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In undertaking this study, the writer became aware of the following problem of study method in theology: skepticism indeed is an indispensable part of the theologian’s equipment; he must train himself to be disturtful of anything he sees on the printed page unless there seems good reason to believe that it can be trusted. In our theological culture, the printed word is generally regarded with such excessive respect that the grossest errors in fact may go unchallenged for years until the properly skeptical reader comes along. The above stated problem dictated the formulation of this study with the following purpose in mind: to develop a critical study method in theology. Accordingly, Erich Fromm's thought of religion was criticized from such standpoint in this study.
This study is to suggest the aggression, human`s instinct as the new essence of sport. Through the psychological approach it could be found that the aggression which is human instinct is deeply related with the origin of sport. In relation to the instinct of death Freud has proved that there exists the aggression in human mentality and it could be said that the aggression of sport is related with Thanatos, the instinct of death that Freud said. Fromm, a sociopsychologist expanded the concept of Freud`s aggression and divided the aggression in human mentality as the defensive and positive aggression and destructive and malignant aggression and he saw that sport is related with the malignant aggression. I think we have to discard the attitude just to try to adapt the methodical value of sport although the value of sport exists with human instinct. Sport is the only thing to express and purify the aggression and it is expected to play the important role to create the future culture.
[Chinese abstract not available.] Charlotte Bronte, one of the most celebrated English writers of the nineteenth century, >Villette<, as the last autobiographical novel of her life, has traditionally been considered a classic in the tradition of the novel. The novel’s heroine, Lucy Snowe, embodies Charlotte in her journey from the acquisition and deepening of self-consciousness to the stage of self-struggle to reach a life of self-realization, showing the current state of existence. This thesis intends to explore the issue of alienation in >Villette< from the perspective of Erich Fromm’s alienation theory. Erich Fromm’s alienation theory is divided into three important parts: the theory of human nature, the theory of alienation and the theory of love. The theory of human nature is the starting point and basis for analyzing the problem of human dilemma and helping people to get out of it; the problem of human alienation is the core problem of the impact of capitalist society on people; and the theory of love is a path proposed by Erich Fromm to help people to seek happiness under the influence of other ideas and combined with his own experience path. This thesis uses Erich Fromm’s theory of human nature, theory of alienation and theory of love to explore in depth the alienation that exists in >Villette< and the reasons for it from both the individual and social levels, and to explain how to rescue the alienation from the perspective of Erich Fromm’s theory of love. By applying Fromm’s theory of alienation to analyse the phenomenon of alienation in >Villette<, the following points are found: Firstly, the impact of alienation in the novel is not only on the external social environment in which people live, but also on the spiritual world of those who live in it. Therefore, the causes of alienation must be analyzed in relation to both individual and social factors. Secondly, escape is not the answer, but rather a comprehensive and correct understanding of oneself, breaking the illusion and facing the reality. Active participation in society and the establishment of positive relationships with people through genuine love will help people to escape from their alienation. Thirdly, Charlotte Brontë expresses her concern for human society and the environment by describing the alienation of human nature in the Victorian era, and shows where the hope for the salvation of human alienation lies. The struggle of Lucy, the protagonist of the novel, has inspired countless readers to keep pursuing for their own ideals. The study of alienation in >Villette< provides a new perspective on the analysis of this work from the perspective of alienation, and also helps to give modern people a profound reflection on their views on life, love and career, and provides some reference for subsequent research. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 9/2021]
This paper will try to analyze a curious intellectual phenomena: a group of Jewish-German authors that developed, during the Weimar Republic, a radical anti-capitalist and anti-protestant argument, directly inspired by Weber’s Protestant Ethic. They did not hesitate to denounce capitalism as a sort of diabolic religion (Ernst Bloch, Walter Benjamin), or as the product of the evil ethical tendencies of Calvinism (Ernst Bloch, Erich Fromm).
