Erich Fromm
Born: 03-22-1900
Erich Fromm was a German social psychologist, psychoanalyst, and humanistic philosopher known for his profound exploration of the human condition. Born in 1900, he fled Nazi Germany, becoming influential in the United States. Fromm's works, including "Escape from Freedom" and "The Art of Loving," delve into the intersection of psychology and society, advocating for a balance between individuality and social responsibility. His insights continue to impact modern psychological and philosophical thought.
Book summaries for books written by Erich Fromm
Quotes
Man's main task in life is to give birth to himself, to become what he potentially is.
The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.
The only truly secure system is one that is powered off, cast in a block of concrete and sealed in a lead-lined room with armed guards.
Authority is not a quality one person 'has,' in the sense that he has property or physical qualities. Authority refers to an interpersonal relation in which one person looks upon another as somebody superior to him.
If I am what I have and if I lose what I have, who then am I?
Love is an act of faith, and whoever is of little faith is also of little love.
The danger of the past was that men became slaves. The danger of the future is that man may become robots.
Modern man lives under the illusion that he knows 'what he wants,' while he actually wants what he is supposed to want.
Man's freedom is lacking if somebody else controls what he needs, for need may result in man's enslavement of man.
The only truly affluent are those who do not want more than they have.
The inability to see the wood for the trees is at the same time an image of the inability to see ourselves in the world in which we have created.
The fact that millions of people share the same vices does not make these vices virtues, the fact that they share so many errors does not make the errors to be truths, and the fact that millions of people share the same form of mental pathology does not make these people sane.