¶ Fear and Longing
Index Entry
Fear and Longing:
“I think every human being is born an artist, scientist, inventor, or explorer, but his innate capabilities do get so frustrated, discouraged and paralyzed. Einstein found two fundamental forces operative in human beings. These are fear and longing. Fear is almost always present. Unfamiliarity may be compounded with the built-in drives of hunger, thirst and procreative urges together with an urge to understand and be understood. Those are very, very powerful. And when the circumstances seem so chaotic there is fear-- a congealing fear. Fear has been very powerful in humanity. but I find that there are times when one gets out from under it and cheers up again and longing begins to carry on. I began to try to weigh the fear versus longing of humanity and I began to feel that longing was more powerful and would win in the end.”
- Cite RBF Address at National Conference for Philosophy of Creativity at SIU, Carbondale, Ill, 16 Oct. '69 - p.22.
