--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: We are so made that we can derive intense…" description: "\"We are so made that we can derive intense enjoyment only from a contrast.\" — Sigmund Freud" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/sigmund-freud-360_contrast_we-are-so-made-that-we-can-derive-intens_3177564.jpg" --- # We are so made that we can derive intense enjoyment only… ![“We are so made that we can derive intense enjoyment only from a contrast.” quote by Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/sigmund-freud-360_contrast_we-are-so-made-that-we-can-derive-intens_3177564.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/sigmund-freud-360_contrast_we-are-so-made-that-we-can-derive-intens_3177564.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/sigmund-freud-360_contrast_we-are-so-made-that-we-can-derive-intens_3177564.jpg) > “We are so made that we can derive intense enjoyment only from a contrast.” [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. Human enjoyment often arises from contrast, as the mind seeks differences to experience intensity. **In simple terms:** Contrast intensifies enjoyment. Key Takeaway Seek varied experiences for richer fulfillment. Themes psychology contrast pleasure Mood analytical thought‑provoking Type psychological philosophical When to use this quote - marketing - education - personal growth - artistic expression Key Concepts cognitive dissonance hedonic adaptation Questions to Reflect On - Why do we crave contrast? - How can balance be achieved? A Different Perspective Overemphasis on contrast can cause dissatisfaction with the ordinary. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Contrast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contrast/) [Derive Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/derive-intense-5809550/) [Enjoyment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoyment/) [Enjoyment Contrast](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/enjoyment-contrast-3999250/) [Intense](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense/) [Intense Enjoyment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/intense-enjoyment-5809549/) [Made](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/made/) ## Related quotes > [One feels inclined to say that the intention that man should be 'happy' is not included in the plan of Creation.' . . .…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/one-feels-inclined-to-say-that-the-intention-that-man-should-be-happy/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [“Enjoyment is always greatest when you have enough contrast to measure it by.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/m-wylie-blanchet/enjoyment-is-always-greatest-when-you-have-enough-contrast-to-measure/) [M. Wylie Blanchet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/m-wylie-blanchet/) > [We are so constituted that we can gain intense pleasure only from the contrast, and only very little from the condition itself.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/we-are-so-constituted-that-we-can-gain-intense-pleasure-only-from-the/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [We belong to that order of mammals, the primates, distinguished by its propensity for repeated single litters, intense parental care, long life-spans, late sexual…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louise-j-kaplan/we-belong-to-that-order-of-mammals-the-primates-distinguished-by-its/) [Louise J. Kaplan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louise-j-kaplan/) > [The game replaces sexual enjoyment by pleasure in movement.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/the-game-replaces-sexual-enjoyment-by-pleasure-in-movement/) [Sigmund Freud](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigmund-freud/) > [I think Kafka was right when he said that for a modern, secular, nonreligious man, state bureaucracy is the only remaining contact with the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/slavoj-i-ek/i-think-kafka-was-right-when-he-said-that-for-a-modern-secular/) [Slavoj Žižek](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/slavoj-i-ek/) > [Trump conducts meetings and actually tries to get something done rather than just have the meeting and rather than just announce a framework and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/trump-conducts-meetings-and-actually-tries-to-get-something-done/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [There's this one song called 'Final Warning' that I'm really excited about because I love the contrast of my vocal sounding very soothing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skylar-grey/there-s-this-one-song-called-final-warning-that-i-m-really-excited/) [Skylar Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skylar-grey/) > [One can hardly appreciate how academia has perverted its highest tasks and "ideals" without pondering long and hard the implications of Jacques Barzun's House…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/one-can-hardly-appreciate-how-academia-has-perverted-its-highest/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [I have always liked the contrast between being blonde and having dark features.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-ora/i-have-always-liked-the-contrast-between-being-blonde-and-having-dark/) [Rita Ora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-ora/) > [I believe in the people of our state and making sure the voices of the people of our state are heard in Washington. