Dissertations / Dissertationen
Ziel dieser Arbeit ist es, die Grundprinzipien der humanistischen Ethik von Erich Fromm darzustellen. Seine Ideen werden mit denen von Sigmund Freud und Karl Marx verknüpft, von denen Fromm oft inspiriert wurde. Im ersten Teil wird auf die Definition der humanistischen Ethik und die Unterscheidung zwischen biophiler und nekrophiler Orientierung eingegangen. Der Kern von Fromms Ethik ist seine Charakterologie. Dabei beschäftigt sich die Arbeit mit produktiver und unproduktiver Orientierung, deren Ausprägungen und in der Folge auch Seinsweisen. Der Hauptteil beschreibt die Frage nach der menschlichen Natur, zusammen mit der Frage, ob der Mensch von Natur aus schlecht oder gut ist. Auch dem Freiheitsbegriff Fromms wird Beachtung geschenkt. Diese Interpretation beschreibt den Prozess der Individualisierung, der zur Freiheit führt, sowie die Mechanismen der Flucht, die sich aus diesem Prozess ergeben. Ein weiteres Thema ist ein Überblick über positive Freiheit und wie man sie erreicht. Im Zusammenhang mit der Freiheit befasst sich das Werk auch mit dem Gewissen. Der letzte Teil widmet sich einem Vergleich ausgewählter ethischer Kategorien von Karl Marx und Erich Fromm. Konkret geht es um eine Gegenüberstellung ihres Menschenbildes und seiner Entfremdung. [Deutsche Kurzfassung der Autorin]
The formation of Erich Fromm’s thought of >Escape from freedom< is based on the inheritance and absorption of Marxism and Freud, on the one hand, Erich Fromm draws on Marxism’s social criticism and alienation theory to analyze the social psychological factors that give rise to escape from freedom, on the other hand, it draws on Freud’s psychoanalysis to analyze the individual psychological factors of escape from freedom, and combines the two. By analyzing the phenomenon of >Escape from freedom<, Erich Fromm points out the spiritual crisis of modern people’s existence and seeks to find ways to construct a sound society and a sound personality. Erich Fromm’s >Escape from freedom< was born out of the Protestant Reformation and the development of capitalism. The Protestant Reformation freed the individual from the constraints of God and the church, but when the individual lost the barriers of the church, he could not feel his place in the secular life. In the course of the development of capitalism, the individual gradually neglects the relation with the other because of the separation of the capitalist division of labor from the other, and the individual pays more attention to his own life, cause the loneliness of the heart. Both contribute to the instability of social organization structure and the unhealthy psychology of the individual, a phenomenon Erich Fromm calls >The duality of freedom<. In Erich Fromm’s view, the duality of freedom is one of the most important reasons for the >Escape from freedom<. Along with the development of capitalism, the idea of >Escape from freedom< took the form of authoritarianism, desire for destruction, and automaton conformity, which Erich Fromm believed had a negative effect on the individual, the psychological factors that gave birth to the Second World War. Since the end of the Second World War, the hidden dangers of Nazism have not been completely eliminated in modern society, and there is a democratic crisis in modern society due to the lack of >Sense of tragedy<. So Erich Fromm addresses the problems of the future by nurturing new people who re-exist and building new societies in which people develop as they are. With the further development of capitalism, industrial civilization does show new features different from the past, and the causes and manifestations of >Escape from freedom< have also changed accordingly. Such social phenomena as the disappearance of >Grand narrative< and >Systematic exploitation< of workers in the industrial civilized society show that the >individualization process< has been reconstructed under the new social situation, >Escape from freedom< is manifested by the further loss of individual identity and hostility from >The other<. Erich Fromm proposed to overcome alienated personality through creative activities, through the form of collective art to cultivate a sound personality, in order to deal with the >Escape from freedom<. By systematically combing Erich Fromm’s theory of >Escape from freedom< and combining it with his Marxist philosophy criticism of Erich Fromm, it can be seen that Erich Fromm’s critique of capitalism does not touch on the Base and political structure of capitalism, and that the basis for judging the soundness of society ignores the factor of productivity, and the >Love< which is used to construct people’s spiritual health has ideality and limitation. Therefore, only on the basis of Marxism and historical materialism, from the perspective of concrete practice, to carry out a critical study of Erich Fromm’s thought of >Escape from freedom<, can draw lessons from Erich Fromm’s thought, for the construction of a harmonious society to provide reference. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 4/2023]
Fromm inherited Marx’s humanistic thought and developed the psychoanalysis, not only do not obey the thought of theoretical connotation and forms, an important connotation in disobedience thought, also proposed shall establish a disobedient socialism and on the basis of the civil liberties cooperation of human society, form the unique ideological system. At the same time, he analyzed the phenomenon of human alienation and the adverse factors hindering the free development of human beings. The epistemological basis of his humanistic thought is the critical theory, criticizing the basic contradictions existing in capitalist society, and holding that people need to have the courage to disobey the orders of power if they want to establish humanistic socialism. On this basis, Fromm emphasizes the core concepts such as the condition of disobedience and the theoretical basis of social character, which provides a theoretical foundation for people to realize real free and comprehensive development. In addition, Fromm criticized the bureaucratic system of capitalism, the problem of old age and the psychological mechanism of escaping freedom. Based on Fromm’s disobedience thought theory origin and realistic background starting, explore the surrounding Fromm’s ideas of disobedience and evaluation, this paper expounds the main contents of Fromm’s disobedience thought, taking Marxist theory as the foundation, the theory of Fromm’s ideas of noncompliance with the value and limitations were analyzed, and thus introduces Fromm’s ideas of disobedience. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 1/2023]
The eminent British novelist and poet Thomas Hardy wrote fifteen novels, four collections of short stories, over 900 poems and two verse dramas throughout his life, leaving a valuable literary heritage for the people of the UK and the world. Jude the Obscure is set in England of 1860 s. It recounts the tragedy of the protagonist countryman Jude Fawley’s struggle for college minister and a stable marriage. It is considered as the first modern novel in the history of British literature. The theme of alienation is a basic theme of modernist literature. It is displayed in Hardy’s novels, especially in >Jude the Obscure<. This thesis adopts the humanistic psychoanalysis of the German-American Jewish social psychologist Erich Fromm to discuss and analyze the representations and reasons for Jude’s alienation in the novel. Jude lived in a stage when capitalism was rapidly developing. The social economy was thriving. The achievements of political democracy were increasingly consolidated, and the cultural cause was flourishing. Influenced by the capitalist civilization, Jude strove to stand firm in metropolises. However, the development of capitalism has two sides. With the continuous progress in economy and the technology, economic features of capitalism such as the quantification and the abstraction were constantly highlighted. The connections between individuals and the connections between people and concrete objects were increasingly vague. Political democracy not only brought people freedom, but also increased people’s sense of loneliness and powerlessness. On the one hand, cultural education encouraged individuals to develop the character of ambition and competition. On the other hand, it compelled individuals to act in accordance with social norms. In such a society, people were in atomic states. They did not get acquainted with each other. The psychological needs of individuals, also the needs of human nature that were based on their existence conditions could not be satisfied. People were only obliged to conform to social norms, which caused the alienation of individuals. Jude’s alienation is the root of his tragedy. Based on the previous research findings, this thesis attempts to interpret the theme of alienation in >Jude the Obscure< via the theory of Erich Fromm’s humanistic psychoanalysis. It hopes to have a better understanding of Hardy’s modernist literary spirit. [www.cnki.net, 1/2023]
