--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Every theory of love, from Plato down…" description: "\"Every theory of love, from Plato down teaches that each individual loves in the other sex what he lacks in himself.\" — G. Stanley Hall" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/081/g-stanley-hall-21940_individual_every-theory-of-love-from-plato-down-tea_381428.jpg" --- # Every theory of love, from Plato down teaches that each… ![“Every theory of love, from Plato down teaches that each individual loves in the other sex what he lacks in himself.” quote by G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/081/g-stanley-hall-21940_individual_every-theory-of-love-from-plato-down-tea_381428.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/081/g-stanley-hall-21940_individual_every-theory-of-love-from-plato-down-tea_381428.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/081/g-stanley-hall-21940_individual_every-theory-of-love-from-plato-down-tea_381428.jpg) > “Every theory of love, from Plato down teaches that each individual loves in the other sex what he lacks in himself.” [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Love fills personal gaps; we seek in partners what we lack within ourselves. **In simple terms:** We look for missing traits in partners. Key Takeaway Seek self-awareness before seeking love. Themes psychology relationships self Mood introspective educational Type psychological philosophical When to use this quote - dating - friendship formation - therapy sessions - personal growth workshops Key Concepts Projection self-completion developmental theory Questions to Reflect On - What qualities do you lack that you seek in others? - Can self-improvement reduce dependence on romance? A Different Perspective Overreliance on partners can hinder self-development. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Individual](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Sex](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/sex/) ## Related quotes > [Plato ... teaches the separation of the human soul from its " home " in the realm of pure essences. Man is estranged from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-tillich/plato-teaches-the-separation-of-the-human-soul-from-its-home-in-the/) [Paul Tillich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-tillich/) > [Being in love, as both Plato and David Bowie have pointed out, is horrible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stefano-benni/being-in-love-as-both-plato-and-david-bowie-have-pointed-out-is/) [Stefano Benni](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stefano-benni/) > [THEORY OF LOVE If a girl is in LOVE, her Parents will ask Who's that IDIOT? ¥ If a boy is in LOVE, his…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/vino/theory-of-love-if-a-girl-is-in-love-her-parents-will-ask-who-s-that/) Vino > [“The second thing we need to do is to debunk the theory that our first love will be our only true love. I have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-dixon/the-second-thing-we-need-to-do-is-to-debunk-the-theory-that-our-first/) Emily Dixon > [“I was thinking about attraction. I have this theory on it. On love." She wouldn't look at me. I swallowed, but managed, "This ought…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/maggie-stiefvater/i-was-thinking-about-attraction-i-have-this-theory-on-it-on-love-she/) [maggie stiefvater](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/maggie-stiefvater/) > [I heard this theory once that love means your subconscious is attracted to someone else’s subconscious.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-james/i-heard-this-theory-once-that-love-means-your-subconscious-is/) [Julie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-james/) > [...have a theory that she is in love with the dream of someone and not an actual person.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erin-morgenstern/have-a-theory-that-she-is-in-love-with-the-dream-of-someone-and-not/) [Erin Morgenstern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erin-morgenstern/) > [Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/let-your-religion-be-less-of-a-theory-and-more-of-a-love-affair/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [I love academics, theory and all that. I love and admire that and try to do as much reading as I can.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anton-yelchin/i-love-academics-theory-and-all-that-i-love-and-admire-that-and-try/) [Anton Yelchin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anton-yelchin/) > [“So I’m reading some poem by Louise . . . something, I forget her last name, but it’s about Hades and the underworld, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julie-james/so-i-m-reading-some-poem-by-louise-something-i-forget-her-last-name/) [Julie James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julie-james/) > [“Let your religion be less of a theory and more of a love affair. —G. K. Chesterton12”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-sweet/let-your-religion-be-less-of-a-theory-and-more-of-a-love-affair-g-k/) [Leonard Sweet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-sweet/) > [“Everyone wants to fall in love. But I think more people are in love with the theory of love. If you’re looking in from…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/calia-read/everyone-wants-to-fall-in-love-but-i-think-more-people-are-in-love/) [Calia Read](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/calia-read/) > [“Before becoming a mother I had a hundred theories on how to bring up children. Now I have seven children and only one theory:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kate-samperi/before-becoming-a-mother-i-had-a-hundred-theories-on-how-to-bring-up/) Kate Samperi > [“I loved him, you know, but I have a theory about love. I think that, however good it is, some love isn't meant to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cecelia-ahern/i-loved-him-you-know-but-i-have-a-theory-about-love-i-think-that/) [Cecelia Ahern](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cecelia-ahern/) > [Perhaps that is our doom, our human curse, to never really know one another. We erect edifices in our minds about the flimsy framework…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rick-yancey/perhaps-that-is-our-doom-our-human-curse-to-never-really-know-one-2/) [Rick Yancey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rick-yancey/) ## More by G. Stanley Hall > [Daily contact with some teachers is itself all-sided ethical education for the child without a spoken precept. Here, too, the real advantage of male…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/daily-contact-with-some-teachers-is-itself-all-sided-ethical/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Adolescence is when the very worst and best impulses in the human soul struggle against each other for possession.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/adolescence-is-when-the-very-worst-and-best-impulses-in-the-human/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [.. every step of the upward way is strewn with wreckage of body, mind, and morals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/every-step-of-the-upward-way-is-strewn-with-wreckage-of-body-mind-and/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Abundance and vigor of automatic movements are desirable, and even a considerable degree of restlessness is a good sign in young children.