"The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves"
About this Quote
The phrase “inner necessity” does heavy psychological lifting. Jung is pointing to compulsion, not inspiration: the sense that an image, problem, or obsession is working you from the inside, demanding form. That aligns with his broader project: the unconscious isn’t a basement of bad urges, it’s a generative studio. Play becomes a negotiation with forces you didn’t consciously choose, which is why it can feel both joyful and oddly fated.
“The objects it loves” sneaks in an ethics of attention. Jung frames creative work less as domination of material and more as relationship. Love here isn’t sentiment; it’s sustained fixation - the capacity to stay with a thing long enough to let it mutate. Contextually, this is Jung pushing back against a modern faith in rational mastery (and, implicitly, against Freud’s more reductive drives). The subtext: if you want originality, stop optimizing. Start courting the irrational, the affectionate, the experimental - and accept that your best ideas may arrive wearing the mask of play.
Quote Details
| Topic | Art |
|---|---|
| Source | Verified source: Psychological Types (Carl Jung, 1921)
Evidence: The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect, but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the object it loves. (Collected Works vol. 6 (Psychological Types), ¶197 (often cited; exact page varies by edition)). This line is from C. G. Jung’s book originally published in German as *Psychologische Typen* (1921). The quote is commonly referenced in the English *Collected Works of C. G. Jung*, Volume 6: *Psychological Types* at paragraph 197, in the context of Jung discussing play/fantasy and creativity (the surrounding passage begins “If play expires in itself...”). The linked scan/transcript shows the passage with the quote and the paragraph marker [197]. Note that many secondary quote sites slightly vary plural/singular (“object” vs “objects”) depending on edition/quotation. The earliest publication is the 1921 German book; the English translation appeared later (commonly 1923 for Baynes; later revised in the Collected Works). Other candidates (1) Wisdom for the Soul (Larry Chang, 2006) compilation99.0% ... Carl Jung , 1875-1961 ~ Psychological Reflections , Jolande ... The creation of something new is not accomplished... |
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Citation Formats
APA Style (7th ed.)
Jung, Carl. (2026, February 9). The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves. FixQuotes. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-creation-of-something-new-is-not-accomplished-34669/
Chicago Style
Jung, Carl. "The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves." FixQuotes. February 9, 2026. https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-creation-of-something-new-is-not-accomplished-34669/.
MLA Style (9th ed.)
"The creation of something new is not accomplished by the intellect but by the play instinct acting from inner necessity. The creative mind plays with the objects it loves." FixQuotes, 9 Feb. 2026, https://fixquotes.com/quotes/the-creation-of-something-new-is-not-accomplished-34669/. Accessed 11 Feb. 2026.








