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Erich Fromm

Erich Fromm Quotes

Psychologist

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Famous Erich Fromm Quotes

“The most important sphere of giving, however, is not that of material things, but lies in the specifically human realm. What does one person give to another? He gives of himself, of the most precious he has, he gives of his life. This does not necessarily mean that he sacrifices his life for the other—but that he gives him of that which is alive in him; he gives him of his joy, of his interest, of his understanding, of his knowledge, of his humor, of his sadness—of all expressions and manifestations of that which is alive in him. In thus giving of his life, he enriches the other person, he enhances the others sense of aliveness by enhancing his own sense of aliveness. He does not give in order to receive; giving is in itself exquisite joy. But in giving he cannot help bringing some thing to life in the other person, and this which is brought to life reflects back to him; in truly giving, he cannot help receiving that which is given back to him. Giving implies to make the other person a giver also and they both share in the joy of what they have brought to life. In the act of giving something is born, and both persons involved are grateful for the life that is born for both of them.”

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Book:THE ART OF LOVING
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“The application of psychoanalysis to sociology must definitely guard against the mistake of wanting to give psychoanalytic answers where economic, technical, or political facts provide the real and sufficient explanation of sociological questions. On the other hand, the psychoanalyst must emphasize that the subject of sociology, society, in reality consists of individuals, and that it is these human beings, rather than abstract society as such, whose actions, thoughts, and feelings are the object of sociological research.”

GivingHumansRealFactsFeelingsHandsRealityActionPoliticalIndividualHuman BeingsAnswersMistakeEconomicSubjectsObjectsResearchExplanationSufficientAbstractApplicationSociologyPsychoanalysisThoughts And FeelingsSociologicalPsychoanalytic
Author:Erich Fromm
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“The narcissistic, the domineering, the possessive woman can succeed in being a "loving" mother as long as the child is small. Only the really loving woman, the woman who is happier in giving than in taking, who is firmly rooted in her own existence, can be a loving mother when the child is in the process of separation.”

GivingChildrenLongMotherProcessExistenceSucceedSeparationRootedNarcissisticPossessiveLoving Mother
Book:The Art of Loving: The Centennial Edition
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“Man's main task in life is to give birth to himself, to become what he potentially is. The most important product of his effort is his own personality. One can judge objectively to what extent a person has succeeded in his task, to what degree he has realized his potentialities. If he has failed in his task, one can recognize this failure and judge it for what it is - a moral failure.”

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Author:Erich Fromm
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“If one admits that the influence of the outside world is essentially beneficial, the lack of such influence during sleep would tend to diminish the value of our dream activity so as to render it inferior to the mental activity that takes place when we are awake, when we are exposed to these beneficial influences of surrounding reality. But how can one say that the influence of reality is exclusively beneficial. Could it not also be damaging, and could its absence not give access to qualities superior to those that we have when awake?”

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Author:Erich Fromm
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“We've wanted to produce more in the 19th century and the 20th century in order to give man the possibility for more dignified human life; but actually what has happened is that production and consumption have become means - have ceased to be means and have become ends, and we are production crazy and consumption crazy.”

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Author:Erich Fromm
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“Our conscious motivations, ideas, and beliefs are a blend of false information, biases, irrational passions, rationalizations, prejudices, in which morsels of truth swim around and give the reassurance albeit false, that the whole mixture is real and true. The thinking processes attempt to organize this whole cesspool of illusions according to the laws of plausibility. This level of consciousness is supposed to reflect reality; it is the map we use for organizing our life.”

ThinkingGivingIdeasRealWholeUseRealityLawMotivationPassionBeliefProcessLevelsConsciousnessOur LivesInformationIllusionConsciousPrejudiceMapsSwimIrrationalOrganizeMixturesReassuranceThinking Process
Author:Erich Fromm
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“Love means to commit oneself without guarantee, to give oneself completely in the hope that our love will produce love in the loved person. Love is an act of faith, and whoever is of little faith is also of little love.”

LoveGivingMeanLittlesPersonsRomanceFaithLove IsProduceRomanticFalling In LoveOneselfCommitGuaranteesInspirational LoveLost LoveRomantic LoveOur LoveHope And FaithLove MeansLittle LoveLittle FaithArt Of LovingPersons LoveFaith Hope And LoveRomance And Passion
Book:THE ART OF LOVING
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“We forget that, although freedom of speech constitutes an important victory in the battle against old restraints, modern man is in a position where much of what "he" thinks and says are the things that everybody else thinks and says; that he has not acquired the ability to think originally - that is, for himself - which alone gives meaning to his claim that nobody can interfere with the expression of his thoughts.”

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Book:Escape from Freedom
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“Envy, jealousy, ambition, any kind of greed are passions; love is an action, the practice of human power, which can be practiced only in freedom and never as a result of compulsion. Love is an activity, not a passive affect; it is a "standing in," not a "falling for." In the most general way, the active character of love can be described by stating that love is primarily giving, not receiving.”

WayLifeGivingHumansKindCharacterActionFallPassionLove IsResultsPracticeActivityAmbitionStandingGreedActiveEnvyReceivingPassiveCompulsionLove PassionHuman PowerGiving Not Receiving
Book:THE ART OF LOVING
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“Well-being is possible to the degree to which one has overcome one's narcissism; to the degree to which one is open, responsive, sensitive, awake, empty.... Well-being means, finally, to drop one's Ego, to give up greed, to cease chasing after preservation and the aggrandizement of the Ego, to be and to experience one's self in the act of being, not in having, preserving, coveting, using.”

GivingWellsMeanSelfEgoDegreesGiving UpEmptyOvercomingGreedCeaseWell BeingSensitiveAwakeNarcissismPreservationChasingBeing MeBeing MeanCoveting
Author:Erich Fromm
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“The criterion of mental health is not one of individual adjustment to a given social order, but a universal one, valid for all men, of giving a satisfactory answer to the problem of human existence.”

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Book:The Erich Fromm Reader: Readings Selected and Edited by Rainer Funk
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