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A brief history is presented of the appearance of the Frankfurt school of philosophers in 1931 at the institute of Soc Res at the University in Frankurt-on-the Main, emigration during the Nazi period, work in France and then in the United States, the return to Frankfurt of Theodore Adorno and Max Horkheimer while Herbert Marcuse and Erich FROMM continued to work in America. It is then noted that the 1960's saw a reactivization of the >school<, a kind of >revival<. The social roots of that school of philosophy are analyzed and the causes of the interest it has aroused in recent years. Special attention is paid to the Frankfurt philosophers' interpretations of Marxism, and a critique is offered of their views. – It is noted that the philosophers of this group do not all have identical concepts but that they are nevertheless united by their original positions and basic tenets, which are summed up as follows: (1) The Frankurt school is characterized by a duality of trends: on the one hand, it called attention to the philosophy works of the young Marx; on the other, its interpretation of Marxism, particularly of its basic doctrines on the role of the working class and the Communist party in revolution, was petty-bourgeois revisionist, and it expressed sharp opposition to socialist construction in the USSR. It is noted here that its attitude to the USSR cannot be attributed entirely to the personality cult, as it did not change after the CPSU eliminated the consequences of the personality cult. (2) Unlike Marxism-Leninism, which regards dialectics as a world outlook, a method for obtaining scientific knowledge and transforming the world, philosophers of the Frankfurt school see dialectics as universal negation. (3) Their critical theory of society reveals the sociohistorical roots of the contemporary crisis of bourgeois society, and this is a positive aspect of their philosophy. However, they view modern bourgeois society as an antagonistic whole; there is no class evaluation, and capitalist and socialist societies are both presented as variations of the industrial society. (4) The anti-communist direction of their theories and the absence in those theories of any social perspectives encourage the development of a variety of revisionist concepts, for which reason serious criticism of the >Frankfurt school< remains a pertinent task for Marxists.
Erich Fromm's fortuitous visit to México in 1949, and his meeting with a group of Mexican psychiatrists was the beginning of a working relationship that lasted for over 25 years. It left its mark on a number of community-oriented institutions, professional societies and publications, which are alive even today. This article describes some of the many activities in which researchers, psychoanalysts, medical doctors, psychologists, social workers, sociologists, anthropologists and re-ligious scholars were involved over those 25 years, and the continuing importance of those initial projects and institutions today.
The theory of the decline of Western Civilization offered by L. Mumford in the >Condition of Man< is criticized as ignoring the historical framework offered by Marxism. He is a typical representative of the liberal school of critics of Western capitalism. The hallmark of the approach of this school of bourgeois humanism, measurement of the scientific-technical revolution by means of anthropological abstractions, tends to stress parallels between man and machines and machines and nature. The views of B. F. Skinner and Erich FROMM are also criticized in this perspective. The basic shortcoming of bourgeois humanism, the views of some of whose representatives have been summarized, is that it tries to evade a concrete answer to the social contradictions from which the symptoms it notices arise and deceives itself with theories of gradual >humanization<. From bourgeois humanists to ultraleft critics, attempts to measure social progress in antropological terms is basically a reflection of anxiety over the fate of capitalism. The psychological make up of the middle and petty bourgeoisie is such that even when it claims to be concerned over issues of social welfare and justice it continues to identify itself with the interests of the ruling class. Therefore, it is forced to deflect its criticisms from the social economic reality which causes the conditions against which it complains. S. Karganovic
Dogmat o Christe
(1930)
Presented is a critical analysis of E. FROMM's The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness (London, 1974), with respect to his contradictory approach to the question of the biological foundation of psychology and his abuse of quotations of and references to Marx. In FROMM's own critical analysis of K. Lorenz, S. Freud, and B. F. Skinner, he presents persuasive arguments based on impressive data from different modern sciences, against the instinctive and mechanistic theories of human nature. But when establishing his own position, he draws the same biologically based conclusions as his opponents, although he expresses them in different terms. Furthermore, in attempting to make Marx an ally of his own views, he succeeds only in misquoting or misconstruing Marx: he quotes Marx only in order to compliment him or when the quote is neutral with respect to his own ideas, or when actually citing Marx in support of his own views, he gives his own, rather imprecise interpretation of Marx.
Epilog
(1970)
The teachings of S. Freud have penetrated, in their various versions, into every pore of American culture, though not all partisans of psychoanalysis recognize the validity of the >Freudian ethic.< However, the admission that psychoanalysis pays attention to human values was made by one of its greatest theoreticians, H. Hartman. Additional confirmations of the presumed moralistic character of psychoanalysis, in spite of the insistence of its founder or rigorous scientific premises, are made by P. Rieff in >The Mind of the Moralist,< and E. FROMM in >Sigmund Freud's Mission,< (no publication information available). These attempts to formulate an ethical content in Freud's work contradict his persistent refusal to make value judgments himself. The variations in the interpretation of Freud in America are a reflection of the pluralism born of the social contradictions of US society. At the same time, the broad influence exercised by psychoanalysis over the American intelligentsia is such that American social science attempts to solve many of its tasks using the language and concepts of psychoanalysis.
God the Creator and Creation by Man. Theological Speculations on the Eve of the Basle Assembly
(1989)
The successes of socialism are more notable when compared to the profound crisis of international capitalism and its spiritual degradation. The West is currently struggling with problems of implementing high technology, often capable of effecting substantial economic and social transformations. Special attention is given to the concept of technocracy. Many bourgeois social scientists, eg, Leslie White, have pointed toward the absolute role of science and technology in determining the social system. Both optimistic and pessimistic appraisals are offered by contemporary bourgeois scholars, including Ellul, Douglas, FROMM, Mamford, Toffler, Drucker, Wiener, and Bell. M. Meeks
The successes of socialism are more notable when compared to the profound crisis of international capitalism and its spiritual degradation. The West is currently struggling with problems of implementing high technology, often capable of effecting substantial economic and social transformations. Special attention is given to the concept of technocracy. Many bourgeois social scientists, eg, Leslie White, have pointed toward the absolute role of science and technology in determining the social system. Both optimistic and pessimistic appraisals are offered by contemporary bourgeois scholars, including Ellul, Douglas, FROMM, Mamford, Toffler, Drucker, Wiener, and Bell.