thompson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hunter-s-thompson/) > [We cannot hide from history.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/raphael-warnock/we-cannot-hide-from-history/) [Raphael Warnock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/raphael-warnock/) > [We cannot afford to have lies in music.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bibi-bourelly/we-cannot-afford-to-have-lies-in-music/) [Bibi Bourelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bibi-bourelly/) > [If we cannot come together to pause, to respect our dead and the heroic lives of meaning they led, then ours is truly a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-mckinnon/if-we-cannot-come-together-to-pause-to-respect-our-dead-and-the/) [Mark McKinnon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-mckinnon/) > [Living as we do with a veil over our eyes, we cannot remember what it was like to be with our Heavenly Father and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henry-b-eyring/living-as-we-do-with-a-veil-over-our-eyes-we-cannot-remember-what-it/) [Henry B. Eyring](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henry-b-eyring/) > [If we cannot by reason, by influence, by example, by strenuous effort, and by personal sacrifice, mend the bad places of civilization, we certainly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/auberon-herbert/if-we-cannot-by-reason-by-influence-by-example-by-strenuous-effort/) [Auberon Herbert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/auberon-herbert/) > [We live in a world of diverse cultures, and we know very little about social engineering and how to 'build nations.' And when we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-nye/we-live-in-a-world-of-diverse-cultures-and-we-know-very-little-about/) [Joseph Nye](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-nye/) > [While we welcome people of all faiths in America we cannot be so naive as to expect all countries to do the same. But…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michael-huffington/while-we-welcome-people-of-all-faiths-in-america-we-cannot-be-so/) [Michael Huffington](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michael-huffington/) > [We cannot stop anyone from criticising us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inzamam-ul-haq/we-cannot-stop-anyone-from-criticising-us/) [Inzamam-ul-Haq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inzamam-ul-haq/) ## More by Erik Erikson > [You see a child play, and it is so close to seeing an artist paint, for in play a child says things without uttering…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/you-see-a-child-play-and-it-is-so-close-to-seeing-an-artist-paint-for/) [Erik Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-erikson/) > [Mans true taproots are nourished in the sequence of generations, and he loses his taproots in disrupted developmental time, not in abandoned localities.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/mans-true-taproots-are-nourished-in-the-sequence-of-generations-and/) [Erik Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-erikson/) > [The growing child must derive a vitalizing sense of reality from the awareness that his individual way of mastering experience (his ego synthesis) is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/the-growing-child-must-derive-a-vitalizing-sense-of-reality-from-the/) [Erik Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-erikson/) > [Do not mistake a child for his symptom.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/do-not-mistake-a-child-for-his-symptom/) [Erik Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-erikson/) > [Doubt is the brother of shame.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/doubt-is-the-brother-of-shame/) [Erik Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-erikson/) > [The psychoanalytic method is essentially a historical method.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/the-psychoanalytic-method-is-essentially-a-historical-method/) [Erik Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-erikson/) > [“The richest and fullest lives attempt to achieve an inner balance between three realms: work, love and play.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/the-richest-and-fullest-lives-attempt-to-achieve-an-inner-balance/) [Erik Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-erikson/) > [“It's a long haul bringing up our children to be good; you have to keep doing that — bring them up — and that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/it-s-a-long-haul-bringing-up-our-children-to-be-good-you-have-to-keep/) [Erik Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-erikson/) > [I am what survives of me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/i-am-what-survives-of-me/) [Erik Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-erikson/) > [Let us face it: 'deep down' nobody in his right mind can visualize his own existence without assuming that he has always lived and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/let-us-face-it-deep-down-nobody-in-his-right-mind-can-visualize-his/) [Erik Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-erikson/) > [Will, therefore, is the unbroken determination to exercise free choice as well as self-restraint, in spite of the unavoidable experience of shame and doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/will-therefore-is-the-unbroken-determination-to-exercise-free-choice/) [Erik Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-erikson/) > [Men have always shown a dim knowledge of their better potentialities by paying homage to those purest leaders who taught the simplest and most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/men-have-always-shown-a-dim-knowledge-of-their-better-potentialities/) [Erik Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-erikson/) > [Personality, too, is destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/personality-too-is-destiny/) [Erik Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-erikson/) > [He who is ashamed would like to force the world not to look at him, not to notice his exposure. He would like to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/he-who-is-ashamed-would-like-to-force-the-world-not-to-look-at-him/) [Erik Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-erikson/) > [There is in every child at every stage a new miracle of vigorous unfolding, which constitutes a new hope and a new responsibility for…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/there-is-in-every-child-at-every-stage-a-new-miracle-of-vigorous/) [Erik Erikson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-erikson/) [Explore all 52 Erik Erikson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-erikson/) ## More Cannot quotes > [The United States cannot and should not discriminate on the basis of religion. The free exercise of religion is at the very heart of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mike-pence/the-united-states-cannot-and-should-not-discriminate-on-the-basis-of/) [Mike Pence](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mike-pence/) > [Racism is a cancer. You cannot ignore it and it'll go away. If you ignore cancer, it simply metastasizes and consumes the whole body.