--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: Closure is a neurotic and infantile…" description: "\"Closure is a neurotic and infantile demand to make upon reality, other people, or language.\" — Terence McKenna" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/terence-mckenna-287_closure_closure-is-a-neurotic-and-infantile-dema_2932079.png" --- # Closure is a neurotic and infantile demand to make upon… ![“Closure is a neurotic and infantile demand to make upon reality, other people, or language.” quote by Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/terence-mckenna-287_closure_closure-is-a-neurotic-and-infantile-dema_2932079.png) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/terence-mckenna-287_closure_closure-is-a-neurotic-and-infantile-dema_2932079.png) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/terence-mckenna-287_closure_closure-is-a-neurotic-and-infantile-dema_2932079.png) > “Closure is a neurotic and infantile demand to make upon reality, other people, or language.” [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The quote argues that seeking definitive closure about reality, others, or language is an immature, obsessive need that limits understanding. **In simple terms:** Closure is an immature demand on reality or language. Key Takeaway Embrace uncertainty and ongoing inquiry. Themes philosophy language epistemology psychology Mood thoughtful provocative Type theoretical reflective When to use this quote - Academic research - creative writing - therapy sessions - critical discussions Key Concepts existentialism cognitive development semantic fluidity Questions to Reflect On - When is closure beneficial? - How can we balance openness with the need for closure? A Different Perspective The view may dismiss the human need for resolution in certain contexts, such as trauma healing. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Closure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closure/) [Demand](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/demand/) [Inspirational](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational/) [Inspirational life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/inspirational-life/) [Language](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/language/) [Life](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/life/) [Neurotic](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/neurotic/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Reality](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/reality/) ## Related quotes > [Where psychedelics comes together with that is that it's going to require a transformation of human language and understanding to stop the momentum of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/where-psychedelics-comes-together-with-that-is-that-it-s-going-to/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The message coming back at all of us is: live without closure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-message-coming-back-at-all-of-us-is-live-without-closure/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [And that we cannot go to space with our feet in the mud. Nor can we in fact turn ourselves into an eco-sensitive hallucinogenic-based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/and-that-we-cannot-go-to-space-with-our-feet-in-the-mud-nor-can-we-in/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Ego is a structure that is erected by a neurotic individual who is a member of a neurotic culture against the facts of the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/ego-is-a-structure-that-is-erected-by-a-neurotic-individual-who-is-a/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I have a fairly strict definition of early infantile autism. That is not to say that people who don't meet that classic description don't…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/darold-treffert/i-have-a-fairly-strict-definition-of-early-infantile-autism-that-is/) [Darold Treffert](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/darold-treffert/) > [For the beloved should not allow me to turn my infantile fantasies into reality: On the contrary, he should help me to go beyond…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/frantz-fanon/for-the-beloved-should-not-allow-me-to-turn-my-infantile-fantasies/) [Frantz Fanon](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/frantz-fanon/) > [“There is so much woman in many a girl and too much boy in many a man.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mokokoma-mokhonoana/there-is-so-much-woman-in-many-a-girl-and-too-much-boy-in-many-a-man/) [Mokokoma Mokhonoana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mokokoma-mokhonoana/) > [I think Americans are terrified of feeling anything. I never met a people more infantile in my life.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/i-think-americans-are-terrified-of-feeling-anything-i-never-met-a/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [A problem with my novels is that they, from the start, have been infantile and incredibly childish. There are childishness, stupidity, lack of wisdom,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karl-ove-knausgard/a-problem-with-my-novels-is-that-they-from-the-start-have-been/) [Karl Ove Knausgard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karl-ove-knausgard/) > [Maybe every other American movie shouldn't be based on a comic book. Other countries will think Americans live in an infantile fantasy land where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-maher/maybe-every-other-american-movie-shouldn-t-be-based-on-a-comic-book/) [Bill Maher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-maher/) > [The American ideal of sexuality appears to be rooted in the American ideal of masculinity. This idea has created cowboys and Indians, good guys…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-a-baldwin/the-american-ideal-of-sexuality-appears-to-be-rooted-in-the-american/) [James A. Baldwin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-a-baldwin/) > [In politics continental Europe was infantile - horrifying. What America lacked, for all its political stability, was the capacity to enjoy intellectual pleasures as…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/saul-bellow/in-politics-continental-europe-was-infantile-horrifying-what-america/) [Saul Bellow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/saul-bellow/) > [“If every day is first day of your life, maybe you are being perpetually infantile.