[Chinese abstract not available] >The Summer Before the Dark< is a novel written by Doris Lessing, which is praised as the best novel after Gabriel Garcia Marquez’s >One Hundred Years of Solitude< by New York Times. The novel tells the story of the middle-aged woman Kate Brown who has been working for the family for more than twenty years since marriage. One summer, her husband went on business and her children had their plans, so she could go on a journey. During the summer journey, she began to rethink the role she had played for more than twenty years and the relationship with her husband and children, finding that she had been living under the camouflaged mask and negative freedom. Living with Maureen, she gradually knew who she was and her self-awareness was awakened. At the end of the journey, she completed self-realization and gained true inner freedom, that is, positive freedom. This paper firstly makes an introduction to Doris Lessing and >The Summer Before the Dark< and reviews the studies at home and abroad. Based on the studies, the significance of this paper is put forward. Next, it takes Erich Fromm’s theory of freedom as the theoretical framework to point out the negative freedom embodied in the protagonist Kate including authoritarianism, destructiveness and automaton conformity. Besides, this paper analyzes the three stages of the protagonist Kate to achieve positive freedom including the sprouting period, the development period and the achievement period. Fromm points out that the achievement of positive freedom depends on self-realization. After experiencing negative freedom, Kate starts to realize herself step by step and moves towards positive freedom. Finally, it concludes that Kate achieves positive freedom based on the above analysis. This paper applies Erich Fromm’s theory of freedom to analyze >The Summer Before the Dark<, which aims to inspire people to think about which kind of freedom they are in under the rapid development of science and technology, hoping that people can attach great importance to the negative freedom in the present society. [English translation: www.cnki.net, 9/2021]
[No Chinese abstract available.] Joyce Carol Oates is a famous contemporary American writer who has been nominated for the Nobel Prize in literature for many times. She pays attention to the living state and spiritual world of American people and her works are famous for exposing the violent acts and evil phenomena in American society. >The Gravedigger’s Daughter< is a masterpiece which shows the turning of her creative direction to the Jewish theme. It tells the story of Jewish descendants who flee to the United States to avoid the Holocaust. As a representative of Frankfurt School, Fromm puts forward humanism on the basis of criticizing and inheriting Marxism and Freud’s theory, reveals and analyzes the common alienation in the capitalist society, proposing the way to build the sane personality and society, which expresses his concern and thinking about the plight of human. Based on Fromm’s humanism, this paper makes an in-depth analysis of the alienated phenomena, causes and solutions in >The Gravedigger’s Daughter<. It points out that the sound development of human beings in the capitalist society is facing great pressure and challenges and hopes to arouse people’s attention to the survival of modern people. This thesis consists of five chapters. The first chapter is the introduction. Firstly, it mainly introduces Joyce Carol Oates and >The Gravedigger’s Daughter<. Secondly, it makes a literature review of the relevant researches at home and abroad. Finally, it briefly introduces the main core concepts of Fromm’s humanism. The second to the fourth chapters are the main body of the thesis, which respectively interpret the work from three aspects: phenomena, reasons and solutions of alienation.– The second chapter reveals the alienated phenomena in the works from the alienated characters of the main characters and the alienated living styles of the Schwarts.– The third chapter discusses the personal and social reasons of alienation. It expounds that the Schwarts finally break down because they can not meet the special needs rooted in human existence and bear the oppression of racial discrimination and morbid civilization.– Based on Fromm’s theory of >love< and >being<, the fourth chapter expounds that the protagonist achieves self-value due to self-love and maternal love, and realizes self-redemption by active living, so as to explore the methods of resisting alienation.– The fifth chapter is the conclusion, pointing out that modern westerners and society generally face the problem of alienation, and Fromm’s relevant theory provides a good idea to solve this problem. Only meeting the special needs rooted in human existence and cultivating a loving, proactive and creative way of life can save the spiritual crisis of modern man. [Translation: www.cnki. net, 9/2021]
Alienation of Humanity and Salvation of Love in “Ruth” [application of Fromm's theories to art]
(2017)
>Ruth<, Elizabeth Gaskell’s second novel, tells the story of a poor girl, Ruth, that was seduced and then abandoned in pregnancy by Bellingham, who was from a higher class. Basing on Fromm’s Theory of Alienation, the thesis will focus on the analysis of Ruth’s alienation of humanity and salvation of love, and illustrate Mrs. Gaskell’s reflection and critique of the exploitation of the capitalist system and traditional moral concept, especially the convention of constraint and discrimination of women and demonstrate her humanism built on love, mercy and tolerance.
