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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.
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.
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.
Critical Theory has traditionally been interested in engaging classical psychoanalysis rather than addressing postclassical thought. For the first time, this volume brings Critical Theory into proper dialogue with modern developments in the psychoanalytic movement and covers a broad range of topics in contemporary society that revisit the Frankfurt School and its contributions to psychoanalytic social critique. Theoretical, clinical, and applied investigations in social pathology are explored in relation to new directions in critical cultural discourse from a variety of psychoanalytic perspectives. In this volume, internationally acclaimed social political theorists, philosophers, psychoanalysts, cultural critics, and scholars of humanities examine contemporary issues in social critique that address a myriad of topics.