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/trixie-koontz/if-every-day-is-first-day-of-your-life-maybe-you-are-being/) Trixie Koontz > [Naturalism aimed at giving the primitive wishes full play but failed because these wishes are too primitive, too infantile, too inconsistent with themselves to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-desmond-bernal/naturalism-aimed-at-giving-the-primitive-wishes-full-play-but-failed/) [John Desmond Bernal](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-desmond-bernal/) > [The steadily inward look leads us all to death, nations as well as persons, and is equally infantile in them all. Perhaps the most…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/margery-wilson/the-steadily-inward-look-leads-us-all-to-death-nations-as-well-as/) [Margery Wilson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/margery-wilson/) ## More by Terence McKenna > [History was an incredibly damaging experience, and now it's over . . . in a sense.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/history-was-an-incredibly-damaging-experience-and-now-it-s-over-in-a/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are somehow the children of the planet, we are somehow its finest hour; we bind time, we bind the past, we anticipate the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-somehow-the-children-of-the-planet-we-are-somehow-its-finest/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [The history of man that you don't know is what your unconscious is made out of. Just as the history of yourself that you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/the-history-of-man-that-you-don-t-know-is-what-your-unconscious-is/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [We are consciousness. We may not always be monkeys.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/we-are-consciousness-we-may-not-always-be-monkeys/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What is happening here is we are living past the age, by the millions, living past the age where cultural values make any sense…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-is-happening-here-is-we-are-living-past-the-age-by-the-millions/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [What history is, essentially, is a careening, out-of-control effort to find our way back to this state of primordial balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/what-history-is-essentially-is-a-careening-out-of-control-effort-to/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [And what is the primary datum? It's the felt presence of immediate experience. In other words, being here now is the primary datum.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/and-what-is-the-primary-datum-it-s-the-felt-presence-of-immediate/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Our culture difinitely takes an egocentric dominator view. The fear of the psychedelic experience is quite literally the fear of losing control. Dominator types…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/our-culture-difinitely-takes-an-egocentric-dominator-view-the-fear-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Every step into freedom contains within it the potential for greater bondage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/every-step-into-freedom-contains-within-it-the-potential-for-greater/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [This is the message of your life and my life - it’s that nothing lasts. Heraclitus said it: Panta Rhei. All flows, nothing lasts.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/this-is-the-message-of-your-life-and-my-life-it-s-that-nothing-lasts/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [I often like to think that our map of the world is wrong, that where we have centered physics, we should actually place literature…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/i-often-like-to-think-that-our-map-of-the-world-is-wrong-that-where/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Knowledge, or verbal facility, is no proof that you know what you're talking about.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/knowledge-or-verbal-facility-is-no-proof-that-you-know-what-you-re/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [No culture on earth is as heavily narcotized as the industrial West in terms of being inured to the consequences of maladaptive behavior. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/no-culture-on-earth-is-as-heavily-narcotized-as-the-industrial-west/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [Man was not put on this planet to toil in the mud. Or the god who put us on this planet to toil in…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/man-was-not-put-on-this-planet-to-toil-in-the-mud-or-the-god-who-put/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) > [If you take psychedelics and the Internet and music and put all of that together you have the basis for a new community that…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/if-you-take-psychedelics-and-the-internet-and-music-and-put-all-of/) [Terence McKenna](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) [Explore all 745 Terence McKenna quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/) ## More Closure quotes > [“...our loves ones truly are ever-present. We may bury their bodies or scatter their ashes, but their spirits are boundless and do not accompany…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/april-slaughter/our-loves-ones-truly-are-ever-present-we-may-bury-their-bodies-or/) April Slaughter > [Denial leads to closure](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aruho-marwin-machiaveli/denial-leads-to-closure/) Aruho