>Woman in Love< explores the psychological problems of love with a passion and depth unprecedented in English fiction, and represents the highest achievement of Lawrence’s work. It represents the highest achievement of Lawrence’s work, and thus, along with >The Rainbow<, it became the forerunner of the modern novel. The novel revolves around sheer devastation and renders the inquiry about philosophy, life, love and death from the rushing urge to die over and over again, displaying a profound modernity, searching for eternal values in the essence of life and carnal faith. This thesis uses Erich Fromm’s humanistic psychoanalysis theory, which includes the theory of human needs, authoritarianism, destructiveness, the productive orientation, man’s alienation and man’s living situation and analyzes alienations of characters in >Women in Love<, causes, and proposes positive ways to face it. This thesis consists of three parts: introduction, main body and conclusion. Introduction part includes brief introduction of Lawrence, >Women in Love< and humanistic psychoanalysis theory and literary review of >Women in Love<. The main body of the thesis is divided into three chapters. – The first chapter analyses the alienations of the characters from the psychological description and interactions with others. They no longer pay attention to their own spirit state; appear their destructiveness; alienate themselves and others as objects; lack inner vitality and lose the desire for love and fun of life.– The second chapter analyzes the causes of alienation, including the weakening of humanistic conscience under irrational authority; repression by >social filter<; unbalance of >polarity< connection between the sense of self and that of others), and the gradual erosion of people’s mental state by industrial society.– The third chapter puts forward the possible salvation from human needs. Fromm thinks that alienated people are uncreative people. A truly healthy man is one who loves others, has the sense of identity, develops reason, returns to the nature, and pursues his lifestyle under >the being mode<.– Conclusion part expounds the alienation of characters in >Women in Love<, explores Lawrence’s thinking on human nature through the characteristics of characters in the novel so as to display the artistic charm of >Women in Love< and point out the practical significance of this paper. In addition, this thesis aims to appeal to modern people to understand daily life and to find their own identity and lifestyle by providing a new and meaningful perspective. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 1/2023]
From ancient times to the present, the issue of freedom has always been a hot issue of people’s attention. People’s yearning and pursuit of freedom is an inexhaustible driving force for the progress of human society. In the twentieth century, people found that the development of industry and technology did not bring true freedom and happiness, but made people’s hearts more lonely and spiritually empty, and gradually fell into the contradiction of pursuing freedom and escaping from freedom. Fromm saw the suffering of people. He approached from a microscopic psychological point of view, inheriting and further developing Marx’s free thought on the basis of Freud’s psychoanalytic theory. First, Fromm’s inheritance of Marx’s idea of freedom includes: First, both men have taken the actual individual as the subject of freedom, and have set achievable goals of freedom. Second, both men applied the method of integrating theory with practice and unifying history and logic to study the question of freedom. Third, Fromm’s free thought embodies a strong critical and humanitarian spirit, which is consistent with the inner spirit of Marx’s free thought. Secondly, Fromm’s development of Marx’s free ideas includes: First, Marx tried to achieve the free liberation of man through social revolution, while Fromm wanted to achieve the free development of man through psychological revolution. Second, Marx’s theory of labor alienation strongly criticized capitalist society; Fromm put forward a new theory of alienation, which examined the unfree phenomena of capitalist society from a psychological point of view, and usefully supplemented Marx’s free thought. Third, Marx put forward a beautiful vision of the future society, advocating the establishment of a communist society to achieve the free and all-round development of people; Fromm envisioned the establishment of a sound society through political, economic and cultural reforms, which is a supplement to the future free development model of mankind. Fourth, Fromm’s focus on the analysis of human freedom from a personal, microscopic and psychological perspective is an innovation in the perspective of the study of freedom issues. Finally, reflection and evaluation: First, it is pointed out that the defects of Fromm’s inheritance and development of Marx’s free thought, the exaggerated role of psychological factors, the lack of a thorough path to solve the problem, and the unrealistic method of seeking positive freedom. Second, analyze the contemporary values and practical enlightenment of Fromm’s inheritance and development of Marx’s free thought. It provides a new direction for people to pursue freedom and a new perspective for the analysis and solution of social problems; it is necessary to attach importance to the issue of human freedom and development, attach importance to the coordination of the relationship between science and technology and humanities, and pay attention to strengthening the construction of social spiritual civilization. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 1/2023]
In the process of the continuous development of capitalism, the ecological crisis and a series of environmental problems have been caused by the incorrect understanding of the relationship between man and nature. In this context, William Leiss, who has long been concerned about ecological issues, criticized the capitalist society on the basis of inheriting and developing Marxism’s theory of need and Herbert Marcuse’s theory of >True or false need<, with a new perspective to explain the needs of the capitalist system of human needs, the formation of their own ideological characteristics of the needs of the theory. Specifically, William Leiss is mainly concerned with the complexity of human desires, which is an important reason for the formation of the capitalist high consumption society, and the need to be oriented toward the commodity world, which is the root cause of the formation of the capitalist high consumption society, and the thought of human conquering nature is the important foundation of the formation of the capitalist high-consumption society. On this basis, Leiss pays attention to the quality of commodities, pays attention to the multi-dimension and relevance of human needs, and understands the close relationship between human needs and natural environment, familiar with the estimated characteristics of commodities in four aspects of the future human needs to express and meet the concept, and the future human needs to express and meet the way to explore, namely the following four aspects, advocating a general orientation of human needs towards a non-single field of goods, and an open minded self-interest to replace anthropocentrism ideology in an easily viable society, it is suggested that natural entities have the same legal rights as human beings. William Leiss’s theory of needs, while providing a new perspective on the mode of production of capitalism, enriches ecological Marxism and provides a useful reference for the establishment of a correct concept of consumption, but there is also a certain degree of misunderstanding of Marxism’s concept of goods, the lack of a certain global vision, its proposed solution is utopian. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 4/2023]
