During his years as a member of the Frankfurt School, Erich Fromm developed a strong interest in the idea that there were distinctive male and female character orientations. Drawing on the positive evaluation of matriarchy made in the nineteenth century by the Swiss anthropologist J. J. Bachofen, Fromm argued that a >matricentric< psychic structure was more conducive to socialism than the patricentric structure which had predominated in capitalism. His interest in maternalism and his opposition to patriarchy played an important part in his rejection of Freud's theory of drives and in the development of a humanistic ethics in which love plays a central part. The idea of a gendered humanism is central to Fromm's social thought, although there is a danger that the over‐emphasis of sex‐based character differences unintentionally re‐opens the danger of the kind of sexual stereotyping which he resolutely opposed.
Short story is a type of popular literature in Indonesia. In short stories, love is one of the most well-known topics for the Indonesian audience. Amongst various types of love, a mother’s love is talked about the most. Thus, I decide to analyze how mothers express their love for their children in a compilation book titled >Rectoverso<. Also, I discover the consequences that the mothers experience due to their choices regarding love. By using the theory of love and the concept of motherly love from the book >The Art of Loving< by Erich Fromm, I find that the mothers have to face several choices that can give impacts toward their children and themselves. Every decision they make is caused by their love toward their children. Furthermore, the mothers prioritize their children instead of themselves. The impacts they experience may be positive or negative, depending on the situation.
I have chosen, for the jubilee volume, my article >Freedom vs. Intolerance – Variations on the Theme of Supernatural Wives and Husbands<. It appeared in the volume entitled >We are all Indians< Violence – Intolerance – Literature, edited by Wojciech Kalaga and Tadeusz Sławek (Katowice 1990). This was a special time for all of us; today it is called the time of breakthrough, or transformation. The topic of my article, and most other articles contained in this volume, is connected with the problem of freedom and enslavement, which, bearing in mind the atmosphere of that period, was almost inevitable. Thus, the reader will find, in that article of mine, reflections concerning the so called positive and negative freedom, some thoughts about Erich Fromm’s book >The Fear of Freedom<. I used there also an old proverb, quoted in the writings of Sir Isaiah Berlin: >to be free is nothing, to become free is the very heaven<, a proverb that sounded very appropriate in the times when we all in Poland were regaining our lost freedom. The article itself is a heady mixture of threads and motifs taken from classical and modern philosophy, folktales, Biblical traditions and mythology, whereas the typical literary studies, or history of literature, are virtually absent there. This rather unconventional approach is, to some extent, typical of the style of academic discourse characteristic of the English studies as understood and practised in the University of Silesia at that time, that is in the 1980s and 1990s. This style was shaped, among other persons, by the, often indirect, influence of such personalities as Wojciech Kalaga, Tadeusz Sławek, Emanuel Prower, Tadeusz Rachwał, or, last but not least, Ewa Borkowska, who also contributed to the volume in question. Naturally, I am solely responsible for what I wrote in that article, which is a rather faithful reflection of my interests (and perhaps also obsessions) in that very memorable period of time.
Psychoanalysis is practiced in context. How relevant are our theories in addressing the psychological impact of disruptive, traumatizing effects of socio-cultural events? This is one of the many critical questions raised by Dr. Holmes in her very telling essay. Particularly on the question of race, Dr. Holmes outlines the shortcomings of our theories, but also challenges what she perceives as the reluctance of psychoanalytic training Institutes to address the traumas of race and racism. This discussion expands on Holmes’s position to wonder whether all psychoanalytic theories are equally remiss, and whether Institutes and psychoanalysts’ perceptions of, and responses to, social trauma are shaped by their particular theoretical orientation. Specifically, this discussion focuses on differences in orientation between Classical psychoanalysis and Interpersonal/Relational theories of mind. The author identifies Sullivan, Fromm, Ferenczi, and others as early psychiatrists and psychoanalysts for whom interpersonal and cultural contexts were central to their theories of human development.
This article explores the essential role of love and understanding in analysis. Love is seen as a healing force keeping the patient connected to life and to health, and as the glue that cements the analytic process. The four components of love which describes – care, respect, responsibility, and knowledge – are the heart of all successful analysis. Two case studies illustrate how the positive countertransference may be used therapeutically to help patients move towards healthy self-esteem and self-care, and a more benevolent and loving relatedness.
