--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The Superego, in censoring the…" description: "\"The Superego, in censoring the unconscious and in implanting conscience, also censors the censor.\" — Herbert Marcuse" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/168/herbert-marcuse-3589_censoring_the-superego-in-censoring-the-unconsciou_1037078.jpg" --- # The Superego, in censoring the unconscious and in… ![“The Superego, in censoring the unconscious and in implanting conscience, also censors the censor.” quote by Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/168/herbert-marcuse-3589_censoring_the-superego-in-censoring-the-unconsciou_1037078.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/168/herbert-marcuse-3589_censoring_the-superego-in-censoring-the-unconsciou_1037078.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/168/herbert-marcuse-3589_censoring_the-superego-in-censoring-the-unconsciou_1037078.jpg) > “The Superego, in censoring the unconscious and in implanting conscience, also censors the censor.” [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The superego not only controls impulses but also limits its own critical voice, creating a self‑censoring loop. **In simple terms:** Our conscience can silence its own critique. Key Takeaway Beware of internal censorship. Themes psychology self‑control critique Mood analytical critical Type psychological philosophical When to use this quote - personal decision‑making - political activism - creative work Key Concepts superego self‑censorship freedom Questions to Reflect On - In what ways do you silence your own doubts? - How can you nurture constructive self‑critique? A Different Perspective Self‑censorship can stifle necessary dissent. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Censors](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/censors/) [Conscience](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/conscience/) [Ethics](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/ethics/) [Superego](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/superego/) ## Related quotes > [“Too many adults wish to 'protect' teenagers when they should be stimulating them to read of life as it is lived.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margaret-a-edwards/too-many-adults-wish-to-protect-teenagers-when-they-should-be/) Margaret A. Edwards > [Every morning is a battle between the superego and the id, and I am a mere foot soldier with mud and a snooze button…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/catherynne-m-valente/every-morning-is-a-battle-between-the-superego-and-the-id-and-i-am-a/) [Catherynne M. Valente](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/catherynne-m-valente/) > [I've always had a very developed superego. 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Superimposed”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/otto-f-kernberg/superego-also-makes-a-crucial-contribution-to-the-analyst-s-identity/) [Otto F. Kernberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/otto-f-kernberg/) > [Animation is capable to go beyond superego defense strategies and touch deep human being contents as no other art expression.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/luiz-bolognesi/animation-is-capable-to-go-beyond-superego-defense-strategies-and/) [Luiz Bolognesi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/luiz-bolognesi/) ## More by Herbert Marcuse > [The strains and stresses suffered by the individual in society are grounded in the normal functioning of that society (and of the individual!) rather…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/the-strains-and-stresses-suffered-by-the-individual-in-society-are/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [ \[Art\] can speak its own language only as long as the images are alive which refuse and refute the established order. ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/art-can-speak-its-own-language-only-as-long-as-the-images-are-alive/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [If man has learned to see and know what really is, he will act in accordance with truth, Epistemology is in itself ethics, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/herbert-marcuse/if-man-has-learned-to-see-and-know-what-really-is-he-will-act-in/) [Herbert Marcuse](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/herbert-marcuse/) > [Hypostatized into a ritual pattern, Marxian theory becomes ideology. 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