Joyce Carol Oates (1938 –), one of the most prominent and influential writers in contemporary American literature, is distinguished for her prolificacy in a variety of styles and genres. Oates’s works are unique in exposing the violence and evil in American society. Her works give readers a whole picture of American society, which vividly and graphically reflects the real life from all social backgrounds and presents the reality that lies beneath the surface of American prosperous society. >Them<, published in 1969, is one of Oates’s most important and representative works. The story, spanning almost three decades, presented the real life of the three Wendalls and a panoramic view of American society, which mirrored the living conditions and miserable fate of the lower class. Under the theoretical guidance of Fromm’s theory of social character, the thesis adopts the research method of close reading and makes a profound discussion on the female images in >Them< based on the impact of social reality and family interpersonal relationship on people’s psychology.– The thesis selects three typical female characters in >Them< – Loretta, her daughter Maureen and Nadine as representatives, and analyzes the formation and the expression of their personalities, so as to reveal how female images are distorted in the patriarchal society. Oates portrays the misfortunes and sufferings of women’s lives in the novel. These women, who explore the way of living, are brave enough to resist and break through the shackles of fate. However, they finally lose their self-consciousness under the trouble of social environment and the imbalance of family interpersonal relationship. The three female characters in Oates’s >Them< seek freedom through marriage and money. While they have female consciousness and rebellious spirit, they are always surrounded by violence and male discourse. Therefore, no matter what efforts they make, none of them can get rid of the shackles of patriarchal society. They are doomed to failure. Through the portrayal of women’s living conditions, it arouses readers’ attention and sympathy to women, which reflects Oates’s deep thinking of contemporary women’s issues and the fate of humanity. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 7/2023]
《永远讲不完的故事》是德国作家米切尔·恩德最具代表性的青少年奇幻文学作品之一。作者借以小主人公巴斯蒂安在现实世界的遭遇深刻阐释现代人的普遍精神现状:孤独和内心荒芜,并致力于通过主人公在幻想王国的冒险重建一个新的价值世界来改变现状。为寻找这个新的价值世界,本文首先借用社会心理学家弗洛姆的“>社会性格<理论对文章提及的旧世界以及不同社会模式下的价值进行挖掘,再对生活在这些价值模式下的人进行主体间性分析。通过分析导致巴斯蒂安孤独以及内心荒芜的是一个理性当道的世界,而帮助他从幻想王国重回现实世界的则是>爱<。在这个以爱为名的世界里,爱不仅帮助巴斯蒂安突破孤独的壁垒,而且用其所独有的创造性丰富个体内心世界。除此之外,爱还帮助巴斯蒂安以全新的观点发现世界,重寻自我。因此,>爱<作为新的价值当之无愧,必能引导人类精神重新归家,还给人其人性尊严。
Celeste Ng is one of the most prominent contemporary Chinese American writers. Her debut novel >Everything I Never Told You<, which took six years to complete, has obtained a huge success since it was published. It won the first place of Amazon Book of the Year in 2014, making a sensation in the European and American literary circles. At present, scholars at home and abroad have mostly studied >Everything I Never Told You< from the perspectives of post-colonialism, feminism, cultural conflict, family education and family relations, but few of them have analyzed it from the perspective of alienation. Therefore, this thesis attempts to apply Erich Fromm’s theory of alienation to analyze the alienation theme in >Everything I Never Told You< from three perspectives: the alienation between man and society, the alienation between man and man, and the alienation between man and self, and elaborating on the ways in which each of these family members overcomes alienation to achieve salvation. Through the interpretation of alienation in >Everything I Never Told You<, this thesis aims to reveal the survival dilemma of the interracial families in Celeste Ng’s writings, insinuating the alienated state of modern people, and trying to provide a way for modern people to overcome alienation. When in a state of alienation, people can overcome alienation and achieve salvation by actively facing the dilemma, promoting their self-identity, cultivating the ability to love and building harmonious interpersonal relationships. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 7/2023]
The young American novelist Anthony Doerr spent ten years creating >All the Light We Cannot See<, which won the 2015 Pulitzer Prize for Literature for its subtle storyline and beautiful writing upon its publication. The novel tells the story of Werner, an orphan who embarks on the way of negative freedom due to his ignorance to the world and his worship of authoritarianism, and eventually breaks free from various fetters to gain true freedom. The German humanist philosopher Fromm constructs the unique theory of freedom based on psychoanalysis and Marxism. The negative freedom and positive freedom he proposed constitute the core of his theory of freedom. Fromm argues that the removal of external obstacles does not imply true freedom because it does not guarantee the realization of true development of man’s own power. Instead, positive freedom is the essence of freedom, and true freedom can be fully achieved only when man fully exerts his power of spontaneity and creativity and establishes a close connection with the world. Based on Fromm’s theory of freedom, this thesis interprets the manifestations of Werner’s descent into negative freedom in terms of authoritarianism, destructiveness, and automaton conformity. In addition, this thesis addresses three periods of Werner’s pursuit of positive freedom, namely, the beginning period of conscience awakening, the critical period of spontaneous development, and the realization period of positive freedom. True freedom can be achieved only when man lives spontaneously as a complete subject. Negative freedom brings Werner anxiety and loneliness, so he sets out to pursue positive freedom. Ultimately, Werner achieves self-identity and positive freedom through love, creative work and rational faith. The purpose of this thesis is to reveal that freedom from bondage and obstacles offers us only negative freedom, which seems to bring a sense of security but is followed by endless loneliness and nothingness. Unlike negative freedom, positive freedom provides a true sense of happiness and belonging based on self-actualization. We should acknowledge the existence of negative freedom and strive to achieve true freedom through spontaneous love and creative activity. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 9/2022]
Since the 1980s, new changes have taken place in capitalism: neoliberalism has become the main political and economic practice in contemporary western capitalist society, while the mode of production has gradually shifted from materiality to the parallel production mode of materiality and non-materiality. The rule mode of capitalism has changed from negative power to positive power. In the operation process of contemporary capitalism, although it seems to emphasize individual freedom and liberation, it still insists on the logic of capital multiplication to rule the operation of the whole society in essence. Therefore, it also causes various social problems in the western capitalist society. How to understand the society under the power operation of contemporary neoliberalism, where its contemporary symptoms are manifested, and how to deal with it have also aroused the attention and concern of many social critical theorists, so many theories of understanding and surpassing contemporary capitalist society have emerged. Han Byung-chul’s critical theory of psychopolitics was born. The theory of >psycho-politics< has a self-evident need to be distinguished from the analytic Marxism of Fromm, Horkheimer, and Althusser. On the surface, although psychoanalysis and psychopolitics share the thinking of >spirit<, their purport and analysis methods are quite different. Psychoanalysis of Marxism is to psychoanalysis as a way to how individual psychology works interpretation in the manipulation of capitalism, and Han Byung-chul political theory put forward by the spirit is the spiritual production as the breakthrough point, discusses the new liberal regime by >self optimization> and >emotion< economic Angle used to describe the spirit be capital. In fact, this is also a critique of the capitalist ideology of deep thinking. As a social critic, Han Byung-chul was influenced by the development of contemporary capitalist society and the theories of the existing social critics. So he is not only in combination with the new situation of the contemporary developed capitalism, at the same time also learn to many social critics, especially the critical theory of Marx’s capital, the Frankfurt school’s theory of ideological criticism, aesthetic liberation theory and life, a