When the wayfarer whistles in the dark, he may be disavowing his timidity, but he does not see any more clearly for doing so.
About this quote
- What does it mean?
- Freud suggests that feigning courage does not actually remove fear or improve perception.
- In plain terms
- Whistling to sound brave doesn't help you see better in the dark.
- What can you take from it?
- Courage is not about masking fear but facing reality.
Where it applies
Putting it to work
Questions to consider
- Does acting brave make you brave?
- How do you handle fear?
Another view
It overlooks that behavioral acts can sometimes reduce fear physiologically.
More from Sigmund Freud
The unconscious is the larger circle which includes within itself the smaller circle of the conscious; everything conscious has its preliminary step in the unc…
Permalink to quote #11 The poets and philosophers before me discovered the unconscious; what I discovered was the scientific method by which the unconscious can be studied.
Permalink to quote #13 The ego is not master in its own house.
Permalink to quote #10
Related quotes
Things are not bad in themselves, but our cowardice makes them so.
Michel de MontaigneMichel de Montaigne quote #6 Nil terribile nisi ipse timor.
Francis BaconFrancis Bacon quote #7 Qui ne craint point la mort ne craint point les menaces.
Pierre CorneillePierre Corneille quote #9