Karen Horney
Karen Horney: A Pioneering Psychoanalyst and Humanitarian
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Full Name and Common Aliases
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Karen Horney was born on September 16, 1885, in Hamburg, Germany. She is commonly known as Karen Horney, but her birth name was also spelled as "Hohne."
Birth and Death Dates
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Born: September 16, 1885, Hamburg, Germany
Died: December 30, 1952 (aged 67), New York City, USA
Nationality and Profession(s)
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Karen Horney was a German-American psychoanalyst. She is best known for developing the theory of neurosis as being caused by unconscious fears and desires.
Early Life and Background
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Horney grew up in a devout Christian family. Her mother, Anna (née Rega), was an artist, while her father, Berndt Hohne, was a merchant. She had three younger sisters: Charlotte, Renate, and Marianne. In 1909, she moved to Berlin, where she attended the University of Berlin.
Major Accomplishments
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Horney's work focused on human behavior, particularly in relation to neurosis. Her theory emphasizes that neuroses arise from unconscious fears and desires rather than biological or hereditary factors. This approach diverged from Freudian psychoanalysis. Her 1937 book "The Neurotic Personality of Our Time" explored how societal pressures can contribute to personality disorders.
Notable Works or Actions
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Some of Horney's notable works include:
Neurosis and Human Growth (1950) - A comprehensive overview of her theory on neuroses.
Our Inner Conflicts (1945) - Explores how people deal with internal conflicts.
Horney was also a vocal advocate for women's rights. She became a prominent figure in the American psychoanalytic community after emigrating to New York City from Germany in 1932, due to rising Nazi sentiment and persecution of Jews.
Impact and Legacy
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Karen Horney's work significantly influenced modern psychology. Her emphasis on societal factors contributing to neurosis paved the way for later psychologists like Karen Davis and Mary Ainsworth. Her ideas have been applied in various fields, including psychotherapy, counseling, and social work.
Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered
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Karen Horney's groundbreaking theories on neuroses continue to be referenced by scholars and professionals worldwide. Her humanitarian efforts, particularly advocating for women's rights during a time of great turmoil, have left an enduring impact on society.
Through her work, Karen Horney has become synonymous with pioneering contributions to psychoanalysis.
Quotes by Karen Horney
Karen Horney's insights on:
Others are responsible for the trouble I am in – so I am entitled to repair. And what kind of repair would it be, if I made all the effort! Naturally, only a person who has lost constructive interest in his life can argue that way. It is no longer up to him to do something about his life; it is up to “them,” or to fate.
Many such relations are carried on under the camouflage of love, that is, under a subjective conviction of attachment, when actually the love is only the person’s clinging to others to satisfy his own needs.
Even though godlike in his imagination, he still lacks the earthy self-confidence of a simple shepherd.
When he moves away from people, he wants neither to belong nor to fight, but keeps apart. He feels he has not much in common with them, they do not understand him somehow. He builds up a world of his own -with nature, with his dolls, his books, his dreams.
If a person has had sufficient courage to discover an unpleasant truth about himself, one may safely trust his courage to be strong enough to carry him through.
There’s still such chaos in me. Still so little firmly outlined. Just like my face: a formless mass that only takes on shape through the expression of the moment. The searching for our selves is the most agonizing.
Because it corresponds to a vital need, love is overvalued in our culture. It becomes a phantom – like success – carrying with it the illusion that it is a solution for all problems.
The view that women are infantile and emotional creatures, and as such, incapable of responsibility and independence is the work of the masculine tendency to lower women’s self-respect.
The most comprehensive formulation of therapeutic goals is the striving for wholeheartedness: to be without pretense, to be emotionally sincere, to be able to put the whole of oneself into one’s feelings, one’s work, one’s beliefs.