political scientist at foucault and others thought, for their own critical theory analysis model to lay the ideological foundation. After the politics of life has become an important perspective of neoliberal governance, the politics of spirit proposed by Han Byung-chul can be regarded as an important supplement to the politics of life. At present, the thinking of governance should also shift from physical domination to spiritual thinking. Han Byung-chul ’s overall analysis of psycho-politics contains the overall logic of neoliberal power operation. In Byung-Chul Han’s analysis, burnout society, transparent society and performance society constitute three perspectives to examine contemporary capitalism, which also contains the results of the role of spiritual and political power, monitoring power and capital power. Among them, the theory of >self-exploitation< constitutes the core theory of Byung-Chul Han’s critique of psychopolitics. Whether >self-exploitation< constitutes a breakthrough point to solve contemporary problems beyond Marx’s critical view of capital. This paper attempts to understand the theory of self-exploitation put forward by Han Byung-chul from the perspective of Marx’s capital criticism. Although Han Byung-chul thinks that self-exploitation constitutes the existing state of contemporary individual alienation, he does not understand the way of individual existence from the employment labor system, so he does not get to the root of individual alienation in capitalist society. Secondly, by analyzing Marx’s critique of political economy to Han Byung-chul proposed social alienation phenomenon, we found that the power of capital as the essential power structure of the contemporary social daily life way, and Han Byungchul liberation path is not functioning, according to the theory of capital and power in modern society, but only through the liberation of consciousness, Therefore, it misses the essential elements of the critique of capitalism. Han Byung-chul’s theory of self-exploitation is not tenable in the context of political economy criticism. Self-exploitation is simply the result of modern capitalism making its methods of exploitation more secretive. Han Byung-chul’s critique of contemporary capitalist society based on the theory of psycho-politics does not surpass the theoretical roots of Marx’s critique of capital. However, Marx’s critical theory of political economy may respond to the current form of social alienation as an essential dimension of Marx’s critical theory of political economy, which criticizes the mode of production and multiplication of capital. Han Byung-chul is based on a contemporary social critical theory constructed in the development reality of contemporary capitalism. The ultimate appeal of his theory is consistent with That of Marx. Han Byung-chul perspective of contemporary capitalist society effectiveness not only embodies the contemporary of Marxism, but also face to face with modern problems put forward the path of liberation and beyond, is to rebuild the other in order to reconstruct a new relationship, at the same time through lust to open up a redemption of emotions and the individual psychology, and to call for the reconstruction of the authority, a truth so as to resist the rule of capitalism. The road of aesthetic redemption of Frankfurt School also constitutes a main way for Han Byung-chul to transcend modernity. He criticizes the logic of contemporary capital multiplication, so as to escape the alienation caused by capital to individuals through the desire for beauty, and reform individual life field through aesthetic redemption. In general, it is very valuable for Han Byung-chul to analyze the pathological features of contemporary capitalist society based on >psycho-politics<. He provided a new way of thinking about the contemporary capitalist society and deepened his criticism of the capitalist society. However, he did not clarify the root of capitalist social alienation, did not combine the basic thinking of Marx and Engels’ political economy criticism, and only gave a limited way to transcend social alienation from the subject point of view. However, Han Byung-chul’s critical theory of spiritual politics also has some practical enlightenment, that is, it urges us to reflect on the operating mechanism of contemporary capitalist society, liberate alienated labor, and promote the reform of civilization concept. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 1/2023]
Nowadays, the society is in the rapid development stage of scientific and technological innovation. However, to some extent, the traditional extensive concept of development has led to increasingly tense conflicts, resulting in increasingly serious conflicts between man and nature, man and man, man and society, and man and himself, seriously affecting the sound development of human society. In China, people-oriented is the starting point and the driving force of social development. >People-centered< is an important principle for upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics. In this regard, the importance of human beings is self-evident. In the field of foreign humanistic thought, Fromm is one of the most representative scholars. This thesis examines Fromm’s anthropological thought from three aspects: the formation, logical composition, and evaluation of his anthropological thought. The formation of Fromm’s humanistic thought is inseparable from three aspects: personal experience, social background, and its theoretical origin. In the logical composition of Fromm’s humanistic thought, human nature is the core element of Fromm’s humanistic thought. He carried out research and analysis on human nature from four aspects. First, the dualistic definition of human nature. Specifically discussed from the following angles: one was based on the original living conditions, insurmountable survival ambiguities and non-inevitable history to explain the contradiction of human nature; the other was to analyze the relationship between human nature and human nature and the relationship between human nature and survival needs to interpret human consciousness. Secondly, Fromm regarded the concept of social character as the intermediary link between individuals and society. Thirdly, Fromm analyzed the concept of alienation from the perspective of psychology and sociology, and exposed the alienation of people in modern Western society in the unconscious level and the reality level through criticizing the alienation of capitalism. Finally, Fromm put forward a set of strategies for solving alienation problems based on psychological revolution and social revolution, which provides a relatively complete solution strategy for the problem of social change. Specifically, it takes >moral renewal< as a prerequisite, and at the same time takes into account the reform work in the political, economic and cultural fields, so as to create a better environment for the all-round development of individuals. Fromm’s anthropological thought has the characteristics of value presupposition and utopia. From the standpoint of Marxism, although Fromm’s humanistic thought has certain limitations, the humanistic criticism of his humanistic thought on society has promoted the happiness and development of human beings, which has certain practical significance. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 4/2023]
彼得·汉德克(1942.12.06—)是奥地利著名作家、剧作家、电影编剧和导演。2019年汉德克获得了诺贝尔文学奖。20世纪70年代汉德克发表了两部以女性为主人公的作品——《无欲的悲歌》(1972)和《左撇子女人》(1976)。在这两部作品中,汉德克笔触细腻地书写了两个女主人公——母亲和玛丽安娜对自由的追求,揭示了男权社会对女性长久的压迫以及女性在弱势境况下的抗争,作品一经发表就引起了社会的高度关注。汉德克笔下的两位女主人公对自由的追求是贯穿两部作品的线索。国内外大多数学者对两部作品的研究都集中女性主义、互文性、叙事手法等角度,尚未有学者从女性追求自由的角度对两部作品进行阐释。因此,本文旨在以弗洛姆自由理论解读母亲和玛丽安娜的追求自由之路并深入剖析两个女主人公追求自由不同结局的原因,进而阐明汉德克的女性自由观。个体为获得自由而摆脱了既为其提供庇护又束缚其发展的>始发纽带<后,陷入了无能为力的孤立状态。面对巨大的无助和孤独,个体有两种选择:一种是逃避自由带来的负担,以牺牲自我为代价逃向>继发纽带<,重新建立依赖与臣服关系;另一种则是继续前进,积极发挥自发性,努力实现以个体的独一无二及个性为基础的积极自由。母亲被原生家庭保护的同时,也被其束缚,因此她选择逃离原生家庭。然而面对着失去原生家庭这一>始发纽带<后的巨大的孤独和无助,母亲以牺牲自我为代价,试图通过臣服于男权、盲从于他人在>继发纽带<中获得安全和稳定。然而>继发纽带<只是禁锢个体的又一个枷锁,母亲最终心灰意冷,选择逃避现实,而这更加剧了母亲的孤独和无助。最终,在现实和理想之间的困境中徘徊的母亲没能获得自由,而是走向了灭亡。玛丽安娜在获得看似幸福,实则枯燥乏味的婚姻庇护的同时,也被其压抑了个性,束缚了发展。因此玛丽安娜选择逃离婚姻这一>始发纽带<。但与母亲的选择相反,玛丽安娜在面对逃离婚姻后的孤独和无助时,并未逃向>继发纽带<,而是选择正视孤独,坚持自我,勇敢反抗男权,在积极同世界相连中探寻生命的意义。最终,玛丽安娜获得了积极自由。母亲和玛丽安娜追求自由结局不同,究其原因可从主客观两个层面进行分析。在保守压抑的环境中长大的母亲习惯性依赖他人,害怕孤独且抗拒独处,并在不平等的感情关系中愈发失去爱人与爱己的能力,这些都一定程度上对母亲追求自由产生消极影响。而玛丽安娜则在较为开明宽松的家庭氛围中长大,在追求自由过程中不仅始终坚持自我,正视孤独,在独处中通过内省反思自我,而且能够有尊严地爱人和爱己,保持对生活的热忱,在爱中积极与世界相连。此外,玛丽安娜所处时代正值女权运动兴起,女性意识觉醒,这为玛丽安娜追求自由创造了有利客观条件。对比母亲和玛丽安娜对自由之追求可窥汉德克的女性自由观。汉德克认为女性只有在良好的客观生存环境和自身主观努力缺一不可的情况下方能获得积极自由。在他看来,独处是女性通往自由的必经之路,在独处中女性方能通过自省找到与世界相处的模式;对生活、自我及他人之爱是女性追求自由的动力源泉;良好的日常生活环境则为女性获得自由创造了必要条件。
