Courage is not the absence of despair; it is, rather, the capacity to move ahead in spite of despair.

Freedom is man's capacity to take a hand in his own development. It is our capacity to mold ourselves.

The human dilemma is that which arises out of a man's capacity to experience himself as both subject and object at the same time.

Creativity is not merely the innocent spontaneity of our youth and childhood; it must also be married to the passion of the adult human being, which is a passion to live beyond one's death.

Joy, rather than happiness, is the goal of life, for joy is the emotion which accompanies our fulfilling our natures as human beings. It is based on the experience of one's identity as a being of worth and dignity.

Human dignity is based upon freedom, and freedom upon human dignity. The one presupposes the other.

Human freedom involves our capacity to pause, to choose the one response toward which we wish to throw our weight.

The opposite of courage in our society is not cowardice, it is conformity.

If we are to achieve freedom, we must do so with a daring and a profundity that refuse to flinch at engaging our destiny.

I make no apologies in admitting that I take very seriously the dehumanizing dangers in our tendency in modern science to make man over into the image of the machine, into the image of the techniques by which we study him.

Depression is the inability to construct a future.

I believe that the therapist's function should be to help people become free to be aware of and to experience their possibilities.

Life comes from physical survival; but the good life comes from what we care about.

Social acceptance, 'being liked,' has so much power because it holds the feelings of loneliness at bay.

It requires greater courage to preserve inner freedom, to move on in one's inward journey into new realms, than to stand defiantly for outer freedom. It is often easier to play the martyr, as it is to be rash in battle.

Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing.

Communication leads to community, that is, to understanding, intimacy and mutual valuing.