--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: The human libido is essentially…" description: "\"“The human libido is essentially narcissistic, but it seeks a world to love as it loves itself.”\" — Norman O. Brown" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/norman-o-brown-21041_love_the-human-libido-is-essentially-narcissi_980530.jpg" --- # The human libido is essentially narcissistic, but it seeks… ![“The human libido is essentially narcissistic, but it seeks a world to love as it loves itself.” quote by Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/norman-o-brown-21041_love_the-human-libido-is-essentially-narcissi_980530.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/norman-o-brown-21041_love_the-human-libido-is-essentially-narcissi_980530.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1bd/norman-o-brown-21041_love_the-human-libido-is-essentially-narcissi_980530.jpg) > ““The human libido is essentially narcissistic, but it seeks a world to love as it loves itself.”” [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Human desire is self‑loving yet seeks external love, reflecting a narcissistic core. **In simple terms:** We love ourselves and look for the world to love us back. Key Takeaway Balance self‑love with genuine connection. Themes love ego psychology Mood introspective analytical Type philosophical psychological When to use this quote - relationships - self‑esteem workartistic expression Key Concepts narcissism human nature Questions to Reflect On - What does love mean to you? - How can you love others without selfish motives? A Different Perspective Focusing only on self can hinder true intimacy. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Human Libido](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-libido-1943880/) [Libido](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libido/) [Libido Essentially](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libido-essentially-1943881/) [Love](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/love/) [Narcissistic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narcissistic/) [Narcissistic Seeks](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/narcissistic-seeks-1943882/) ## Related quotes > [The transformation of object-libido into narcissistic libido which thus takes place obviously implies an abandonment of sexual aims, a desexualization - a kind of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-transformation-of-object-libido-into-narcissistic-libido-which/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“If working-hours were natural, then employed men would only get erections between 5 p.m. and 9 a.m. … during the week.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/if-working-hours-were-natural-then-employed-men-would-only-get/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [“(there is no pepper on the table; evidently pepper perks the libido),”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hillman/there-is-no-pepper-on-the-table-evidently-pepper-perks-the-libido/) [Tom Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hillman/) > [“Love is a kind of symptom that arises through the repression of libido.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-tallis/love-is-a-kind-of-symptom-that-arises-through-the-repression-of-libido/) [Frank Tallis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-tallis/) > [“Equally serious is the complaint that psychoanalysis as a medical practice is a form of oppressive social control, labelling individuals and forcing them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/equally-serious-is-the-complaint-that-psychoanalysis-as-a-medical/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“There’s nothing like feeling like sh\_t to kill your libido.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daria-snadowsky/there-s-nothing-like-feeling-like-sh-t-to-kill-your-libido/) [Daria Snadowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daria-snadowsky/) > [“Junk turns the user into a plant. Plants do not feel pain since pain has no function in a stationary organism. Junk is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/junk-turns-the-user-into-a-plant-plants-do-not-feel-pain-since-pain/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [The much-vaunted sex appeal of American women is drawn from films, reviews and pin-ups, and is in large print fictitious. A recent medical survey…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-evola/the-much-vaunted-sex-appeal-of-american-women-is-drawn-from-films/) [Julius Evola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-evola/) > [Creativity reduces instinctual tension, it fuses pleasure with reality, and satisfies the libido.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-shepherd/creativity-reduces-instinctual-tension-it-fuses-pleasure-with-reality/) [Peter Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-shepherd/) > [“We’re not going to make love? And I’m relieved. In fact, he’s had a totally hands-off approach with me all day. I wonder if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-james/we-re-not-going-to-make-love-and-i-m-relieved-in-fact-he-s-had-a/) [E.L. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-james/) > [Libido, fascination, too much oral defecation. White trash get down on your knees, time for cake and sodomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/libido-fascination-too-much-oral-defecation-white-trash-get-down-on/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [All her life she'd been warned that men were slaves to their desires, that they held their impulses in barely controlled check. A woman--a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/all-her-life-she-d-been-warned-that-men-were-slaves-to-their-desires/) [Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/) > [I have the libido of a 15-year-old boy. My sex drive is so high. I'd rather have sex with Brian all the time than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/i-have-the-libido-of-a-15-year-old-boy-my-sex-drive-is-so-high-i-d/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [The breath, prayers, and libido of the fingertip must somehow be transferred to the neutral indifference of the key.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-sherman/the-breath-prayers-and-libido-of-the-fingertip-must-somehow-be/) [Russell Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-sherman/) > [Christianity has always looked on sex as in some way indecent and sinful; and for that reason Christians cannot possibly associate a truly religious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-browne/christianity-has-always-looked-on-sex-as-in-some-way-indecent-and/) [Lewis Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-browne/) ## More by Norman O. Brown > [Whoever expects to walk peacefully in the world must be money's guest.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/whoever-expects-to-walk-peacefully-in-the-world-must-be-money-s-guest/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [“I've been impressed by the extent to which one gets sentenced by one's own sentences. One explores certain things in play and then in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/i-ve-been-impressed-by-the-extent-to-which-one-gets-sentenced-by-one/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [Truth is error burned up.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/truth-is-error-burned-up/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [Love without attachment is light.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/love-without-attachment-is-light/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [Psychoanalysis can provide a theory of 'progress,' but only by viewing history as a neurosis.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/psychoanalysis-can-provide-a-theory-of-progress-but-only-by-viewing/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [The view only changes for the lead dog.