Viet Thanh Nguyen is an outstanding contemporary American writer of Vietnamese descent. His debut work, >The Sympathizer<, has received widespread attention from the literary world since it was published and has won many literary awards. >The Sympathizer< tells the protagonist’s story serving as a double-face spy in North Vietnam and South Vietnam after the Vietnam War. He is torn not only between his covert mission and his cover identity but also between his homeland and the United States, and between his French and Vietnamese ancestries. He splits between these two worlds. Being tortured by multiple identities, coupled with a tense individual environment, his inner world is full of anxiety, and eventually alienated. In addition to this, characters in >The Sympathizer< are all alienated to some degree. Erich Fromm is a famous American psychoanalyst and an important representative of the Frankfurt School of Western Marxism. This thesis tends to apply his views on alienation to the discussion of the characters’ self-alienation, alienation in interpersonal relations and alienation from society in >The Sympathizer<, and probe into the causes of the alienation. The thesis includes an introduction, five main chapters, and a conclusion. The introductory section briefly introduces Viet Thanh Nguyen’s life experience and the main content of >The Sympathizer<, literature review, and the thesis statement.– Chapter 1 briefly describes the origins and development of the alienation theory and focuses on Fromm’s viewpoints on alienation. This chapter points that the alienation is chiefly embodied in human alienation which includes people’s self-alienation, alienation in interpersonal relations and alienation from society.– Chapter 2 analyzes the self-alienation in >The Sympathizer<. The characters’ self-alienation can be presented through changes in their identity, behavior, and psychology.– Chapter Three analyzes the alienation in interpersonal relations in >The Sympathizer< mainly from the two aspects of family relationship and gender relationship. In the alienation of family relations, the absence of the father and the contempt of relatives are discussed. In the alienation of the relationship between the sexes, the imbalance between the status of lovers’ sexual pleasure instead of love is analyzed, which indicates that there is neither love nor trust or responsibility among people, but merely hostility and indifference.– Chapter 4 analyzes the alienation from society. The scope of all human activities must be governed and manipulated by relevant rules and regulations. It is mainly reflected in the fact that people become tools in social activities. At the same time, people follow the principle of benefit-oriented behavior in actions.– Chapter 5 analyzes the factors leading to human alienation from two aspects: external factors and internal factors. The former includes wars between nations, splits within countries, and different cultural values between the white and nonwhite; the latter involves moral degradation and the strong power of Hollywood discourse.– The conclusion indicates that alienation is widespread in the society and it is a common problem or challenge faced by all human beings. The thesis applies Fromm’s alienation theory to conduct a comprehensive analysis of >The Sympathizer<, aiming to expose the alienation phenomenon in society truly and profoundly, which helps people seek the right direction on the road of self-seeking and has specific practical significance. [www.cnki.net, 9/2022]
Ian Mc Ewan is one of the most influential novelists in the contemporary British literary world. He has won he Booker Prize, the Maugham Prize for Literature and so on. Mc Ewan’s >The Cement Garden< was published in 1978, which is one of his outstanding and representative works in his early career. On the basis of Fromm’s theory of human nature the thesis aims to analyze the growth environment of the children in >The Cement Garden< and its influence on the construction of the children’s personality in three aspects: the needs satisfaction, the love interactions and the formation of social personalities. Through the analysis of the children’s growth in the three aspects the thesis interprets the inevitability the tragedy of the children and we can deeply understand Mc Ewan’s reflection on human nature and his pursuit and exploration of the sound human nature. The thesis is divided into four chapters besides introduction and conclusion. The introduction part briefly introduces Mc Ewan’s life, creation and his important work >The Cement Garden<. On this basis it reviews the research status of the novel both at home and abroad, thus clarifying the innovation of the thesis and explaining the purpose, significance and structure of the thesis. The first chapter is the theoretical basis, which briefly reviews the origin and development of Fromm’s theory of human nature. It discusses in detail the people’s needs, the emotion interactions and the formation of social personalities in the theory of human nature.– The second chapter analyzes the unsatisfying needs of the children in the construction of human nature. The insufficient association, the deficiency of root-seeking requirements and the unfulfilling sense of identity make the children cannot satisfy their critical needs in the growth process. Mc Ewan also shows that only by establishing contact and communication, paying attention to spiritual needs and improving sense of identity can the children improve their sound human nature in a positive and active life.– The third chapter discusses the lack of love interactions in the construction of human nature. Because of the mother’s unconditional love, the father’s conditional love, the unequal emotion interactions of the siblings and the abnormal and selfish self-love the family members lack the ability of caring for others and the ability of efficient interactions. At the same time the children also show the efforts to build the sound human nature in their limited brotherhood and pursuit of beauty and emotion.– The fourth chapter discusses the formation of the social personalities of the children in the construction of human nature. With the non-productive personality and the negative behavioral representations the children cannot interact effectively with the outside world and they drift away from the society. At the same time, Mc Ewan also shows that only in the satisfaction of human instinct and the healthy family relationships can the children form the positive social personality.– The conclusion part of the thesis points out that >The Cement Garden< reveals the necessity of a healthy growth environment for the construction of the sound human nature of the children. The exploration of children’s growth environment from the perspective of human nature theory not only shows the author’s concern for the human nature problem in the children’s growth, but also provides new ideas on how to construct the sound human nature in modern society. On the basis of Fromm’s theory of human nature the thesis analyzes the construction of human nature of the children in >The Cement Garden< in three aspects: the needs satisfaction, the love interactions and the formation of social personalities. Fromm’s theory of human nature shows that the satisfaction of needs, the comfort of emotions and the positive social personality are the indispensable factors for the construction of the sound human nature. In the novel the children grow up without these factors and result in the final tragic ending. However, >The Cement Garden< is not a worthless work describing the morbid survival state. Mc Ewen shows that the sound human nature plays an important role in the growth of children. Therefore, the novel is of profound social significance in arousing the concern and reflection of contemporary people on the construction of the sound human nature and healthy society. The analysis of >The Cement Garden< through the use of Fromm’s theory of human nature can provide a new perspective for the study of McEwen’s works. [English: www.cnki.net, 9/2022]