Marwin Machiaveli > [Ambiguity is necessary in some of my stories, not in all. In those, it certainly contributes to the richness of the story. I doubt…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/gene-wolfe/ambiguity-is-necessary-in-some-of-my-stories-not-in-all-in-those-it/) [Gene Wolfe](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/gene-wolfe/) > [“i tried to find it but there was no answer at the end of the last conversation - closure”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rupi-kaur/i-tried-to-find-it-but-there-was-no-answer-at-the-end-of-the-last/) [Rupi Kaur](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rupi-kaur/) > [Ghosting's a horrible thing, isn't it? It doesn't feel good, it feels like a rejection. And what's more, it feels like a rejection where…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matthew-hussey/ghosting-s-a-horrible-thing-isn-t-it-it-doesn-t-feel-good-it-feels/) [Matthew Hussey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matthew-hussey/) > [Sometimes I feel people can move past what they've grown up around and their surroundings while in a place and some people need closure…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dianna-agron/sometimes-i-feel-people-can-move-past-what-they-ve-grown-up-around/) [Dianna Agron](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dianna-agron/) > [“If you have feelings for someone, let them know. It doesn’t matter if they can be in your life or not. Maybe, it is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shannon-l-alder/if-you-have-feelings-for-someone-let-them-know-it-doesn-t-matter-if/) [Shannon L. Alder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shannon-l-alder/) > [“Well, anyway… it’s over,” I say, realizing that those two words lump me right in with a hoard of naive women who say it’s…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/emily-giffin/well-anyway-it-s-over-i-say-realizing-that-those-two-words-lump-me/) [Emily Giffin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/emily-giffin/) > [I was devastated. I'm still devastated to this day. When talent like that disappears in a flash, you can't believe it. You deny it.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/helen-merrill/i-was-devastated-i-m-still-devastated-to-this-day-when-talent-like/) Helen Merrill > ['Closure' is the word used for a loss that's not acknowledged - and the habit this causes, physically and mentally, for anybody who is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alice-ripley/closure-is-the-word-used-for-a-loss-that-s-not-acknowledged-and-the/) [Alice Ripley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alice-ripley/) > [Love is beauty, consciousness is trust. One of the deepest feminine pleasures is when a man stands full, present, and unreactive in the midst…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/david-deida/love-is-beauty-consciousness-is-trust-one-of-the-deepest-feminine/) [David Deida](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/david-deida/) > [I'm considering 'Dark Souls 3' to be the big closure on the series. That's not just limited to me, but From Software and myself…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hidetaka-miyazaki/i-m-considering-dark-souls-3-to-be-the-big-closure-on-the-series-that/) [Hidetaka Miyazaki](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hidetaka-miyazaki/) > [Shift often from openness to closure.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/shift-often-from-openness-to-closure/) [Mihaly Csikszentmihalyi](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mihaly-csikszentmihalyi/) > [I still read romance, and I read suspense. I read them both. And part of it is, I like stories with strong characters, and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lisa-gardner/i-still-read-romance-and-i-read-suspense-i-read-them-both-and-part-of/) [Lisa Gardner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lisa-gardner/) > [The PURPOSE of the DATA INTEGRITY BOARD review meeting is NOT for the purpose of reviewing the INTEGRITY of the paperwork because that has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jack-smith/the-purpose-of-the-data-integrity-board-review-meeting-is-not-for-the/) [Jack Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jack-smith/) [Browse all 215 Closure quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/closure/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "Closure is a neurotic and infantile demand to make upon reality, other people, or language.", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Terence McKenna" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/closure-is-a-neurotic-and-infantile-demand-to-make-upon-reality-other/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Closure" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/closure-is-a-neurotic-and-infantile-demand-to-make-upon-reality-other/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/terence-mckenna-287_closure_closure-is-a-neurotic-and-infantile-dema_2932079.png", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/terence-mckenna-287_closure_closure-is-a-neurotic-and-infantile-dema_2932079.png", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/4fc/terence-mckenna-287_closure_closure-is-a-neurotic-and-infantile-dema_2932079.png", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“Closure is a neurotic and infantile demand to make upon reality, other people, or language.” — Terence McKenna", "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": "Terence McKenna", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/terence-mckenna/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Closure is a neurotic and infantile...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/closure-is-a-neurotic-and-infantile-demand-to-make-upon-reality-other/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/terence-mckenna/closure-is-a-neurotic-and-infantile-demand-to-make-upon-reality-other/#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 } } ] } ```