Some lineages and resources of Critical and Radical Humanist Work and Organizational Psychology
(2023)
Critical work and organizational psychology is developing on an international scale. Against the background of this evolving scientific field, in this extended version of my opening speech at the first International Conference on Critical and Radical Humanist Work and Organizational Psychology, held from 11th to 13th of July 2022 at the University of Innsbruck, I aim to address the following three questions: (1) What concepts may be relevant for critical work and organizational psychology in analyzing established „mainstream“ (i.e., hegemonic) conceptualizations within work and organizational psychology? (2) Cui bono, critical work and organizational psychology? – To what ethical foundations do (or can) representatives of critical work and organizational psychology refer to when they intend to criticize theory and practice in work and organizational psychology? (3) What do we know about work and organizations beyond domination, subjectification and social alienation? – About fractals of a humanist, socially sustainable economy. Preliminary answers to these questions and implications for the future of critical work and organizational psychology will be discussed.
This paper discusses the notion of mental health from the perspective of the social context in which such a notion has to exist, and has to be fostered or otherwise, by that key social activity in a democracy that is education. In particular, it considers this topic by way of reviewing a thoroughgoing analysis of ‘society and sanity’ presented over a half century ago by Erich Fromm in his >The Sane Society<. The links to and an implications for a PCP understanding of mental health in the light of the ideas of Fromm and some later thinkers are discussed.
Schooling, followed by its modernized acclaim in educational standard is distorted with the ideal concept of education. Educational model and custom is kept in form of violence for the sake of achieving so-called disciplined product. It is not only physical but also includes non-physical forces as emotional and psychic are delivered in symbols. It is a part of expectation conflict, as well as internal part of social relation of parents and their children, teachers and their students, even society and children. At the same time, changes in educational ideologies is taking its root in child abuse even more. Education become severely see children as objects, which means reification. This study, using Erich Fromm’s approach, emphasizes in child abuse phenomenon related to Indonesian educational ideologies as a form of modern society's aggression. Timeline of educational ideologies is studied to reveal sources of child abuse within. Critical discourse analysis by Laclau and Mouffe is the method for deconstructing and acting to transformation of internal contradiction between educational ideologies and sources of child abuse. Results of this study show how in each educational ideology tropologically and historiographically implies violence, and that recent educational ideologies is facing crisis to legitimate its irrational authority of social modern society character, which, eventually, sharpen the root to child abuse in educational processes.
Many writers have commented on the lack of Freud's usual level of logic and powers of persuasion in Moses and Monotheism. The majority attribute it to the significance of dynamic determinants in Freud himself--most notably, identification with Moses. Fromm (1972) says >one must assume that Freud's preoccupation with Moses was rooted in the deep unconscious identification with him< (p. 79). Unfortunately, the situation is much more complex. Although many pertinent observations have been made, what is needed is a detailed dissection of the text, a correlation with elements from Freud's personal life, and an overall psychoanalytic synthesis of the data. This paper makes a beginning in that direction, incorporating the ideas of other investigators with those of the author – but it is hoped that much more detailed analysis and biographical correlation will follow. There is a wealth of information about Freud in Moses and Monotheism and no one paper will exhaust it. In this examination no attempt will be made to evaluate Moses and Monotheism for its literary, psycho-historical, or scientific merit. The focus is on the psychodynamic determinants of Freud's essay.
Mexican psychiatry initiated since pre-Hispanic times. Historically, treatments were a mixture of magic, science and religion. Ancient Nahuas had their own medical concepts with a holistic view of medicine, considering men and cosmos as a whole. The first psychiatric hospital appeared in 1566 and a more modern psychiatric asylum emerged until 1910. International exchanges of theoretical approaches started in the National University with the visit of Pierre Janet. There were other important figures that influenced Mexican psychiatry, such as Erich Fromm, Henri Ey, Jean Garrabé and Yves Thoret. Regarding Mexican psychiatrists, some of the most important contributors to Mexican psychiatry were José Luis Patiño Rojas, Manuel Guevara Oropeza and Ramón de la Fuente Muñiz. This article includes excerpts from >Clinical Psychiatry<, a book by Patiño Rojas where he tries to understand and describe the inner world experienced by patients with schizophrenia; also, the thesis conducted by Guevara Oropeza (>Psychoanalisis<), which is a critical comparison between the theories of Janet and Freud. Finally, we include >The study of consciousness: current status< by Ramón de la Fuente, which leads us through the initial investigations concerning consciousness, its evolution, and the contributions made by psychology, philosophy and neurobiology.