[Chinese abstract not available.] Family affection is the emotion that can’t cut off in one’s whole life. Since ancient times, the Chinese nation has always attached great importance to family ties. Family education is never out of date. The Times call for students with both moral integrity and ability. In recent years, the rapid development of China’s economy has also brought a series of problems, the weak concept of family affection and the lack of family education has aroused people’s high attention. This paper takes the family affection unit of the unified compilation of junior high school Chinese textbooks that has been put into use nationwide as the research object, and discusses the family affection unit from five aspects, including the following contents. First of all, the paper reveals the basis and necessity of family affection education in junior high school chinese. Theories include Maslow’s hierarchy of needs, Erikson’s theory of stages of personality development and Fromm’s art of loving. Then from the three aspects of moral cultivation, socialist cultural construction and carrying forward the traditional virtues of filial piety and respect for the elderly, the necessity of this research is expounded.– Secondly, it sorts out the compilation of the unified version of junior high school Chinese family unit, and analyzes it from four dimensions: text selection system, reading aid system, practice system and knowledge system. Also it excavates the hidden teaching resources in the books.– Thirdly, it investigates the current situation of the unified junior high school Chinese family unit teaching, and on the basis of analyzing the data, it finds that there are problems such as insufficient in-depth text interpretation, old-fashioned and single reading way, insufficient emotional input, and lack of guidance in extended reading.– The fourth part discusses the implementation strategy of unified junior middle school Chinese family unit teaching. This chapter is also the core of this paper. Multiple teaching strategies can be adopted in the specific teaching practice of family unit. Such as the use of knowledge, rich knowledge reserves; In-depth reading of the text, mining the emotional value; Organize reading training to arouse emotional resonance; strengthen situational teaching to stimulate learning interest; carry out dialogue between teachers and students to generate feelings of affection; Linkage inside and outside the classroom, expand learning resources and so on.– Lastly, based on junior high school Chinese family unit teaching strategy to display two teaching designs >Golden Flower< and >Lotus Leaf-Mother<. [English: www.cnki.net, 9/2022]
Walker Percy is a well-known southern American writer in the 1950s in the literary circles. He won the National Book Award in 1962 for >The Moviegoer<. In his works, Walker Percy unfolds people’s quests for the living ways and the diagnosis of contemporary American social problems. In >The Moviegoer<, the protagonist, Binx is engaged in a quest for a new living way, which is defined by himself the >search<; however, the >search< appears pointless and ambiguous. What is the >search< has been the focus of many scholars since its publication. Taking Binx’s >search< in >The Moviegoer< as the research target, this thesis employs Erich Fromm’s theory of freedom to interpret Binx’s plight and way out in a comprehensive way, pointing out that Binx >search< is a process from positive freedom to negative freedom proposed by Fromm. The thesis is divided into three parts: introduction, Chapter 1 to Chapter 3 and conclusion. The introduction summarizes Walker Percy’s life and literary creation experience, the research background of Walker Percy’s works at home and abroad and the introduction to Erich Fromm’s theory of freedom as the theoretical base. The first chapter explores that the origin of Binx’s >search< is that he falls into a stage of negative freedom, which is manifested in the rupture of the primary ties in society and family and in the isolation from the outside world. The second chapter analyzes the mistake of Binx’s >search< lies in his intention to escape from freedom. Binx is addicted to playing movie stars’ roles, submitting to anonymous authority, and being a consumer. In the view of Fromm’s theory of freedom, he escapes from freedom by submission and conformity. The third chapter studies that the solution of Binx’s >search< is to achieve positive freedom, which can be realized through love and creative work. Binx pursues love, creative work, and the uniqueness of the individual. Finally, this thesis concludes that Binx’s >search< is the realization of man’s free development defined by Fromm. [www.cnki.net, 1/2023]
Loneliness, as a universal sensation, has been a classic topic in literature for a long time. Yiyun Li, a new star in Chinese American literature, has published several short stories in The New Yorker, employing her upbringing memories in her motherland and English, the public language in a foreign land. The loneliness and plight of ordinaries against the profound epochal background have been the universal themes in her works and her humanistic and calm written style attracts readers’ attention. At present, studies of Yiyun’s short stories have concentrated on translation strategies, trauma, culture or multicultural, and Chinese characteristics. However, there is a lack of research on the theme of loneliness. In following six representative short stories, >A Thousand Years of Good Prayers< (2005), >A Flawless Silence<(2018), >Extra< (2005), >Gold Boy, Emerald Girl<(2010), >The Science of Flight< (2010), >A Small Flame< (2017), Yiyun Li portrays different kinds of loneliness with different characters in a psychological sense, which is a mirror reflection of the existential predicaments and spiritual dilemmas of modern people, highlighting the universal value of loneliness in literary criticism. The thesis will investigate the theme of loneliness in the six short stories mentioned above, integrating four key concepts on loneliness in Fromm’s Neo-psychoanalytic theory: automation conformity, authoritarianism, the needs for love, and social unconsciousness to examine three types of loneliness in Li’s writings, such as the aphasics, the marginal man, and the rootless people, to ascertain the association of loneliness among these three types of people, and then, to trace the origins of loneliness from the insane personality, the impotence to love, and the suppressed social unconscious. Therefore, the first key to recovering from loneliness is that individuals must confront and accept loneliness; secondly, they should employ spontaneous love to relieve loneliness; and finally, they could completely get rid of loneliness and make connections with the outside world through joint efforts. Li only depicts loneliness, leaving the question on how to dissipate it to readers. Notably, with her caring and warming kindness for her characters, she invites readers to think together and discuss the ways to cure loneliness. Therefore, from the perspective of Fromm’s Neo-psychoanalytic criticism, the thesis offers guidance for the aphasics, the marginalized and the rootless to get beyond loneliness, and provides reference and insight for loneliness research in a contemporary social context. [www.cnki.net, 1/2023]
D. H. Lawrence (1885 – 1930) is one of the most important novelists in the history of English literature in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He lived at a time when capitalist industry was at its peak, but at the same time, a series of negative consequences of the industrial revolution were exposed. The nature of man is poisoned, the integrity of the individual is destroyed, and the relationship between man and man and nature loses its balance in traditional agricultural societies. For Lawrence, he was living in a time when the world was completely out of balance. For this reason, he keeps on writing, with sharp and bold strokes to express the alienated individual, abnormal interpersonal relationship and the imbalance between man and nature under the capitalist industrial civilization, and tirelessly explores the way to restore the balance between individual and self, between man and man, and between man and nature. Furthermore, in his opinion, these three levels do not exist in isolation, but constitute a mutually restrictive whole; An imbalance at any level leads to an imbalance at other levels, or problems at any level reflect problems at the other two levels. Thus, among the >imbalance< and >balance<, the individual, society and nature form an intricate internal relationship, presenting a systematic structure of three and one, one and three, which integrates Lawrence’s whole life exploration and literary creation. This provides an important entry point for us to re-understand Lawrence’s series of controversial topics and reassess their current significance. Based on this, this paper takes Lawrence’s novels as the research object and the concept of >balance< as the entry point to make a detailed discussion of the relationship between man and self, man and man, man and nature in his works.