>Endgame<, the masterpiece of Samuel Beckett, a most difficult and elusive play, is such a creative work, representing the postwar social spirit. Psychological alienation is obvious in the play, since anti-hero figures, broken language, bare stage and simple actions are largely employed to prove the psychological alienation of the characters in the play. This thesis is based on Erich Fromm’s psychological alienation theory from three aspects: >Authoritarianism, destructiveness, acceptance and exploitation< (Fromm: Escape from Freedom, 24) to explore the main characters Hamm and Clov’s psychological alienation in the hopeless society. And people’s inner world is alienated, lonely and empty after World War II. [Automatic translation]
Franz Kafka is known as one of the forerunners of western modernist fiction. As a representative of Chinese avant-garde fiction writer, Can Xue, with her creation influenced by Kafka, has been called >Chinese Kafka< by the Nobel Prize judge Göran Malmqvist. The two writers have both created alienated mother images in their works. Therefore, taking the >mother image< as the penetration point, the thesis endeavors to study the similarities and dissimilarities of the mother images in Kafka’s >The Metamorphosis< and Can Xue’s >Old Floating Cloud<, and to explore the causes behind the alienated mother images as well as the significance of the representation of them. In addition to the introduction and conclusion, the thesis is composed of three chapters. The introduction part begins with a close analysis of the related theme and clarifies this study’s significance and methodology.– Based on close reading, chapter one analyzes the evil mother images in >The Metamorphosis< and >Old Floating Cloud< and points out that neither of them possess traditional mothers’ virtues, but the two authors present the images of alienated mothers in different ways. Under Kafka’s depiction, the mother image in >The Metamorphosis< undergoes a dynamic change, while Can Xue puts the mother images in a static structure, presenting the inherent catastrophe within the motherhood.– Chapter two examines the causes for alienated mother images in the two works from the perspective of patriarchy and modernity crisis. Using Simon Beauvoir’s theory of >The Other Sex< and Fromm’s theory of >alienation<. this thesis demonstrates that the mothers in both books are both victims and accomplices of the patriarchy. Meanwhile, the mother in >The Metamorphosis< has lost love for her son because of her excessive pursuit of capital under the sway of modernity. The mothers in >Old Floating Cloud< are caught in the spiritual predicament in modern society, which also alienates their relationship with their children.– Chapter three discusses the significance of the representation of the alienated mother images by Can Xue and Kafka in terms of the books’ cultural and social background as well as the writers’ own experiences. Although the two writers have different focuses, they both express criticism of patriarchy and offer reflection on the crisis of modernity. Comparing the alienated mother images in >The Metamorphosis< and >Old Floating Cloud< provides a different angle in the comparative study between Can Xue and Kafka. The mothers in the two works are alienated under the influence of patriarchy and modernity crisis, which, in a practical sense, reminds us that we need to pay more attention to the identity of mothers and the spiritual plight of modern people. [English: www.cnki.net, 4/2022]
[Chinese abstract not available] Love is an inescapable issue in the development of human society, and love is not simply a matter of >sexual attraction< the definition of the concept and the true meaning behind it need to be further explored. Marx and Engels affirmed the importance of sex as the biological basis of love from the perspective of human physiology. On this basis, they emphasise that love is a social relationship unique to human society and should be a strong, solid and deep feeling between people of the opposite sex based on mutual admiration and a desire to be with each other for life. Marx and Engels were not crystallised by gender relations in the capitalist era and saw the illusion of ’love first’ created by capitalist private ownership. The aim of this paper is to analyse Marx and Engels’ critique of recent Western ideas on love and to explore the model of love envisaged in the society of the future, which undoubtedly adds to their thinking. At present, there are relatively few studies on Marx’s and Engels’ ideas on love in the academy, so this paper is a critical entry point to explore Marx’s and Engels’ ideas on love.