Inspirational Quotes by Erik Erikson (German-born American Psychoanalyst)

Erik Erikson (1902–94,) born Erik Homberger, was a German-born American developmental psychologist and educator. He is celebrated for his influential writings on social development, individual identity, and the interactions of psychology with history, politics, and culture.

Born in Frankfurt am Main to Danish parents, Erikson trained in Vienna under Sigmund Freud and Anna Freud, specializing in child analysis. In 1933, Erikson immigrated to the USA, where he engaged in clinical work and taught successively at Yale, Berkeley, and Harvard. His research focused on the cultural and social influences on psychological development.

Erikson’s most well-known book, Childhood and Society (1950,) divides human development into eight stages, each characterized by a psychosocial crisis that the individual must resolve and internalize in preparation for the next developmental stage.

Erikson devised the concept of the adolescent ‘identity crisis,’ and expanded on his theory in books such as Identity: Youth and Crisis (1968.) He wrote “psychobiographies,” tracing the psychological development of historical figures in Young Man Luther (1958) and Gandhi’s Truth on the Origins of Militant Nonviolence (1969; Pulitzer.)

In the 1970s, Erikson examined modern ethical and political problems, presenting his views in the collection of essays, Life History and the Historical Moment (1975,) which links psychoanalysis to history, political science, philosophy, and theology. His later works include The Life Cycle Completed: A Review (1982) and Vital Involvement in Old Age (1986.)

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