– This paper consists of three parts: introduction, text and conclusion. The introduction mainly focuses on Lawrence’s personal experience of >imbalance< and traces the origin of his concept of >balance<. The concept of >balance< is preliminarily defined; Review relevant research results at home and abroad.– The first part of the text discusses Lawrence’s concept of balance from the perspective of individual self. Under the background of industrial revolution, due to the poison of mechanical civilization and rampant materialism, human beings constantly overcome or tame their own nature. But when the civilization overcomes the nature, man gradually moves toward the one-sided. In Lawrence’s works, human nature and civilization correspond to >blood consciousness< and >mind consciousness< respectively, while the individuals in his works can be divided into >brain type< individuals and >blood type< individuals. In Lawrence’s opinion, when the >blood< of an individual is overwhelmed by the >mind<, his emotion and instinct will be suppressed, thus leading to the alienation of human nature. At the same time, the >blood< of the individual must resist the >mind< and call for the return of nature, so as to achieve the >balance< of the individual self.– The second part uses Erich Fromm’s theory of >possession and existence< to explore Lawrence’s thoughts on the relationship between people. In Lawrence’s opinion, due to the dominance of >possessive< value orientation, the lovers’ relationship, family relationship and class relationship in the era of industrial civilization were also out of balance, and they tried to control, dominate and possess others, resulting in the breakdown of interpersonal relationship. In view of this bad situation, Lawrence proposed the concept of >interstellar balance< relationship model, calling on modern people to get out of the dilemma of self-centeredness and build a relationship model of >existence<, sharing and symbiosis on the basis of respecting others, so as to rebuild the balance of human relations.– The third part discusses Lawrence’s thoughts on the relationship between human beings and nature in modern industrial civilization from the perspective of ecological criticism. Lawrence believed that the relationship between man and nature became estranged and antagonistic during the transition from agricultural civilization to industrial civilization. His works deeply reflect on and criticize the anthropocentrism and development-oriented concepts in western culture, and accuse human beings of unrestrained conquest of nature. In Lawrence’s view, human beings are part of nature, and they should Revere nature, return to nature, blend in with nature, and live in harmony with nature. Only by conquering nature and reconciling with nature and restoring the balance between man and nature can modern people overcome the ecological crisis and seek the healthy and all-round development of human society.– The conclusion focuses on the inner constitution and current significance of Lawrence’s concept of >balance<. Lawrence’s works comprehensively present his profound reflection on modern industrial civilization and his grand conception of future ideal civilization. His thought has obvious integrity and systematism. In this regard, his idea of >balance<, ostensibly derived from his meditation on the ideal of love, actually runs through his complex meditation on the whole of modern civilization. In his opinion, individuals, society and nature constitute an organic whole. Any imbalance at one level may lead to the imbalance at other levels and trigger a chain reaction at other levels. In order to restore balance at any level, the reconstruction of balance state at other levels is indispensable. Although Lawrence’s concept of >balance< is obviously utopian, it still has important reference value and significance in today’s era of numerous spiritual problems, continuous cultural conflicts and continuous deterioration of ecological environment. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 7/2023]
Erich Fromm (1900 – 1980) was not only one of the key members of the Frankfurt School, but also a prominent German-American social psychologist, psychoanalyst and humanistic philosopher. Using Freudian psychoanalysis, Fromm synthesized the Marxian humanist doctrine on the basis of social character and the social unconscious as mediators. This led to the construction of a unique system of thought covering multiple levels of society and psychology, and an in-depth discussion of a series of externalized psychological problems that have emerged since the development of capitalist society.– This article attempts to clarify the logical progression of Fromm’s thought on alienation by looking at the realistic background and theoretical sources of the formation of his thought system. First of all, it examines Fromm’s need for human survival in the light of the dilemma of existential alienation in Western capitalist society, and grasps the unique connotation of his alienation thought and interprets it. Fromm explores the dilemma of survival in human society by combining the process of individuation and socio-historical development, and exposes the state of spiritual alienation of individuals. Secondly, Fromm’s diagnosis of the roots of pathological alienation in Western society is outlined in both subjective and objective dimensions. Again, Fromm’s critique of the consequences of alienation in developed industrial societies is explored, elucidating the logical correlation between the emergence of freedom-avoiding mechanisms, non-productive personality tendencies, possession-oriented ways of being and the alienation that occurs in the inner world of individuals. This is followed by an examination of the consequences of the interaction and conflict between the psychological alienation of the individual and the alienation of society in general, revealing the relationship between the individual and society.– Finally, Fromm’s search for a way to overcome alienation and build a sound society that meets human needs is discussed, and the rationality and limitations of his vision are objectively assessed. Fromm made a positive contribution to the evolution and enrichment of human culture and spirituality in the twentieth century. However, he does not fully acknowledge the role of material production and only overemphasizes the influence of psychological factors on human beings, while ignoring the fact that private ownership is the fundamental cause of the limitation of human freedom. Neither spontaneous activities nor social changes can fundamentally solve the problems caused by total alienation, but they can still provide a reference for the path of building a human-centered >harmonious society< in China: after the material enrichment of Chinese society, it should pay more attention to the spiritual existence of human beings and leave behind the possession-oriented way of living; promote humanistic culture and calmly We should also pay attention to the psychological and spiritual state of human beings and cultivate a sound personality. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 5/2023]