– The first chapter starts from the four dimensions of sex, reason, marriage and religion to clarify the development of modern Western love thought, while laying the foundation for Marx and Engels to carry out their love critique. The analysis of the main types of classical Western love thought in Chapter 1 shows that these views of love do not delve into love as a uniquely human social relationship, and therefore do not properly grasp its essential properties. Marx and Engels found that love has both natural and social properties, and used this as a basis for their fierce critique of Western love thought. Love, as an indispensable social relationship, has been inextricably linked to marriage, politics and art since the dawn of humanity. It is through four aspects that Marx and Engels also critique the modern Western idea of love, thus affirming the role of love in human society. Marx and Engels saw the phenomenon of false love and alienation as a real consequence of capitalist private ownership, and that the purification of love could only be achieved when private ownership disappeared and productivity became highly developed. And the conditions for purification can only be realised in a communist society. Although Marx and Engels’ theoretical elaboration of love did not result in a systematic text, it still had an impact on Marxists in the West. Fromm, Marcuse and Badiou, three Western Marxist scholars, explored the path from love to human emancipation as an inheritance and development of Marx and Engels’ critical thinking on love. Although the two great men were in different times from us, their critique of love in the modern West is very much a modern reference. Capitalist private ownership is a constant danger to the relationship between the sexes today, and it is only when private ownership is extinguished and society is freed from the shackles of economic factors that true love can be achieved. At the same time, Marx and Engels’ critique of the concept of love in capitalist society is a positive guide to the construction of socialist love values in China and deserves our profound reflection. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 2/2014]
All of Louise Erdrich’s novels involve elements of religion, and almost every character, more or less, has something to do with religion. A multitude of impressive images of priests figure prominently in all her novels, among which >The Plague of Doves< (2008), >The Round House< (2012), >The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse< (2001) stand out. In each of these novels, pseudo-Father Cassidy, quasi-Father Travis, syncretic Father Damien constitute three typical images of priests. These characters not only reflect collision and fusion between Catholicism and Ojibwe spirituality to a certain extent, but also embody Louise Erdrich’s complex emotional attitude and humanistic religious view. In The Plague of Doves, Erdrich portrays a false Catholic priest Cassidy, characterized by alcoholism, rapacity, self-importance, impudence, inhumanity and absurdity. The appearance of Cassidy’s image is a sharp spear thrown by Erdrich at the Catholic church that imprisons and destroys human nature, and is also the reflection of her humanitarianism and stance against the church’s notion of sin. In >The Round House<, a marine-turned-Catholic priest Father Travis is no more than a spokesman of Catholicism and white interest groups. Under the guise of Catholicism, he has been eradicating American Indian culture, assimilating indigenous people, paralyzing their consciousness and plundering their resources. >The Round House< reveals the alienation and unease of the Ojibwe in the face of Father Travis’ religious colonization. However, in >The Last Report on the Miracles at Little No Horse<, the author recounts Father Damien’s 87 years of missionary experience on the Little No Horse reservation. In the process of spreading Catholicism to the Ojibwe, Father Damien, disguised as a man by the farmer’s widow Agnes De Witt (formerly Sister Cecilia), is influenced by Ojibwe Shamanism and, as a result, merges it with Catholicism. This fusion realizes the equal negotiation between the >superior< Catholicism and >inferior< Shamanism, and also reflects the ability of the endangered Ojibwe spirituality to hijack Catholicism from within. In the process, Father Damian is changed from a cultural conqueror to a recipient and advocate of the inferior Ojibwe civilization, becoming its loyal friend. The two religious civilizations that have been in conflict and struggle are balanced within Father Damien’s perspective. Here, the author does not advocate an either-or religious posture, but the coexistence of the two religions to jointly construct the religious identity and psychology of the natives. This thesis, based on Ludwig Andreas Feuerbach’s >religion of love< and Erich Fromm’s humanistic religious thought, as well as post-colonial theory, expounds on the author’s humanitarian religious view from the perspective of the above-mentioned three priests. Comparing and contrasting these three typical priest images together, the thesis attempts to reach the conclusion that neither pseudo-Father Cassidy, with his subversion of classic priest images, nor quasi-Father Travis, who represents Erdrich’s negation of these orthodox images, is Louise Erdrich’s idealized priest image but rather the syncretic Father Damien instead, regardless of her female identity, hybridized religions and secularity, whose humanitarian trait brings forth a feeling of well-being in the Ojibwe people. [www.cnki.net, 1/2023]
