ch 6: Erich Fromm Flashcards
(15 cards)
Erich Fromm
1900-1980
Humanistic psychoanalysis: a synthesis of the thought of Freud and (early) Marx
The struggle for freedom against society’s pressure to conform: Alienation
Human being is dualistic: has animal as well as human nature
Physiological needs: sex, hunger, thirst
But people can transcend their purely instinctive animal nature
The view of the person underlying the theory
Sociobiological and Dualistic:
o Fromm’s view combines biological and sociocultural perspectives. He argued
that while biology influences human nature, humans also have unique needs
not rooted in biology.
o He believed humans have both animal and human nature, making his view
dualistic.
Animal and Human Nature:
o Humans have physiological needs (e.g., hunger, thirst) like animals, governed
by physical laws.
o Unlike animals, humans have self-consciousness, reason, and conscience,
enabling them to transcend their instincts and make ethical decisions.
Existential vs. Historical Dichotomies:
o Existential dichotomies: Conflicts inherent in human existence, like life vs.
death or individual vs. society, which humans face because of their self-
awareness.
o Historical dichotomies: Conflicts that can be overcome, such as poverty vs.
wealth or war for peace.
Basic Motivation:
o Fromm suggested that humans’ basic motivation comes from managing these
existential and historical dichotomies.
o The drive to solve contradictions in existence leads to psychic forces,
passions, and anxieties.
Unique Human Experience:
o Fromm emphasized that humans face universal challenges that animals do not,
but they also have diverse personalities and ways of coping with these
challenges.
Structure of personality
2 kids of consciousness
1. Authoritarian: voice of interna;ised external authority
2. Humanistic: own inner voice
Personality Focus:
Like Horney, Fromm is more focused on the dynamics of personality and its
interaction with society, rather than its structural components.
Rejection of Freud’s Model:
Fromm disagreed with Freud’s division of the personality into the id, ego, and
superego. However, he acknowledged the importance of conscious and unconscious
levels of functioning in human behaviour.
Self-Consciousness:
Fromm emphasized self-consciousness as the attribute that distinguishes humans from
animals. This awareness of being aware makes people more vulnerable to existential
and historical dichotomies. Fromm humorously called this condition the “creation’s
joke.”
Structure of personality
Two Key Human Processes:
- Reason:
o Allows humans to transcend their animal nature and deal with life’s
dichotomies.
o It’s both a blessing and a curse as it drives people to continuously solve
problems that can never be fully solved. - Conscience:
o Regulates human behaviour, helping individuals evaluate their actions based
on established norms and values.
o Authoritarian Conscience: Driven by external authorities (e.g., parents,
society), dictating behaviour.
o Humanistic Conscience: The inner voice that helps a person align with their
true human nature and encourages personal growth.
Inherent vs. Learnt Components of Personality:
o Temperament: The innate part of personality, constitutionally determined and
unchangeable.
o Character: Shaped by personal experiences and socialization, and can be
changed. Character reflects society’s influence.
Social Character:
o Describes common traits shared by individuals within a culture.
o The social character influences individual character, meaning the individual’s
traits are deeply shaped by the society in which they live.
Self-Evaluation Points:
Self-Consciousness: The awareness of being conscious of oneself.
Human as “Creation’s Joke”: This idea refers to the burdens of self-awareness and
existential dilemmas.
Reason: Helps people transcend their animal instincts and address life’s dichotomies.
Conscience: Regulates behaviour, distinguishing between authoritarian (external
influence) and humanistic (inner guidance) conscience.
Dynamics of personality
Fromm distinguishes between human and animal nature. Unlike animals, whose behaviour is
driven by instincts, human behaviour is shaped by specific human needs and the character
that influences how those needs are expressed. Fromm believes these needs arise from the
conditions of human existence, particularly our separation from nature.
1.Human Needs
2.Needs and Character
Dynamics of personality
Human Needs
Fromm identifies five key human needs that reflect our nature and separation from nature:
1. Need for Relatedness
Humans need to connect with others, as our separation from nature creates feelings of
loneliness. These connections can be positive, like love, or negative, like dominating
or submitting to others. Love, which maintains individuality while forming unity, is
essential for mental well-being.
