100 must-read books for college students

Chapter 89 Masterpieces of Western Anthropology in the Twentieth Century

Chapter 88 The Masterpiece of Western Anthropology in the [-]th Century: "Escape from Freedom"

The book "Escape from Freedom" is the foundational work for Fromm to determine the direction of his life research and the beginning of his fame as a humanitarian philosopher.

.This book laid the theoretical starting point and foundation for his comprehensive consideration of Marxism and Freudianism, and later a series of

The works listed are all expanded and deepened on this basis.Since the book was first published in 1941, it has spread like wildfire and become popular.

The world, in the 1961 years to 21, has been reprinted 22 times, and is known as the most outstanding work in Western philosophy in the 20th century

.

Liberal Doctrine Humanistic Philosophy

Erich Fromm (1900～1980) was a famous western philosopher, psychologist and thinker in the 20th century.
An outstanding representative of righteousness, a famous theorist of the Frankfurt School. In 1941, he created and published "Escape from Freedom".

In the middle of the 20th century, the realm of human freedom has increasingly become an ideal that people are striving for, and the issue of freedom has increasingly become a subject of theoretical inquiry.

hotspot.Under the conditions of modern industrial civilization, the living conditions of human beings, the future and destiny of human beings have become the questions that theorists ponder deeply.

.Starting from the perspective of psychoanalysis, Fromm made a comprehensive perspective on the situation, fate and freedom, and specifically discussed the human

A series of issues such as freedom and non-freedom, pursuit of freedom and escape from freedom, negative freedom and positive freedom, etc., formed the "Escape
The main content of the book Liberty.

Fromm's "Escape from Freedom" discusses many issues about freedom from an extremely broad perspective, and raises many unique

viewpoints and theories.The existence of human beings is the entry point of all the issues that Fromm studies in this book, he starts from the situation of human existence

Starting from this basic fact, it explains the original relationship of human beings, discusses the relationship between human individualization and freedom, and discusses the principle of human freedom.
meaning in two respects.

The work first shows that the sign of human existence is the separation of man from nature, when man breaks away from the same state with nature
The social history of man begins when he comes out and realizes himself as a whole separate from the surrounding nature and other people.

It is true that this separation between man and nature is a long historical process. Although individuals have self-awareness, they continue to communicate with others.

The nature and society in which we live are closely related.Although he himself is partially aware of himself as an independent whole
body, but he always sees himself as part of the world around him.It is this connection between man and the world around him that makes him
There is a basis for attachment and a sense of belonging.As long as a man has not completely severed the umbilical cord that connects him to others, he
It cannot be free.But it was this connection that gave him security, belonging, and groundedness.These relationships are completely personal
Standing out always existed before. , which he calls primitive relations.

Fromm then analyzed the relationship between human individualization and freedom.He called the process of separating man from nature man
The process of growing out of its original state, or individuation.The individualized man gains increasing freedom.but

, when a person emerges from the "primitive relationship", he begins to realize his loneliness, resulting in extreme tension and anxiety
.Fromm argued from the perspective of human individual development that another aspect of the individuation process is increasing loneliness.original

Relationships provide security and basic unity with the outside world.As soon as the child emerges from that world, he realizes that he is alone
Alone, the self is an individual separate from all others.Compared with the individual existence of human beings, this world is absolutely nothing.
Separation from the world of the powerful, and often threatening and dangerous, creates a sense of powerlessness.

Feelings of strength and anxiety.When one is an integral part of this world and has not yet recognized responsibility for one's actions,

He need not be afraid of the world; but when the individual becomes an individual, he is alone, facing a danger and an extreme

mighty world.In short, gaining freedom and feeling lonely are two aspects of the same individuation process.

more, the more it breeds a sense of personal meaninglessness and powerlessness.Therefore, people escape from freedom in order to overcome loneliness.