[Chinese abstract not available] The thoughts of world peace is the mainstream thoughts in Fromm’s humanistic philosophy, Fromm believes: >The ideal of a world of a great harmony is the common aspiration of human, and it is also the common goal that human beings should try their best to achieve.< Fromm integrated Freud’s and Marx’s theories and revealed that the first inherent potential in human nature, namely creativity, reason and love, is the key to realize a sound human society, and is also the source of strength for human beings to realize a peaceful world without war. There is still the second potential in human nature, which is to pursue the satisfaction of human beings’ natural desires. Under the unsound social environment, the second potential of human beings may develop morbidly under the joint action of various factors that violate human nature, and then become the fuse of war and conflict. In Fromm’s theory, human nature is consistent with human nature. Human nature is contradictory, and human nature is not fixed and rigid. Contradictions contained in human nature directly determine human behavior and its realistic results, and then determine whether the human world will achieve peace or be deeply mired in war. Because of the consistent relationship between the contradiction contained in human nature and the process of human practice, the positive change of human practice, the way of practice and the return of human nature to the first potential are the powers to reshape sound human nature and create a peaceful new world. Therefore, human nature is plastic, and there is hope for world peace.– By analyzing the socialized and historically evolving human nature, Fromm reveals that social development is not only determined by economic factors, but also influenced by social character and social unconsciousness. Social unconsciousness is the repressed part of society that is incompatible with the mainstream consciousness of society. Through the screening of social filters, That is to say, after being filtered by the social mainstream consciousness system composed of language, logic and social taboos, the unconscious commonality contained in the social unconscious and meeting the corresponding screening standards can rise to the social consciousness level and become a component of the social mainstream consciousness. At the same time, the social unconscious that does not meet the relevant screening standards does not disappear, but penetrates the development and deepening of labor and social exchanges with the participation of all members. Universal penetration and integration into the subconscious activities of all members, and in the unconscious practice of most members, it exerts a subtle influence on the thoughts and behaviors of all members, and has made an influence on the future trend of the society as a whole.– In addition, there is a close relationship between the realization of world peace and human behavior. Human behavior is the search, practice and creation of survival significance under the specific historical and production conditions of society. Fromm divides human behavior into rational behavior and irrational behavior according to the beneficial and unhelpful cooperation between human behavior and society. Irrational behavior is the alienation behavior polluted by inhuman factors, resulting in the generalization and pathological performance of social members. Rational behavior is a normal behavior conforming to the first potential of human nature. After being refined by the common practice of society, individual behavior gradually condenses into the general behavior of society around the humanity with the characteristics of the times and nationalities. Society itself exists as the foundation of the human world, and the soundness and morbidity of the general behavior of society directly determine the common destiny of the world. Therefore, the realization of world peace should not be limited to the perfection of human nature, but the social unconsciousness and the soundness of human behavior also play an important role. Social character also has an important influence on the development of society and the realization of positive peace. Fromm put forward the concept of social character in his book Escape from Freedom, and discussed the social character and character structure hidden behind mass behavior. Later, in his monograph >The Sane Society<, he studied the dialectical relationship among the three factors of >economic basis, social character thoughts and ideal<, revealing that social character is a dynamic evolution process of human nature. Social character plays both positive and negative roles in the economic foundation of society and the actual behavior of human beings. The overall practice of human beings determines the sound level of social character, and the soundness of social character also has a great impact on the overall practice of human beings and its practical results. Therefore, the realization of human positive peace can not be separated from the assistance of positive social character, which reflects human nature and plays a great role in the development of social history and the realization of human peace in reality.– The discussion of world peace is the peak of Erich Fromm’s philosophical development, and it is also the main logical clue to implement Fromm’s humanistic philosophy. One of the notable signs is that Fromm opposes US imperialism, Nazism and hegemonism and advocates world peace. Fromm wrote: >The future world should be a one-size-fits-all world.