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Letters to the Editor
(1993)
The postmodern university is experiencing a legitimation crisis because of a deepening and corrosive mistrust of all forms of authority; even those that are intended to benefit students by enabling them to >think critically<, or to deepen and improve their knowledge and skills. Some of the problem is rooted in prevailing cultural and economic trends, but others inhere in the nature of postmodernism itself; especially the postmodern claim that truth itself is non-existent or simply unattainable or unavailable, even at the best of times. Unlike earlier generations of critical theorists, who believed that >the truth shall make you free<, postmodern theorists, following Nietzsche, claim that the very idea of truth is moot, if not entirely obsolete. But absent a commitment to a search for truth, the entire structure of the university itself begins to crumble.
The trends, convictions, and intellectual influences shared by a variety of psychoanalytic dissidents are elucidated through their individual and collective responses to Sigmund Freud's psychology of religion. This psychology as epitomized in Totem and Taboo (1913) constitutes an Oedipal monism, in which the stages between totemism and Christianity represent increasingly complex derivates of unconscious parricidal fantasies. In The Future of an Illusion (1922), Freud argued that animism represents a defensive measure to minimize anxiety in the face of overpowering and incomprehensible natural forces. Carl Jung, O. Rank, Erich FROMM, and I. Suttie all rejected this reductive strategy of interpretation, arguing that religious beliefs and aspirations may have profound developmental significance. Significantly, they were all influenced, directly or indirectly, by J. J. Bachofen, the Swiss jurist and mythographer, and author of Das Mutterrecht (The Mother Right, 1861). Jung, Rank, FROMM, and Suttie emphasized the role of cultural and historical factors in shaping the individual psyche. Apart from Bachofen's pervasive influence, one way of accounting for their differences with Freud is to see Freudian theory as a psychology that emphasizes biology and treats the contents of consciousness as the surface of a sexual or aggressive character. In contrast, Jung, Rank, FROMM, and Suttie were skeptical about the contents of consciousness, and acknowledged the role of unconscious motivation and conflict in clinical psychopathology and social behavior. At the same time, however, they attempted to rejoin the older, pre-Darwinian philosophical anthropology, in which social, religious, and ethical needs are integral dimensions to a deeper understanding of the human animal.
Der Beitrag >Die Rezeption von Fromm bei Psychologen und Psychiatern< entspricht einem Kapitel der Dissertation, die der Autor unter dem Titel Fromm’s Legacy: A Critical Appreciation 1989 an der York University in Toronto abschloss. Mehr als irgend ein anderes Kapitel der umfangreichen Studie ist das hier erstmals veröffentlichte der >kritischen Geschichtsschreibung der Psychologie< von Kurt Dan-zinger verpflichtet, der die Dissertation betreute. Am Beispiel von Erich Fromm werden die Probleme und Tücken einer lehrbuchmäßigen Geschichtsschreibung aufgezeigt. An ausgewählten, repräsentativen Beispielen wird gezeigt, wie Fromms Originalität in Unkenntnis seiner frühesten (deutschsprachigen) Schriften in der englisch-sprachigen Sekundärliteratur unterbewertet wird und wie sehr die Wirkungen der deutschen Kultur des späten 19. Jahrhunderts auf Fromms Denken und auf seine Ansichten verkannt werden. Meistens beschränken sich deshalb die amerikanischen Referenten und Kritiker darauf, Fromm zu etikettieren: Er sei ein >Environmentalist<, ein >Umfeldtheoretiker<, ein >sozialer Lerntheoretiker<, oder auch ein >intuitiver< oder >utopischer< Theoretiker. Tragischerweise wird dabei die besondere Freudsche Dimension im Frommschen Werk übersehen. Werden jedoch nur Kategorien herangezogen, die im amerikanischen Kontext entstanden sind und die wenig oder überhaupt keine Bedeutung für je-nen Kontext haben, der für europäisches Denken typisch ist, dann begünstigt man nur eine Trivialisie-rung der grundlegenden Ideen Fromms und ihr grundsätzliches Missverstehen. So muss man den meisten amerikanischen Kritikern auf Grund ihres >gesellschaftlichen Filters< bzw. wegen ihrer Vorurteile, die in ihrer eingeschränkten Auffassung von dem, was Psychologie ist, liegt, eine kollektive Unfähigkeit at-testieren, sich wirklich mit dem Frommschen Werk auseinander zu setzen. Die amerikanischen Etikettie-rungen erfuhren andererseits ihre Prägung durch die besonders in Amerika strenge Freudsche Orthodoxie bzw. durch die mehr und mehr positivistischen und behavioristischen Strömungen in der akademi-schen Psychologie gerade in jenen Jahren, in denen Fromm sich in der breiten Öffentlichkeit einer all-gemeinen Beliebtheit erfreute. In anderen Abschnitten geht es um Fromms Verhältnis zur Humanisti-schen Psychologie in Amerika sowie um die weitverbreitete Verwirrung und Unkenntnis bezüglich seiner Vorstellungen zur Ethik und zur Psychotherapie, wobei Fromm zu dieser Verwirrung und Unkenntnis selbst unbeabsichtigt beigetragen hat.
