---
title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Our memory has no guarantees at all, and…"
description: "\"“Our memory has no guarantees at all, and yet we bow more often than is objectively justified to the compulsion to believe what it says.”\" — Sigmund Freud"
image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/sigmund-freud-360_1899_our-memory-has-no-guarantees-at-all-and_2831240.jpg"
---

#  Our memory has no guarantees at all, and yet we bow more…

![“Our memory has no guarantees at all, and yet we bow more often than is objectively justified to the compulsion to believe what it says.” quote by Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/sigmund-freud-360_1899_our-memory-has-no-guarantees-at-all-and_2831240.jpg)   [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/sigmund-freud-360_1899_our-memory-has-no-guarantees-at-all-and_2831240.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/sigmund-freud-360_1899_our-memory-has-no-guarantees-at-all-and_2831240.jpg)

> ““Our memory has no guarantees at all, and yet we bow more often than is objectively justified to the compulsion to believe what it says.””

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

## About This Quote

This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation.

Memory is unreliable, yet humans often trust it more than rational evidence, leading to belief in possibly false recollections.

**In simple terms:** We trust memory despite its flaws.

Key Takeaway

Question the accuracy of your memories before acting on them.

Themes

psychology memory belief cognition skepticism

Mood

reflective skeptical thoughtful

Type

philosophical psychological cautionary

When to use this quote

- personal decision making
- legal testimony
- historical research
- therapy sessions

Key Concepts

unconscious bias subjective reality confidence in recollection cognitive distortion

Questions to Reflect On

- How do you verify the truth of a memory?
- When should you trust intuition over factual evidence?

A Different Perspective

Memory can be shaped by suggestion; overreliance may cause errors.

★ ★ ★ ★ ★   No ratings yet

[1899](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1899-340/) [Believe Says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/believe-says-518843/) [Compulsion Believe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/compulsion-believe-3658842/) [Fallibility](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fallibility/) [Justified Compulsion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/justified-compulsion-3658843/) [Memory](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory/) [Memory Guarantees](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/memory-guarantees-3658844/)

## Related quotes

> [“Accordingly, identification, or the formation of composite figures, serves different purposes: first, to represent a feature both persons have in common; secondly, to represent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/accordingly-identification-or-the-formation-of-composite-figures/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [“The dream has a very striking way of dealing with the category of opposites and contradictions . This is simply disregarded. To the dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-dream-has-a-very-striking-way-of-dealing-with-the-category-of/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [Only a rebuke that 'has something in it' will sting, will have the power to stir our feelings, not the other sort, as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/only-a-rebuke-that-has-something-in-it-will-sting-will-have-the-power/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [When I'm watching somebody act, it's a behavior editorial function - I look at someone act, and I might say, 'I don't believe him…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-fincher/when-i-m-watching-somebody-act-it-s-a-behavior-editorial-function-i/)

[David Fincher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-fincher/)

> [“Don’t let society’s labels hold you back. If you have a true passion for something whether its sports, art, science, etc…don’t believe anyone who…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alison-g-bailey/don-t-let-society-s-labels-hold-you-back-if-you-have-a-true-passion/)

[Alison G. Bailey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alison-g-bailey/)

> [“How can I believe you?” “You can’t,” says Pigpen. “But I’m not seeing your other options.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/katie-mcgarry/how-can-i-believe-you-you-can-t-says-pigpen-but-i-m-not-seeing-your/)

[Katie McGarry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/katie-mcgarry/)

> [I believe what it says in the scriptures and in the Bhagavad Gita: 'Never was there a time when you did not exist, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/george-harrison/i-believe-what-it-says-in-the-scriptures-and-in-the-bhagavad-gita/)

[George Harrison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/george-harrison/)

> [“I believe you're still in there," he says against my mouth. "Come back.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/veronica-roth/i-believe-you-re-still-in-there-he-says-against-my-mouth-come-back/)

[Veronica Roth](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/veronica-roth/)

> [I believe it also says that I am a friend to everyone and enemy to no one.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frankie-knuckles/i-believe-it-also-says-that-i-am-a-friend-to-everyone-and-enemy-to-no/)

[Frankie Knuckles](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frankie-knuckles/)

> [I tell you, lad, that men will believe is one says, "The Gods say..." They will believe if one says, "I had a Vision..."…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheri-s-tepper/i-tell-you-lad-that-men-will-believe-is-one-says-the-gods-say-they/)

[Sheri S. Tepper](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheri-s-tepper/)

> [I have to believe what he says. I need to stop overthinking every moment. Because if I never just let go, I truly will…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/i-have-to-believe-what-he-says-i-need-to-stop-overthinking-every/)

[Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/)

> [“Beloved, we are safe with God—free to believe He is who He says He is and can do what He says He can. Neither…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/beth-moore/beloved-we-are-safe-with-god-free-to-believe-he-is-who-he-says-he-is/)

[Beth Moore](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/beth-moore/)

> [“I believe in you," he says, his voice hushed and almost reverent. "That's more faith than I ever thought I'd have.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ally-condie/i-believe-in-you-he-says-his-voice-hushed-and-almost-reverent-that-s/)

[Ally Condie](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ally-condie/)

> [“You have to trust yourself and choose to believe or not to believe what someone says to you.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miguel-ruiz/you-have-to-trust-yourself-and-choose-to-believe-or-not-to-believe/)