< […], that is to say, the future world is a borderless human union that has permanently eliminated the wars among countries, political parties, races, groups and organizations. Unfortunately, no matter at home or abroad, there are very few works that discover this theme and study it, and there are great limitations. However, from the two aspects of history and reality derived from human development, it is not difficult to find that although the world situation has been in turmoil for a long time, the pursuit of world peace by human beings is still the general trend. The disasters that occurred in the past and are happening have proved that the corresponding problems can be solved as desired by no country or a few countries alone. The world itself is a community of destiny, so human beings need to unite and tide over difficulties together. Fromm’s thoughts of world peace occupies an important position in his research in many fields. This thesis uses >the subject of world peace – the behavior of the subject – the society connected with the subject< as a dynamic logical framework, systematically reconstructs Fromm’s thoughts of world peace, and provides a new perspective for studying Fromm’s thoughts. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 2/2024]
This thesis adopts Erich Fromm’s theory of escape from freedom and takes the economic background of the 20th century America into consideration to analyze the characters in >Death of a Salesman< and thus to find out the psychological motivations behind the characters’ behavior as well as a reasonable explanation of their destiny from the perspective of freedom. Willy Loman, the protagonist of Death of a Salesman, enjoys a certain degree of freedom and the opportunity to choose according to their own will, only to give up the best choice to himself and the family. Individuals like Willy are in pursuit of freedom, but as they hold it, though in a liberated sense, they sometimes abandon it. The secret behind the contradiction is definitely worth exploring. According to Fromm’s psychoanalytical theory, free choice always brings about a frustrating sense of powerlessness and anxiety, which fosters fear in people’s heart. In order to alleviate or eliminate the fear, people rashly choose to give up part of their freedom in exchange for a sense of certainty and security. As they repeat the escape from time to time, they completely lose their control of freedom in the long run and thus become slaves to life. This paper borrows Fromm’s theory of >escape from freedom< which features primary bonds, alienation, and negative freedom, and selects Willy Loman as the object of analysis to explore the driving force behind the behavior of escaping from freedom from a psychoanalysis level. The primary bond and alienation parts mainly explain why Willy seems to be haunted with negative emotions when facing freedom, and the negative freedom part analyzes why he conducts so many negative behaviors, including suicide, when dealing with challenging situations. Through exploring the psychological motivation for escaping from freedom, this paper attempts to provide corresponding solutions to help people make rational choices. Here, the paper also turns to Fromm’s another psychoanalytical work >The Sane Society< which illustrates the rational individual psychology, interpersonal relationship and social structure that a sane society is supposed to have, in order to reveal the most significant factors that people should take into consideration when facing the freedom to choose. >Death of a Salesman< is so influential a work. The tragedy it contains triggers strong emotional resonance among the audience as readers can often find their own features in the characters. With Fromm’s theory of >escape from freedom< as the theoretical tool, the paper aims to provide a diagnosis for people who share the same trouble with Willy Loman, thereby helping them to gain a better understanding of what leads to their dilemma and accordingly, what the potential solution is. [www.cnki.net, 1/2023]
The Frankfurt School is known to be the first institution in Germany that in 1929 has officially related psychoanalysis to a university. The most important person in this process was Karl Landauer. With him Fromm, Horkheimer and others completed their training analyzes, he decisively worked in the Institute and the first volumes of the Journal of Social Research. Landauer and Horkheimer regularly ex¬change information in the time of emigration and discuss their texts together. Landauer is also responsible for the reception of psychoanalysis in Horkheimer’s further programs he writes for the Institute, as in his programmatic essay >Egoism and freedom-movement< from 1936. When he was murdered in concentration camp in 1945, it was a great per¬sonal and theoretical loss for Horkheimer which he hardly could overcome. Also the known dispute between Adorno and Fromm at the Institute for Social Research has as a backbone an old rivalry between the psychoanalytic institutes from Berlin and Frankfurt, which is exacerbated during the emigration and the >Gleichschaltung< in fascist Germany.