Daniel Burston and Sharna Olfman's note that early in his career Fromm had begun to question Freud's historical perspective that assumed that the ad-vancement of society would necessarily create a stronger repression of instinc-tual drives. According to Freud, there were no free rides on the route to pro-gress, and any cultural advancement would leave in its wake a legacy of com-mon unhappiness. Regardless of the merits of this position, Freud's sober out-look had the virtue of challenging the belief that reason would bring gradual and inexorable progress. Fromm also thought that society had a repressive function, but as Burston and Oilman point out, Fromm's approach was qualitative rather than quantitative. Social demands based on economic modes of production and unequal distribution of goods would conflict with human demands for freedom and happiness. The conflict between social demands and human aspirations had to be analyzed for each particular case and could not be generalized into false historical categories as Freud's theory did.
The decline of the Liberal Arts in the 21st century is rooted in late 20th century trends, including grade inflation, the decline of rational authority, the rise of anonymous authority, and consumerism, which abets the tendency to elevate the pursuit of students’ >self-esteem< above scholarly rigor. While the Left and the Right are apt to blame their ideological opponents, both share some responsibility for this state of af-fairs, which can only be remedied if they own up to their own erroneous oversights, and agree to work together.
Critics continue to discuss the work of Egon Wolff with respect to his plays written before 1973. However, most have failed to recognize seven of his plays written after the military coup that changed the face of Chilean politics, economy and culture. I have studied Wolff's complete works in order to determine whether the conditions under which he wrote had somehow affected his dramaturgy. In addition, the high international acclaim given to Los invasores (1963) and Flores de papel (1970) indicates that Wolff had begun a theatrical career comparable to that of the greatest playwrights of this century. This fact alone merited further investigation into his theatre after 1973. – My study is a sociohistorical approach integrated with Erich FROMM's humanistic psychoanalysis in order to understand Wolff's cultural production during critical periods in history. Allusions to the Chilean historical moment throughout Wolff's production reveal a concern for the oppressive conditions, yet they do not fall into the brash political criticism increasingly prevalent throughout the Pinochet era. Surprisingly, a comic spirit and technique prevails in Wolff's work of the period. This contrasts sharply with the tragic mode of many of Wolff's first era plays, but serves very well to provide hope for a better future for the Chilean spectator. The hope in Wolff's Secon-era plays is possible only if traditional values of love and humanism are retained by individuals and society alike. Brotherly love and humanism are the unifying themes of Wolff's entire repertoire and reflect Erich FROMM's concerns for modern society.
Psychoanalysis and Intersubjectivity. Sullivan, Fromm, Merleau-Ponty, Benjamin, and Stolorow,
(2006)
Briefly discusses current dissatisfaction with Freud's theoretical framework and considers the difficulties in seeking and establishing a new paradigm. Such a new paradigm should allow for the integration of the field of psychotherapy and be coherent with other psychological theories. Based on the work of H. S. Sullivan, A. Adler, K. Horney, and E. FROMM, a new paradigm is proposed that eliminates the false dichotomy of >interpersonal-intrapsychic< through an analysis of the concepts of physical and phenomenal (i.e., experiential and psychological) space. It is suggested that psychoanalysis reveals that human behavior is goal-directed and social and that social and biological approaches to the study of human behavior are not mutually exclusive. A new conceptual framework of psychoanalysis is offered that is based upon the small social group in a unification of the studies of psycho- and sociodynamics. The group schema serves as a cognitive map, a practice ground for social training and problem solving, and a source of substitute rewards. Examples are presented to illustrate how psychoanalytic ideas may be conceptualized in the group model.
A Profile of Erich Fromm
(1991)
A biography of German psychoanalyst Erich FROMM, beginning with the influence of an intensive Jewish religious education, which was an admixture of philosophy, mysticism, socialism, psychoanalysis, and traditional rabbinical wisdom. It is argued that this early training is evidenced in FROMM's assertion that character can change throughout life, and that prevailing social character has a profound impact on the developing individual, regardless of family idiosyncracies or misfortunes. FROMM typified a Jewish synthesis of rationalism, mysticism, and love of tradition, combined with a prophetic element of radical protest. Also discussed are his progression through religious and sociological doctoral studies and analytic training from Freud loyalists. It is contended that FROMM emerged from the turbulent 1930s and 1940s to become one of the most prolific psychoanalytic authors of the twentieth century, and that his impact on the humanities and social sciences 1950-1970s is unparalleled. Alleged weaknesses in FROMM's work that suggest drawbacks for the clinician are discussed, including the complexities created by his deliberate policy of making minimal use of case histories and clinical vignettes, his tendency toward overstatement, inconsistency in his emphasis on the cultural and economic determinants of mental disturbance, and his purported reversion to a pre-Freudian psychology.
Letters to the Editor
(1993)