According to Fromm, compared with modern society, the main characteristic of the Middle Ages is the lack of individual freedom.People of all stripes in society are charged with
Within a fixed social order, social and economic life are governed by established rules and treaties.However, although people

Without freedom (freedom in the modern sense), you don't feel lonely.As soon as a person is born, there is a clear

His own, unalterable and unquestionable place, so that he is rooted in an organic whole, and thus makes his life
It is guaranteed.The order of society is regarded as a natural order, and since the position of man in this order is determined,
So he has a sense of security and belonging.Since then, after social changes such as the Renaissance and the Reformation, with the capitalist factors
the rapid growth of the individual, freed from economic and political ties, he functions actively and independently in the new absence

, gained positive freedom.At the same time, the very ties he has shed are the very same ones that used to give him security and connection.

This kind of bond, people no longer live in a closed world centered on people.The world has become boundless, but at the same time
threatening.

In such circumstances, the new freedom inevitably brings with it deep feelings of insecurity, powerlessness, doubt, loneliness, and apprehension.

Especially in modern industrial society, people are influenced by contradictory means: they develop personality, but at the same time
leave man alone; they increase his freedom, but at the same time create a new bondage.modern social structure
Negative impacts—psychological states such as loneliness, anxiety, meaninglessness, panic, and powerlessness, etc., lead to

Alienation of people and escape from freedom.In terms of human alienation, the first is the alienation of man himself, which is prominently manifested in the change of modern man.
Became a selfish person.Selfishness means insatiable greed, but selfishness is not self-love. A selfish person not only does not love others, but also treats

The true self also lacks affirmation and love.Because the selfish person is always worried about only himself, so he is always dissatisfied

, always can't get a rest, always worry and frown all day long because of what he didn't get, what he missed, what he was deprived of

sad face.Such a selfish person actually does not really cherish himself, but fills himself with loathing.Human alienation is also manifested in

The relationship between people: the relationship between people becomes the relationship between things.The relationship between people has been
It has become a commodity relationship in which the jungle eats the jungle.

Psychologists not only have to diagnose disease, but also to treat patients, especially social human beings, Fromm saw human freedom
symptoms, he also worked hard to prescribe a few prescriptions for human beings that he thought were quite effective. This is his way of escaping from freedom.

diameter theory.On the premise of explaining human existence and freedom, Fromm analyzed the way to escape from freedom:

The first way is that the individual, in order to gain the power he has lost, does not hesitate to give up the independence of the ego and separate himself from others outside.
Or something else put together.In other words, it refers to the kind that seeks a new second shackle to replace the original one that has been cast off.
Tendency to yoke.Fromm pointed out that masochism and sadistic tendencies are typical manifestations of this desire to submit and dominate
form.

In Hitler's character structure, there are both sadistic and masochistic aspects
qualitative side.Advocating power and hating weakness is a typical sadistic quality, which can explain Hitler and his followers
a large number of political actions.

The second way is that people show their strength by destroying the world outside of themselves and destroying the objects that compete with it, and escape from the world.

Avoid unbearable feelings of loneliness and powerlessness.Fromm points out that if sado-masochistic impulses aim at

Actively or passively symbiotic, then destructive aims at destroying the object.But destructiveness is also rooted in the intolerable softness of the individual.

Feelings of powerlessness and loneliness.

Sadism tends to pass

Strengthens the solitary ego by dominating others, while destructiveness tends to be achieved by eliminating any external threat.
this purpose.

The third way is that the individual completely abandons himself and integrates with others, so as to eliminate the difference with the external world and overcome isolation.
A sense of aloneness and powerlessness, the so-called assimilation.According to Fromm, the person who escapes freedom in this way is no longer an individual
He himself, he has completely inherited the personality given to him by the existing cultural model; he is no different from others, completely

Shape yourself completely according to the requirements of others.

But these three ways of escaping from freedom can't really make people overcome loneliness, and can't reunify him with the world.

The result is the loss of the self, the splitting of the personality. Fromm concludes: In modern society, the individual has just moved from making life meaningful.

