Even if man's hunger and thirst and his sexual strivings are completely satisfied, 'he' is not satisfied. In contrast to the animal his most compelling problems are not solved then, they only begin. He strives for power or for love, or for destruction, he risks his life for religious, for political, for humanistic ideals, and these strivings are what constitutes and characterizes the peculiarity of human life.

Mother's love is bliss, is peace, it need not be acquired, it need not be deserved. If it is there, it is like a blessing; if it is not there it is as if all the beauty had gone out of life.

The scars left from the child's defeat in the fight against irrational authority are to be found at the bottom of every neurosis.

Human history begins with man's act of disobedience which is at the same time the beginning of his freedom and the development of his reason.

If the handbag could think, it would have a terrific inferiority feeling, because, not having been bought, it would feel useless.

Another nation is made out to be utterly depraved and fiendish, while one's own nation stands for everything that is good and noble. Every action of the enemy is judged by one standard - every action of oneself by another. Even good deeds by the enemy are considered a sign of particular devilishness, meant to deceive us and the world, while our bad deeds are necessary and justified by our noble goals, which they serve.

The quest for certainty blocks the search for meaning. Uncertainty is the very condition to impel man to unfold his powers.