>The Children Act< (2014) is a novel published by Ian McEwan, one of the most influential contemporary British writers. The novel explores the tensions and conflicts between slave mentality and master mentality, law and religion, emotion and rationality, unfolds the aftermath caused by those conflicts and eventually ends up with the failed salvation. Taking Max Weber’s instrumental rationality and value rationality as the theoretical framework, this thesis draws on Nietzsche’s philosophy of the will to power and love of one’s fate, as well as Erich Fromm’s interpretation of freedom, etc. Through meticulous textual analysis, this thesis exposes the crisis of modernity caused by the unilateral emphasis on instrumental rationality in society at the expense of value rationality and explores the gradual degeneration of modern man into a one-dimensional man in the general environment of utilitarian supremacy and negative freedom. This thesis consists of five parts. The first part introduces McEwan and >The Children Act<, and the literature review and the structure of this thesis are also included. The second part discusses the tensions and conflicts in >The Children Act<, such as the conflicts between slave mentality and master mentality, the irreconcilable conflict between religion and law, and the imbalance between emotion and rationality. The third part is the aftermath of tensions and conflicts in modern society, such as fear of freedom, one-dimensional man and utilitarianism. This part mainly discusses the paradox of freedom and the typical escape mechanism of negative freedom through the spiritual exploration and destruction of the character Adam. The fourth part explores the importance of value rationality using Adam’s resentment and self-destruction and analyzes the essential roles of literature and art in modern society. The fifth part is the conclusion of this thesis. It is fully elucidated in McEwan’s novel that the balance between instrumental rationality and value rationality is indispensable, and the aesthetic experience brought by poetry and music in modern fast-paced life is the possible way to restore the harmonious relationship. [www.cnki.net, 11/2022]
[Chinese abstract not available] From a philosophical point of view, creativity is the development of people’s subjective understanding of the development and changes in the world formed in practice, and is the intrinsic motivation to realize individual self-development and promote social progress. With the deepening of the scientific and technological revolution, innovation has become more and more important in the development of the country, and fundamentally stimulating the creative vitality of individuals and society has become an inherent requirement for social development. At the same time, the emergence of the epidemic has bred pessimism about the future development of the situation, and a series of social problems have emerged one after another. In the post-COVID-19 era, to dispel people’s negative emotions and fundamentally enhance people’s confidence in the future situation, we need not only a solid material guarantee for the country, but also a better understanding of the current situation. In Fromm’s view, forming a rational understanding of the individual and the world is an important manifestation of the creative development of the individual. As one of the important representatives of the humanistic psychoanalysis school, Fromm saw the commonalities between Marx’s humanistic doctrine and Freud’s psychoanalysis theory, and thus combined the two organically. In the face of various problems existing in capitalist society, Fromm adhered to the humanistic stance, and made diagnosis and treatment of society and people living in it from the perspective of social psychology. From the perspective of human feelings and needs, he pointed out that the perfect state of human development should be creative and spontaneous.– This paper points out the pathological phenomenon in the modern capitalist society and the alienation phenomenon of people in it, and criticizes this phenomenon strongly, and puts forward the targeted reform plan, hoping to build a sound society to realize the creative development of people. He believed that creativity fulfilled the unique need of human survival and was a potential for a mentally healthy person. Creative people can fully develop their personality and reason, express their true inner needs, and have a constructive relationship with themselves and the world. Only a sound society can stimulate people’s creativity. Fromm’s attempt to clarify the interaction between economic base and ideology from the perspective of social psychology points out the role of creativity in human development, enriches the connotation of human essence, and specifically analyzes the psychological mechanism of alienation of modern man on the basis of the interpretation of the general psychological mechanism of man. His creative theory is not only a supplement and development of Marx’s humanistic thought, but also an inheritance and development of the Frankfurt School’s social and cultural theories. Although his proposals for changes in the economic, social, political and cultural fields are not directed at the capitalist system itself, but are only an improvement of the present society, and many of his theoretical ideas are too specific and lack practicality, his theories profoundly combine human existence and psychological conditions with social development, inspiring us to pay attention to people’s needs and seek solutions to social problems from the subjectivity of people. It has a great value for our country to implement the spirit of putting people first, dispel the negative emotions of individuals under the epidemic, and re-establish social confidence. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 1/2024]