Freed from all shackles of righteousness and security, he sinks into solitude, powerlessness, and insecurity.We have seen that a

Man cannot bear this kind of loneliness. As a lonely existence, man is powerless to contend with the outside world, so he is very

is often afraid of the outside world; since he is in a solitary situation, the world is also fragmented to him, he is completely
At a loss.Thus, he began to doubt himself, doubt the meaning of life, and finally doubt the principles of any behavior, isolated

Helplessness and doubt paralyze life. In order to survive, he tries to escape and deny freedom, and puts on new shackles.this new

The yoke is distinct from primitive bondage in which, though he is ruled by authority or society as a whole, there is a relative
independence.Fleeing from freedom did not restore the safety he had lost.Instead it just made him forget that he was an independent
individual.What he gains at the expense of the integrity of his personal self is tenuous security.because he can't stand being alone
, so he had no choice but to choose the path of losing himself.Therefore, while escaping from freedom and gaining freedom, new shackles are put on people.
.

However, Fromm is confident that there is always a positive state of freedom, which can be achieved by human beings, who are both free and not alone.
Have a critical eye without doubting everything, be independent without being separated from the world.How, then, is this positive freedom achieved?Fromm believes that this freedom is only through the realization of his ego, which makes him himself.Self-actualization cannot be achieved only by
Thinking first must rely on the realization of the total personality of man, on the active expression of his emotional and rational potentialities.In short,
Positive freedom consists in the spontaneity of the total and total personality.

Finally, Fromm also pointed out that human spontaneity is mainly manifested in love and work.The love mentioned here does not mean to destroy oneself.

Melting into another person does not mean possessing another person, but on the basis of maintaining one's self, making one's own and one's own.
Others blend into one.The work mentioned here does not refer to activities that are forced to escape from loneliness, nor does it refer to using one's own

The two hands establish a relationship between domination and being ruled, worshiping and being worshiped, enslaving and being enslaved to nature, but refers to a creative
Through this creative activity, man communicates with nature.He further pointed out: Love and work are so, all other

This is true of the spontaneity of the individual, whether in the fulfillment of sensual pleasures or in political life, which both affirms the individuality of the self and
unite self with others.The fundamental contradiction inherent in freedom is that between individuation and solitude, which, along with the

Sexual activity is also largely wiped out.Through this spontaneous activity, the individual self connects with the world
Come.He and the world become part of an organic whole.This positive liberty can only be found in a highly democratic society.

possible.And this kind of democratic society in Fromm's thought, democratic socialism, is exactly this highly democratic society.

"Escape from Freedom" is popular all over the world

Fromm's "Escape from Freedom" is one of his main representative works, it has a profound impact on human existence in contemporary capitalist society
Situation, the future development of human beings has been deeply analyzed and explained. As soon as the viewpoint of this book was put forward, people
The great concern of it has produced a huge influence in people's thinking.

In this book, Fromm penetratingly describes people's loneliness, boredom and alienation, reflecting to a certain extent

It reflects the real situation of capitalist society, sees the coexistence of freedom and bondage, and also sees the development of freedom and social progress.
This critical description and analysis of capitalism reveals serious flaws in capitalist society
, so that people can more clearly see the devastation and oppression of the human spirit by capitalist society, which undoubtedly has positive significance.

Of course, the book "Escape from Freedom" does not realize that most people in history are not free, and that the suppression of personality development is an inevitable phenomenon.

Phenomena are fundamentally determined by the contradictory movement of productive forces and production relations, and Fromm only stays with these phenomena
On top of moral criticism, this makes his theory lack a solid foundation.

In this book, Fromm tried to put forward his own solution for the free development of human beings. He proposed several ways for human beings to escape freedom.

Approaches, theories of love and work, for us to think about the future of human
All kinds of practical problems have certain reference significance.Of course, he seeks answers only from the perspective of psychoanalysis,
Among them are class and economic factors, which led him to confuse psychological phenomena with social phenomena, and confuse bourgeois selfishness, greed,
The greedy class nature is deduced into common human nature, which finally conceals the class essence of capitalist exploitation, making his theory lack of science.

sex and rationality.

(End of this chapter)