2. Need for Transcendence
Humans seek to go beyond instinctive behaviour by creating or destroying. Creativity
leads to a purposeful, free existence, but when blocked, it can lead to destructive
behaviour. Fromm distinguishes between self-protective aggression and harmful
aggression, the latter being uniquely human.
3. Need for Rootedness
Humans desire security and a connection to the past, which they try to find in family,
community, religion, or patriotism. This need comes from the loss of the safety of the
womb and childhood.
4. Need for Personal Identity
After birth, humans develop a sense of “I” and individuality. The need for personal
identity arises as people become self-aware and seek to understand their place in
society.
5. Need for a Frame of Reference
Humans seek meaning and guidance in life through systems like religion or
philosophy. These help individuals orient themselves and find purpose.
Dynamics of personality
Needs and character
People express their needs in different ways depending on their character. Fromm suggests
that people can either express their needs in constructive or destructive ways. They can
choose to lead a healthy, productive life, or escape their freedom by submitting to others or
trying to control them. The healthiest path is to form productive relationships and fulfil their
human potential.
The development of the personality
Fromm focuses more on social and cultural influences than on stages of development.
He believes society shapes personality, especially through “social character” , traits
shared by people in the same culture.
How Personality Develops:
Personality forms through:
o Assimilation – a person’s own experiences in their environment.
o Socialisation – values and behaviours passed on by parents and the
community.
- Parent–Child Relationships and Character Development
- Character Types According to Fromm
The development of the personality
Parent–Child Relationships and Character Development
- Symbiotic Relationship
o Parents or children try to “consume” each other emotionally.
o Results in:
Receptive type: overly dependent, wants to be loved but can’t give
love.
Exploitative type: uses others for personal gain. - Withdrawing–Destructive Relationship
o Parents are distant and controlling, often suppressing the child’s identity.
o Results in:
Marketing type: detached, changes personality to fit in.
Hoarding type: withdrawn, orderly, avoids the world. - Ideal Relationship
o Built on love, care, and respect.
o Leads to:
Biophilous (productive) type: loving, responsible, and self-actualising.
The development of the personality
Character Types According to Fromm
Non-Productive Orientation
Characterised by dependence, selfishness, conformity, irrationality.
1. Receptive Type
Believes good things come from others.
Dependent and passive.
Can’t give love, only wants to receive it.
2. Exploitative Type
Uses others for personal gain.
Controlling, manipulative, and often cruel.
3. Hoarding Type
Distrustful, avoids contact.
Stubborn, tidy, protective of personal space.
4. Marketing Type
Sees self as a product to be sold.
Adapts to please others, lacks true self.
Indifferent in relationships.
5. Necrophilous Type
Fascinated with death and destruction.
Enjoys cruelty, lacks emotion.
Often seen in racists, terrorists, and abusers.
Productive Orientation
Characterised by love, creativity, independence, rationality.
Allows a person to grow without losing their freedom or identity.
Optimal development of the personality
Fromm believed that society plays a major role in how a person functions. So how did he
think a healthy person should be, and what causes mental health problems?
For Fromm, a well-developed person is emotionally and spiritually healthy. They live in a
productive, positive way and are loving and connected to others. They are not cut off from
their true selves and live in the present. These people feel at peace with themselves and
others. They love, share, and take part in life fully.
Fromm describes such a person as someone who:
Loves others and sees reality clearly using reason
Feels unique but also connected to others
Follows their conscience and accepts reasonable guidance, not irrational authority
Keeps growing and values life deeply
Fromm believed that a healthy personality can only grow in a healthy society. In such a
society, people, not money or politics, come first. Traits like greed, selfishness, and
exploitation would not be accepted. People would be encouraged to act according to their
conscience, and selfish behaviour would be seen as wrong.
A healthy society, Fromm says, allows people to have control over their lives, be active in
society, and build caring relationships with others (Fromm, 1976a:276).
