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Human institutions depend for their existence and stability on the impulse of self-preservation and its close associate, — the fear instinct.

— Boris Sidis Nervous Ills their Cause and Cure (1922)

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More quotes by Boris Sidis

Not purpose but chance is at the heart of mental life.

The Foundations of Normal and Abnormal Psychology (1914)

The principle of recognition of evil under all its guises is at the basis of the true education of man.

Philistine and Genius (1919)

The general tendency of evolution is from structure to function, from bondage to freedom of the individual elements.

Multiple Personality: an Experimental Investigation into Human Individuality (1904)

Self-preservation is the central aim of all life-activities.

Nervous Ills their Cause and Cure (1922)

The main source of psychopathic diseases is the fundamental instinct of fear with its manifestations, the feeling of anxiety, anguish, and worry.

The Causation and Treatment of Psychopathic Diseases (1916)

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Quote text and notes from Wikiquote: Boris Sidis (page history), available under CC BY-SA 4.0. Source quality and labels are our own summary of what Wikiquote records.