[Miguel Ruiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miguel-ruiz/)

> [Don't always believe everything someone says](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/duncan-mcrae/don-t-always-believe-everything-someone-says/)

[Duncan McRae](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/duncan-mcrae/)

## More by Sigmund Freud

> [Anatomy is destiny.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/anatomy-is-destiny/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [“Woe to you, my Princess, when I come. I will kiss you quite red and feed you till you are plump. And if you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/woe-to-you-my-princess-when-i-come-i-will-kiss-you-quite-red-and-feed/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [I take up the standpoint that the tendency to aggression is an innate, independent, instinctual disposition in man, and I come back now to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/i-take-up-the-standpoint-that-the-tendency-to-aggression-is-an-innate/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [“Ko postavlja pitanje o smislu zivota,s njegovim libidom nije nesto u redu.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/ko-postavlja-pitanje-o-smislu-zivota-s-njegovim-libidom-nije-nesto-u/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [“When it comes to the small matters in life one should think long and hard, but when it comes to the big ones -whether…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/when-it-comes-to-the-small-matters-in-life-one-should-think-long-and/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [We like to forget that in fact everything in our life is chance, from our genesis out of the encounter of spermatozoon and egg…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/we-like-to-forget-that-in-fact-everything-in-our-life-is-chance-from/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [We should picture the instrument that carries our mental functioning as resembling a compound microscope or photographic apparatus.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/we-should-picture-the-instrument-that-carries-our-mental-functioning/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [The religions of mankind must be classed among the mass-delusions of this kind. No one, needless to say, who shares a delusion ever recognizes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-religions-of-mankind-must-be-classed-among-the-mass-delusions-of/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [It seems to be my fate to discover only the obvious: that children have sexual feelings, which every nurse maid knows; and that the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/it-seems-to-be-my-fate-to-discover-only-the-obvious-that-children/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [The first requisite of civilization is that of justice.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-first-requisite-of-civilization-is-that-of-justice/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [“Actually, the substitution of the reality-principle for the pleasure-principle denotes no dethronement of the pleasure-principle, but only a safeguarding of it. A momentary pleasure,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/actually-the-substitution-of-the-reality-principle-for-the-pleasure/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [Dreams are often most profound when they seem the most crazy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/dreams-are-often-most-profound-when-they-seem-the-most-crazy/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [Against the suffering which may come upon one from human relationships the readiest safeguard is voluntary isolation, keeping oneself aloof from other people. The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/against-the-suffering-which-may-come-upon-one-from-human/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [There is to my mind no doubt that the concept of beautiful had its roots in sexual excitation and that its original meaning was…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/there-is-to-my-mind-no-doubt-that-the-concept-of-beautiful-had-its/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [The voice of the intellect is soft one, but it does not rest until it has gained a hearing. Ultimately, after endless rebuffs, it…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-voice-of-the-intellect-is-soft-one-but-it-does-not-rest-until-it/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

[Explore all 608 Sigmund Freud quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

## More 1899 quotes

> [Only a rebuke that 'has something in it' will sting, will have the power to stir our feelings, not the other sort, as we…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/only-a-rebuke-that-has-something-in-it-will-sting-will-have-the-power/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [“The dream has a very striking way of dealing with the category of opposites and contradictions . This is simply disregarded. To the dream…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-dream-has-a-very-striking-way-of-dealing-with-the-category-of/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

> [“Accordingly, identification, or the formation of composite figures, serves different purposes: first, to represent a feature both persons have in common; secondly, to represent…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/accordingly-identification-or-the-formation-of-composite-figures/)

[Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/)

[Browse all 4 1899 quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/zz-1899-340/)

```json
{
    "@context": "https://schema.org",
    "@graph": [
        {
            "@type": "Quotation",
            "text": "“Our memory has no guarantees at all, and yet we bow more often than is objectively justified to the compulsion to believe what it says.”",
            "creator": {
                "@type": "Person",
                "name": "Sigmund Freud"
            },
            "isPartOf": {
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website"
            },
            "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/our-memory-has-no-guarantees-at-all-and-yet-we-bow-more-often-than-is/",
            "about": {
                "@type": "Thing",
                "name": "1899"
            },
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/our-memory-has-no-guarantees-at-all-and-yet-we-bow-more-often-than-is/#quotation",
            "image": {
                "@type": "ImageObject",
                "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/sigmund-freud-360_1899_our-memory-has-no-guarantees-at-all-and_2831240.jpg",
                "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/sigmund-freud-360_1899_our-memory-has-no-guarantees-at-all-and_2831240.jpg",
                "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1df/sigmund-freud-360_1899_our-memory-has-no-guarantees-at-all-and_2831240.jpg",
                "width": 1080,
                "height": 1080,
                "caption": "“Our memory has no guarantees at all, and yet we bow more often than is objectively justified to the…” — Sigmund Freud",
                "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": "Sigmund Freud",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/"
                },
                {
                    "@type": "ListItem",
                    "position": 4,
                    "name": "“Our memory has no guarantees at...",
                    "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/our-memory-has-no-guarantees-at-all-and-yet-we-bow-more-often-than-is/"
                }
            ],
            "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/our-memory-has-no-guarantees-at-all-and-yet-we-bow-more-often-than-is/#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
            }
        }
    ]
}
```
