Enlightenment values of Erich Fromm’s humanistic psychoanalysis

Abstract

Erich Fromm’s humanistic psychoanalysis theory integrated the basic elements of European cultural traditions, including rationalism, humanism, critical attitude, and Messianism. His main work was to analyze the people in his community and the society in which he lived, with the standards of rationalism and humanism and the methods of psychoanalytic psychology, and to explore the ways of achieving the ideal society and realizing human development. The essence of this work is enlightenment. As a humanistic philosopher in the 20th century, Fromm inherited the unfinished business from those enlightenment philosophers in the 17th and 18th centuries and opened up a way to solve the dilemma of existence debated by his contemporaries, which, in turn, helped modern people overcome the inertia of human nature (i.e., regression toward a child state) and move toward rationality and independence. Grounded in the sense of insecurity that modern people experienced, Fromm deeply analyzed the pathological mechanisms of authoritarianism, nationalism, and consumerism, and suggested a social reform program based on the principles of humanism. As mentioned, Fromm profoundly analyzed the psychological mechanisms and the consequences that modern people relied on to alleviate or even eliminate their sense of insecurity by embracing authoritarianism, nationalism, and consumerism. Those behaviors and the underlying psychological constructs are seemingly becoming more serious nowadays, which highlights…