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daryl-davis/racism-is-a-cancer-you-cannot-ignore-it-and-it-ll-go-away-if-you/) [Daryl Davis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daryl-davis/) > [The book is not simply the object that one holds in one's hands, and it cannot remain within the little parallelpiped that contains it:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-foucault/the-book-is-not-simply-the-object-that-one-holds-in-one-s-hands-and/) [Michel Foucault](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-foucault/) > [Nothing is more private than a woman's body; it is her physical, emotional, and moral citadel. She cannot be free at all if she…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-b-smedes/nothing-is-more-private-than-a-woman-s-body-it-is-her-physical/) [Lewis B. Smedes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-b-smedes/) > [Visaaranai' reflects a stark reality from which you cannot shut yourself out: that is its success.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vetrimaaran/visaaranai-reflects-a-stark-reality-from-which-you-cannot-shut/) [Vetrimaaran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/vetrimaaran/) > [When you put more than a million kids in school, you take a plane today and go to Haiti, you cannot see the results.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/michel-martelly/when-you-put-more-than-a-million-kids-in-school-you-take-a-plane/) [Michel Martelly](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/michel-martelly/) > [We cannot stop anyone from criticising us.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/inzamam-ul-haq/we-cannot-stop-anyone-from-criticising-us/) [Inzamam-ul-Haq](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/inzamam-ul-haq/) > [Once you publish a book, it is out of your control. You cannot dictate how people read it.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-atwood/once-you-publish-a-book-it-is-out-of-your-control-you-cannot-dictate/) [Margaret Atwood](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margaret-atwood/) > [The Brazilians are amazing in their nature. You cannot describe it; you must feel that warmth when you're around them to understand.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/henrikh-mkhitaryan/the-brazilians-are-amazing-in-their-nature-you-cannot-describe-it-you/) [Henrikh Mkhitaryan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/henrikh-mkhitaryan/) > [The two things you cannot do effectively on stage are pray and copulate.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/orson-welles/the-two-things-you-cannot-do-effectively-on-stage-are-pray-and/) [Orson Welles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/orson-welles/) > [Liberty does not exist where rights are on one side and power on the other. To be liberty, rights must be armed with vital…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/liberty-does-not-exist-where-rights-are-on-one-side-and-power-on-the/) [Lucius Quintus Cincinnatus Lamar II](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lucius-quintus-cincinnatus-lamar-ii/) > [The reason I fight is to provide for my family, and I cannot risk having that taken away.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-whittaker/the-reason-i-fight-is-to-provide-for-my-family-and-i-cannot-risk/) [Robert Whittaker](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-whittaker/) > [We cannot have players who don't give their soul.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gennaro-gattuso/we-cannot-have-players-who-don-t-give-their-soul/) [Gennaro Gattuso](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gennaro-gattuso/) > [I cannot do confrontation. You know that fight or flight thing? I'm flight. I just don't want the argument.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jennifer-saunders/i-cannot-do-confrontation-you-know-that-fight-or-flight-thing-i-m/) [Jennifer Saunders](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jennifer-saunders/) > [Rahul Gandhi cannot be a prime minister because he is a citizen of Britain, and his Indian citizenship will be cancelled; he won't even…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/subramanian-swamy/rahul-gandhi-cannot-be-a-prime-minister-because-he-is-a-citizen-of/) [Subramanian Swamy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/subramanian-swamy/) Browse all 2,691 Cannot quotes ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We cannot leave history entirely to nonclinical observers and to professional historians.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Erik Erikson" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/we-cannot-leave-history-entirely-to-nonclinical-observers-and-to/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Cannot" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/we-cannot-leave-history-entirely-to-nonclinical-observers-and-to/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/erik-erikson-12932_cannot_we-cannot-leave-history-entirely-to-nonc_324403.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/erik-erikson-12932_cannot_we-cannot-leave-history-entirely-to-nonc_324403.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/bf1/erik-erikson-12932_cannot_we-cannot-leave-history-entirely-to-nonc_324403.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We cannot leave history entirely to nonclinical observers and to professional historians.” — Erik Erikson", "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": "Erik Erikson", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-erikson/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "We cannot leave history entirely to...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/we-cannot-leave-history-entirely-to-nonclinical-observers-and-to/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-erikson/we-cannot-leave-history-entirely-to-nonclinical-observers-and-to/#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 } } ] } ```