Beginning from a critique of neoliberalism, and in particular of its concept of freedom, I develop an alternative notion of freedom as love. In order to escape the current neoliberal hegemony, I argue that we must reconnect with the radical traditions of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. I thus take as my starting point the debate between Herbert Marcuse and Erich Fromm over the nature of freedom that took place in the pages of Dissent in the mid-1950s. Building on their work I construct a theory of freedom as >connective expression<.
Drawing upon the thought of Eric Fromm, this paper argues that efforts to understand and counter behaviour that causes difficulties in education should begin in a critical and reflective engagement with both the conditions of human freedom and the character of educational institutions and society as a whole. Fromm’s critique of dominating ideas about good mental health within capitalistic societies is examined in relation to disablement and attention-deficient hyperactivity disorder. A study of a sixth-form college in the south of England elucidates connections between Fromm’s insights into social psychology and disablement as a process of oppression.
The present study aimed to delineate the psychological structure of materialism and intrinsic and extrinsic value pursuit. Moreover, we compared models based on self-determination theory (SDT), Fromm's marketing character, and Inglehart's theory of social change to account for racial prejudice. In a sample of undergraduate students (n=131) and adults (n=176) it was revealed that the extrinsic value pursuit Financial Success/Materialism could be distinguished from the extrinsic value scales Physical Appeal and Social Recognition, and Community Concern could be distinguished from the intrinsic value pursuit scales Self-acceptance and Affiliation. Moreover, Financial Success/Materialism and Community Concern were consistently and significantly related to prejudice, whereas the other SDT facet scales yielded weaker relationships with prejudice. Structural models based on SDT and Inglehart were not corroborated, but instead the present data supported a mediation model based on Fromm's work in which the effect of Community Concern was mediated by Financial Success/Materialism. Broader implications for SDT are critically assessed.
Victor Serge, Erich Fromm y Herbert Marcuse provided some of the first interpretations of Nazi and Soviet totalitarianism. A special feature of their work in early 1940 was to link Marxist and psychoanalytical concepts to understand the rationality underlying Nazism and Stalinism. At the same time, they formulated proposals to renew socialism in a democratic sense. These three authors posited that, beyond political repression and bureaucratic control, totalitarian rule was implemented through a powerful ideological apparatus that had taken root in the individual and collective subconscious. Moreover, they considered that the importance of intellectual work was linked to the psychological mechanisms that sustained the totalitarian phenomenon with the aim of eradicating it.
Introduction: Despite struggling to establish itself as an autonomous profession, occupational therapy remains extensively regulated and controlled by discursive authorities inside and outside the discipline. After overcoming the profession’s reformist ideals, the military governance that supported its rapid expansion morphed into civil institutions but both were based on similar grounds: occupational therapists should obey a strict set of rules while disobedience and dissent are consistently repressed or silenced. Objective: The objective of this article is to deconstruct dominant (consensual) discourses that shape the status quo in occupational therapy and envision alternative paths for the development of the discipline. Method: Drawing on the work of Erich Fromm and Jacques Rancière, we propose a (critical) theoretical analysis of the concepts of disobedience and dissensus as they apply to occupational therapists. Results: The concepts of disobedience (Fromm) and dissensus (Rancière) can be used to revisit the consensus shaped by discursive authorities inside and outside occupational therapy and expose the political nature of such processes. We argue that remaining oppressive forces similar to those of a warfare regime persist in regulating occupational therapy practice and knowledge by enacting a form of >disciplinary propaganda.< Rather than threatening the development of the discipline, disobedience and dissensus constitute critical responses to disrupt dominant discourses and give rise to healthier concepts. Conclusion: The use of politically charged terms such as disobedience or dissensus can be seen as controversial and unsettling for a profession like occupational therapy but we believe they are necessary for the future of our discipline.
The author tells the history of his relationship with Malcolm Pines, and uses it in order to describe the latter’s personality and thinking, as well as to trace the influence that he has had on his thinking and practice. The focus of the discussion is on Malcolm’s understanding of the socio-political context of mental processes, including the creation of psychoanalysis by Freud, and the inner politics of psychoanalytical and group-analytical institutions. Malcolm is described as a revolutionary character, in Fromm’s terms. The article is a celebration of Pines’ life and contributions, as he reaches the age of 85.