However, Fromm said this ideal development is often blocked because society itself is
unhealthy. In The Sane Society , he explains that:
In communist systems, the group’s needs are put above the individual’s
In capitalist systems, the individual’s needs are put above the group’s
Neither system finds a healthy balance between the person and society.
Implications and applications
- Measurement and Research
- Understanding and Managing Aggression
Implications and applications
1. Measurement and Research
Fromm didn’t use numbers or experiments to test his ideas. Instead, he studied
people’s behaviour by looking at history and culture, including modern and past
events.
He believed that social, political, and economic factors deeply affect how people
behave.
In one study with Maccoby, they studied a Mexican village and found different
personality types Fromm described:
o Receptive type: Found in alcoholics – they tend to rely on others and are prone
to addiction.
o Exploitative type: Found in the village’s first business owners – they used
people and hurt traditional values.
o Necrophilous type: Seen in those who were violent and hurtful to family.
o Productive type: Had healthy values, respected others, and showed love and
care to their children.
Maccoby later found Fromm’s marketing type in American business managers. These
people tried hard to appear suitable for their jobs by constantly adjusting themselves.
Maccoby also discovered new types: self-oriented and self-developing. These findings
supported Fromm’s idea that personality changes with society.
Later, Maccoby created tools to identify personality types and applied Fromm’s ideas
to study leadership. He said our personality is shaped early in life to fit into our
society.
Implications and applications
2. Understanding and Managing Aggression
Fromm separated two kinds of aggression:
1. Rational (benevolent) aggression: A natural, protective response to danger
(like defending your life or beliefs). It’s found in both animals and humans and
isn’t meant to destroy.
2. Irrational (malevolent) aggression: A harmful trait found only in humans. It
comes from deep within a person’s personality and often targets others or even
oneself. This happens when people’s growth is blocked by bad environments
(like poverty or violence).
Fromm said that if people can’t create or grow, they might become destructive
instead. Destruction brings suffering, especially to the person being destructive.
In his book The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness, Fromm explained these ideas
further:
o Benign aggression includes:
Accidents or sports aggression (pseudo-aggression)
Self-defence
Following orders (like soldiers)
Aggression used as a tool, not the main goal (e.g. war for resources)
o This kind of aggression can be managed by removing the causes (e.g. bad
living conditions).
Malignant aggression, on the other hand, is about hurting for the sake of it. It is found
in people with certain negative personality traits (like necrophilous and exploitative
types). These people often seek power and believe violence is the only answer. They
lack emotion, worship technology, and may be dangerous, Adolf Hitler is an example
Fromm studied.
Fromm believed malevolent aggression is not natural, so it can be changed by
improving society to help people grow in healthy ways.
He also believed that reason (clear, logical thinking) is more important than
intelligence because it can help prevent destruction.
Evaluation of the theory
Fromm not only looked at how society affects people, but also at how religion shapes
a person’s social character in different societies.
However, behaviourists criticize his theory for being too subjective and philosophical,
as it hasn’t been proven through scientific research or clinical observation like
Horney’s work. Instead, Fromm based his theory on his own analysis of society and
human nature, using history and personal experience.
Even without scientific proof, Maddi believes Fromm clearly and thoroughly
described different personality types. Unlike many theorists, Fromm listed specific
traits of each character type, making it easier for others to test his ideas later.
Fromm’s books are popular with the general public around the world. This matches
his goal of writing in a simple way and avoiding complicated terms.
Schultz and Schultz explain Fromm’s impact like this:
Fromm gave a unique view of how people and society interact. Even if some of his
ideas are later proven wrong, he showed that people are shaped by many different
forces. He encouraged us to think across different fields and to build a more humane
society, warning what might happen if we don’t.
Fromm’s legacy continues through Rainer Funk, who wrote two books about him:
Erich Fromm: The Courage to Be Human and Erich Fromm: His Life and Ideas. Funk
worked closely with Fromm in his final years and manages his writings. He also
helped start the International Erich Fromm Society.
