...our philosophy has preserved essential traits of animistic modes of thought such as the over-estimation of the magic of words and the belief that real processes in the external world follow the lines laid down by our thoughts.

Sigmund Freud
About This Quote

In the pre-scientific era, humans had a metaphysical conception of the destiny of the world. They believed that the world was controlled by spirits and that the physical processes in the world were determined by human thoughts and emotions. Thus, everything in nature was made of spirit and everything in nature could be shaped and moulded by human thought into another form through magic and rituals.

Source: New Introductory Lectures On Psychoanalysis

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