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-cunningham/i-believe-in-the-people-of-our-state-and-making-sure-the-voices-of/) [Cal Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-cunningham/) > [Emotional Literacy means being able to recognise what you are feeling, so that it doesn't interfere with thinking. It becomes another dimension to draw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/emotional-literacy-means-being-able-to-recognise-what-you-are-feeling/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [Which is probably the reason why I work exclusively in black and white... to highlight that contrast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-nimoy/which-is-probably-the-reason-why-i-work-exclusively-in-black-and/) [Leonard Nimoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-nimoy/) > [The approach of intellect or noesis will forever be an effete and limited sort of thing by contrast with the vigor and color of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/the-approach-of-intellect-or-noesis-will-forever-be-an-effete-and/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [You don't merely give over your creativity to making a film - you give over your life! In theatre, by contrast, you live these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-day-lewis/you-don-t-merely-give-over-your-creativity-to-making-a-film-you-give/) [Daniel Day-Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-day-lewis/) ## 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 Contrast quotes > [You don't merely give over your creativity to making a film - you give over your life! In theatre, by contrast, you live these…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-day-lewis/you-don-t-merely-give-over-your-creativity-to-making-a-film-you-give/) [Daniel Day-Lewis](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-day-lewis/) > [The approach of intellect or noesis will forever be an effete and limited sort of thing by contrast with the vigor and color of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/the-approach-of-intellect-or-noesis-will-forever-be-an-effete-and/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [Which is probably the reason why I work exclusively in black and white... to highlight that contrast.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/leonard-nimoy/which-is-probably-the-reason-why-i-work-exclusively-in-black-and/) [Leonard Nimoy](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/leonard-nimoy/) > [Emotional Literacy means being able to recognise what you are feeling, so that it doesn't interfere with thinking. It becomes another dimension to draw…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/susie-orbach/emotional-literacy-means-being-able-to-recognise-what-you-are-feeling/) [Susie Orbach](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/susie-orbach/) > [I believe in the people of our state and making sure the voices of the people of our state are heard in Washington. And…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/cal-cunningham/i-believe-in-the-people-of-our-state-and-making-sure-the-voices-of/) [Cal Cunningham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/cal-cunningham/) > [I have always liked the contrast between being blonde and having dark features.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rita-ora/i-have-always-liked-the-contrast-between-being-blonde-and-having-dark/) [Rita Ora](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rita-ora/) > [One can hardly appreciate how academia has perverted its highest tasks and "ideals" without pondering long and hard the implications of Jacques Barzun's House…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kenny-smith/one-can-hardly-appreciate-how-academia-has-perverted-its-highest/) [Kenny Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kenny-smith/) > [There's this one song called 'Final Warning' that I'm really excited about because I love the contrast of my vocal sounding very soothing and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/skylar-grey/there-s-this-one-song-called-final-warning-that-i-m-really-excited/) [Skylar Grey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/skylar-grey/) > [Trump conducts meetings and actually tries to get something done rather than just have the meeting and rather than just announce a framework and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rush-limbaugh/trump-conducts-meetings-and-actually-tries-to-get-something-done/) [Rush Limbaugh](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rush-limbaugh/) > [In a way, human beings have never been part of the natural order; we're not biological in the normal sense. Normal biological animals stop…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-keen/in-a-way-human-beings-have-never-been-part-of-the-natural-order-we-re/) [Sam Keen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-keen/) > [On the surface the avant garde as a whole seems united primarily in terms of what they are against: the rejection of social institutions…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/c-d-innes/on-the-surface-the-avant-garde-as-a-whole-seems-united-primarily-in/) [C. D. Innes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/c-d-innes/) > [One of the most durable successes of the war on poverty was to dramatically reduce the number of elderly poor in America. That's still…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sasha-abramsky/one-of-the-most-durable-successes-of-the-war-on-poverty-was-to/) [Sasha Abramsky](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sasha-abramsky/) > [All the classical meditation traditions, in one way or another, stress nonattachment to the self as a goal of practice. 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Carson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/d-a-carson/) [Browse all 859 Contrast quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/contrast/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "We are so made that we can derive intense enjoyment only from a contrast.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Sigmund Freud" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/we-are-so-made-that-we-can-derive-intense-enjoyment-only-from-a/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Contrast" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/we-are-so-made-that-we-can-derive-intense-enjoyment-only-from-a/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/sigmund-freud-360_contrast_we-are-so-made-that-we-can-derive-intens_3177564.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/sigmund-freud-360_contrast_we-are-so-made-that-we-can-derive-intens_3177564.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/687/sigmund-freud-360_contrast_we-are-so-made-that-we-can-derive-intens_3177564.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“We are so made that we can derive intense enjoyment only from a contrast.” — 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": "We are so made that we...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/we-are-so-made-that-we-can-derive-intense-enjoyment-only-from-a/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigmund-freud/we-are-so-made-that-we-can-derive-intense-enjoyment-only-from-a/#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 } } ] } ```