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/abundance-and-vigor-of-automatic-movements-are-desirable-and-even-a/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Of all work-schools, a good farm is probably the best for motor development.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/of-all-work-schools-a-good-farm-is-probably-the-best-for-motor/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Civilization is so hard on the body that some have called it a disease, despite the arts that keep puny bodies alive to a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/civilization-is-so-hard-on-the-body-that-some-have-called-it-a/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Man is largely a creature of habit, and many of his activities are more or less automatic reflexes from the stimuli of his environment.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/man-is-largely-a-creature-of-habit-and-many-of-his-activities-are/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Normal children often pass through stages of passionate cruelty, laziness, lying and thievery.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/normal-children-often-pass-through-stages-of-passionate-cruelty/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [ This splendid subject \[mathematics\], queen of all exact sciences, and the ideal and norm of all careful thinking... ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/this-splendid-subject-mathematics-queen-of-all-exact-sciences-and-the/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Being an only child is a disease in itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/being-an-only-child-is-a-disease-in-itself/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Puberty for a girl is like floating down a broadening river into an open sea.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/puberty-for-a-girl-is-like-floating-down-a-broadening-river-into-an/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [The teens are emotionally unstable and pathic. It is a natural impulse to experience hot and perfervid psychic states, and it is characterized by…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/the-teens-are-emotionally-unstable-and-pathic-it-is-a-natural-impulse/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Oneness with Nature is the glory of childhood; oneness with childhood is the glory of the Teacher.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/oneness-with-nature-is-the-glory-of-childhood-oneness-with-childhood/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Adolescence as the time when an individual ‘recapitulates’ the savage stage of the race’s past.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/adolescence-as-the-time-when-an-individual-recapitulates-the-savage/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) > [Muscles are in a most intimate and peculiar sense the organs of the will.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/g-stanley-hall/muscles-are-in-a-most-intimate-and-peculiar-sense-the-organs-of-the/) [G. Stanley Hall](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) [Explore all 28 G. Stanley Hall quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/g-stanley-hall/) ## More Individual quotes > [Many individuals spend a considerable portion of their lifetimes in terror of one imagined catastrophe or another. The classic is that your immortal soul…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/l-neil-smith/many-individuals-spend-a-considerable-portion-of-their-lifetimes-in/) [L. 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Heritage Foundation political scientist Robert Rector has worked up figures showing that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/p-j-o-rourke/in-comparative-terms-there-s-no-poverty-in-america-by-a-long-shot/) [P. J. O'Rourke](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/p-j-o-rourke/) > [Nations, like individuals, interest us in their growth.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/walter-savage-landor/nations-like-individuals-interest-us-in-their-growth/) [Walter Savage Landor](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/walter-savage-landor/) > [ \[Sport officials\] blocked their support of us. But those individuals \[ Muhammad Ali, the Jim Browns, the Bill Russells, Kareem Abdul Jabbar \] were… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-carlos/sport-officials-blocked-their-support-of-us-but-those-individuals/) [John Carlos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-carlos/) > [Popular culture as a whole is popular, but in today's fragmented market it's a jostle of competing unpopular popular cultures. As the critic Stanley…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-steyn/popular-culture-as-a-whole-is-popular-but-in-today-s-fragmented/) [Mark Steyn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-steyn/) > [The State must act as the guardian of a millennial future in the face of which the wishes and the selfishness of the individual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/adolf-hitler/the-state-must-act-as-the-guardian-of-a-millennial-future-in-the-face/) [Adolf Hitler](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/adolf-hitler/) > [If it comes to a question of law, the charges they brought against me - the Espionage Act - is called the quintessential political…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edward-snowden/if-it-comes-to-a-question-of-law-the-charges-they-brought-against-me/) [Edward Snowden](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edward-snowden/) > [The individual, by means of the discipline imposed on him by sport, not only plays and finds relaxation from the various compulsions to which…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacques-ellul/the-individual-by-means-of-the-discipline-imposed-on-him-by-sport-not/) [Jacques Ellul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacques-ellul/) > [Youre always going to have some individual incidents that arent going to show off the Ryder Cup in the true form and spirit that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-kite/youre-always-going-to-have-some-individual-incidents-that-arent-going/) [Tom Kite](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-kite/) > [ The self is defined psychologically as the psychic totality of the individual. Anything that a \[person\] postulates as being a greater totality than \[oneself\]… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carl-jung/the-self-is-defined-psychologically-as-the-psychic-totality-of-the/) [Carl Jung](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carl-jung/) [Browse all 10,654 Individual quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/individual/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Every theory of love, from Plato down teaches that each individual loves in the other sex what he lacks in himself.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "G. 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