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/the-view-only-changes-for-the-lead-dog/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [To be is to be vulnerable.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/to-be-is-to-be-vulnerable/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [History is the enactment of ritual on a permanent and universal stage; and its perpetual commemoration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/history-is-the-enactment-of-ritual-on-a-permanent-and-universal-stage/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [All currency is neurotic currency.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/all-currency-is-neurotic-currency/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [Freedom is poetry, taking liberties with words, breaking the rules of normal speech, violating common sense. Freedom is violence.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/freedom-is-poetry-taking-liberties-with-words-breaking-the-rules-of/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [Utopian speculations ... must come back into fashion. They are a way of affirming faith in the possibility of solving problems that seem at…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/utopian-speculations-must-come-back-into-fashion-they-are-a-way-of/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [Mankind today is still making history without having any conscious idea of what it really wants or under what conditions it would stop being…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/mankind-today-is-still-making-history-without-having-any-conscious/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [I perceive a necessary gap between seeing and being. I would not be able to have said certain things if I had been under…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/i-perceive-a-necessary-gap-between-seeing-and-being-i-would-not-be/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [To love is to transform; to be a poet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/to-love-is-to-transform-to-be-a-poet/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) > [The dynamics of capitalism is postponement of enjoyment to the constantly postponed future.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/norman-o-brown/the-dynamics-of-capitalism-is-postponement-of-enjoyment-to-the/) [Norman O. Brown](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) [Explore all 30 Norman O. Brown quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/norman-o-brown/) ## More Libido quotes > [Christianity has always looked on sex as in some way indecent and sinful; and for that reason Christians cannot possibly associate a truly religious…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lewis-browne/christianity-has-always-looked-on-sex-as-in-some-way-indecent-and/) [Lewis Browne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lewis-browne/) > [The breath, prayers, and libido of the fingertip must somehow be transferred to the neutral indifference of the key.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/russell-sherman/the-breath-prayers-and-libido-of-the-fingertip-must-somehow-be/) [Russell Sherman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/russell-sherman/) > [I have the libido of a 15-year-old boy. My sex drive is so high. I'd rather have sex with Brian all the time than…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/i-have-the-libido-of-a-15-year-old-boy-my-sex-drive-is-so-high-i-d/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [All her life she'd been warned that men were slaves to their desires, that they held their impulses in barely controlled check. A woman--a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/elizabeth-hoyt/all-her-life-she-d-been-warned-that-men-were-slaves-to-their-desires/) [Elizabeth Hoyt](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/elizabeth-hoyt/) > [Libido, fascination, too much oral defecation. White trash get down on your knees, time for cake and sodomy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marilyn-manson/libido-fascination-too-much-oral-defecation-white-trash-get-down-on/) [Marilyn Manson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marilyn-manson/) > [“We’re not going to make love? And I’m relieved. In fact, he’s had a totally hands-off approach with me all day. I wonder if…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/e-l-james/we-re-not-going-to-make-love-and-i-m-relieved-in-fact-he-s-had-a/) [E.L. James](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/e-l-james/) > [Creativity reduces instinctual tension, it fuses pleasure with reality, and satisfies the libido.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-shepherd/creativity-reduces-instinctual-tension-it-fuses-pleasure-with-reality/) [Peter Shepherd](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-shepherd/) > [The much-vaunted sex appeal of American women is drawn from films, reviews and pin-ups, and is in large print fictitious. A recent medical survey…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/julius-evola/the-much-vaunted-sex-appeal-of-american-women-is-drawn-from-films/) [Julius Evola](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/julius-evola/) > [“Junk turns the user into a plant. Plants do not feel pain since pain has no function in a stationary organism. Junk is a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/william-s-burroughs/junk-turns-the-user-into-a-plant-plants-do-not-feel-pain-since-pain/) [William S. Burroughs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/william-s-burroughs/) > [“There’s nothing like feeling like sh\_t to kill your libido.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daria-snadowsky/there-s-nothing-like-feeling-like-sh-t-to-kill-your-libido/) [Daria Snadowsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daria-snadowsky/) > [“Equally serious is the complaint that psychoanalysis as a medical practice is a form of oppressive social control, labelling individuals and forcing them to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terry-eagleton/equally-serious-is-the-complaint-that-psychoanalysis-as-a-medical/) [Terry Eagleton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terry-eagleton/) > [“Love is a kind of symptom that arises through the repression of libido.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frank-tallis/love-is-a-kind-of-symptom-that-arises-through-the-repression-of-libido/) [Frank Tallis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frank-tallis/) > [“(there is no pepper on the table; evidently pepper perks the libido),”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hillman/there-is-no-pepper-on-the-table-evidently-pepper-perks-the-libido/) [Tom Hillman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hillman/) > [“If working-hours were natural, then employed men would only get erections between 5 p.m. and 9 a.m. … during the week.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/if-working-hours-were-natural-then-employed-men-would-only-get/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [Anyone buying this book is going to be out a tidy sum if he is sucked in by the title. I wish I could…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/groucho-marx/anyone-buying-this-book-is-going-to-be-out-a-tidy-sum-if-he-is-sucked/) [Groucho Marx](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/groucho-marx/) [Browse all 56 Libido quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/libido/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“The human libido is essentially narcissistic, but it seeks a world to love as it loves itself.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Norman O. 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