Carson McCullers is an outstanding female writer in the 20th century United States, becoming a celebrity with her first novel >The Heart Is a Lonely Hunter<. There is no doubt that McCullers is endowed with a talent for writing. She is a keen and sensitive woman, which is probably due to her life experiences and illness. In some sense, her personality contributes a lot to her writing, enabling her to grasp the slightest details of humanity. She is adept at exploring the psychology of human beings and pays special attention to their state of loneliness, which constitutes her writing theme >spiritual isolation<. McCullers tends to highlight man’s spiritual impotency through physical deformity. The freaks in her works make up rebellious power against the mainstream culture in the American South. >The Member of the Wedding< is a very representative work of McCullers. It follows the theme of spiritual isolation as her other works. Through McCullers’s elaborate portrayal, a 12-year-old girl’s struggle and sorrow are vividly presented to readers. The female protagonist Frankie is a tomboy living in a small Southern town. In the year when she progresses from 12 to 13, she falls into the dull repetition of days, becoming a solitary >freak<. A great dilemma confronting Frankie is that she aspires for freedom, but is unable to take the burden of freedom. Becoming a part of some group and leaving the town constitute two strong desires of Frankie. They are seemingly irrelevant, but closely related. Belonging saves Frankie from isolation, and escape promises her greater freedom and connectedness. Through a close reading of Carson McCullers’s novel >The Member of the Wedding<, this thesis is devoted to analyzing the protagonist Frankie’s living predicament from a psychoanalytical perspective and discussing the underlying solution to the condition. Erich Fromm’s theory of freedom and love exhaustively explores the spiritual crisis of modern man and provides a feasible solution. Using his theory will be conducive to the explanation of the protagonist’s complex psychology and her dilemma. Besides, Adler’s concept of social interest can help further analyze how the protagonist is able to realize positive freedom. After research, it can be concluded that Frankie is confronted with the universal predicament of modern man's burden of freedom. While she tries to escape from the burden, she suffers disillusionment, but at the same time, it helps the development of her individual self and provides motivation for positive freedom. Fromm believes that to get rid of the unbearable plight, love is indispensable. For Frankie and any modern man who suffers from aloneness, mastering the art of love is necessary to advance to positive freedom. [www.cnki.net, 1/2023]
Erich Fromm was a humanistic philosopher and psychoanalytic psychologist. He devoted his life to adapting Freud’s psychoanalytic doctrine to the spiritual situation of Westerners after the two world wars. Today, his ideas still have a great influence on contemporary society, especially his theory of consumer alienation which opens up a certain theoretical vision for the >consumer age< we live in. At the same time, Fromm’s alienation theory has a certain degree of scientificity and extensibility, because he takes Marx’s alienation thought as the theoretical foundation and Freud’s psychoanalytic theory as the extension, and through the appropriate combination of the two, he leads his own alienation theory, in order to profoundly analyze the problem of human alienation, the most important of which is the problem of consumer alienation. For Fromm, the theme of modern capitalist society is no longer >production<, but >consumption<, and the source of alienation is not only the former >alienation of labor<, but also the >alienation of consumption<. The source of alienation is not only the former >alienation of labor<, but also the >alienation of consumption<, in which modern society is full of symbols, and in which people are gradually commodified. During this period, Fromm remained sober, warning people about the great danger of consumer alienation, trying to wake up and save people who were trapped in the trap of consumer alienation, and Fromm always insisted on calling people to be rational subjects, in order to build a sound society. Nowadays, China has become the second largest consumer market in the world through continuous development, and along with the irreversible globalization, the world is becoming >smaller<, so the invasion of the Chinese market by consumerism is inevitable.
In such a social context, Fromm’s theory of consumer alienation becomes more valuable, which is also the starting point and research purpose of this paper. At the same time, the objective limitations of Fromm’s theory of consumer alienation also serve as an important reflection and reference for our analysis of the consumption problem in China. To this end, this paper analyzes and studies Fromm’s theory of consumer alienation and its contemporary value through five main parts: first, through the introductory part, it compares the domestic and foreign literature to achieve a systematic macroscopic grasp of Fromm’s theory of alienation.– Secondly, through the theoretical tracing of Fromm’s theory of consumer alienation, the development background and theoretical foundation of his theory are more objectively understood.– Third, through the exploration of the basic contents of Fromm’s theory of consumer alienation, we discuss its causes and connotations and discover its realistic manifestations and possible crises.– Fourth, through the first three parts, we will find Fromm’s path to overcome consumer alienation and his specific expectations for building a sound society.– Fifth, through an objective evaluation of the contributions and limitations of Fromm’s theory of consumer alienation, we will use its reference value to analyze the current problems of consumption in China, and use it as a reference to actively explore favorable insights and solutions to improve the consumption problem in China. [Translation: www.cnki. net, 9/2022]
Carson McCullers is an important female writer in the history of American Southern literature, and her works are full of description of Southern society. >Clock Without Hands<, her last novel, describes the Southern people and events in the mid-twentieth century. Most research outcomes focus on characters and mental description in the novel, a few are concerned with its social discourse, but few literary critics probe the alienation and its connection with society and history. This thesis explores the characters’ alienation condition in the South from the perspective of the alienation theory, which Fromm also emphasizes the individual experience and social elements, so as to reveal the panorama of Southern American society in >Clock Without Hands<. This thesis concludes that McCullers’ description on social alienation and social changes of the novel presents Southern advancement in the twentieth century, and it provides a new way to understand Southern society in >Clock Without Hands<, with the analysis of its theme of alienation. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 7/2023]
Erich Fromm is an American psychologist and psychoanalyst. In his system of doctrine, the existence concept occupies an important position. In Fromm’s view, existence mode not only reflects the individual’s living conditions, but also reflects the status and level of social development. Existence mode is not only an issue of values, but also an issue of ethics and psychology. Fromm’s concept is deeply influenced by Marx and Freud. Marx’s alienated labor theory and Freud’s psychoanalytic theory constitute important theoretical sources of his existence concept. Fromm divides existence mode into two types: the mode of having and the mode of being. Fromm profoundly reveals the social psychology and character characteristics of having, as well as the negative effects of having on all levels of society. On this basis, Fromm believes that it is necessary to shape a proactive mode of existence with >freedom<, >creativity< and >love< as the core demands, and to promote the construction of a new society through reforms at the political, economic and cultural levels, and to cultivate the new person with ideas of existence mode. By doing so, it is effective to eliminate the negative effects caused by alienation, reification and fetishism, and to transcend the existence mode of having. Fromm’s denial and criticism of the existence mode of having and the advocacy and assumption of the existence mode of being have positive enlightenment significance for the spiritual civilization construction of our society and the all-round development of human beings. However, Fromm’s existence thought also has obvious limitations. He lacks historical materialism. Although he recognizes that the generalization of the existence mode of having is the result of the development of private ownership, he ignores and downplays the decisive role of the economic foundation in social change. The social reform plan he proposes is out of touch with reality and has a strong utopian color, making it difficult to become a reality. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 4/2022]
[Chinese abstract not available.] With the gradual enrichment of material resources, the phenomenon of consumption alienation in western developed capitalist countries has also appeared in contemporary China. Consumption alienation has brought many specific problems and harms to contemporary China, and college students’ Campus loan is one of them. Some college students’ consumption psychology is affected by the phenomenon of consumption alienation and have a fanatical pursuit of goods and commodities. Because they have no economic income and limited economic ability, they choose to borrow and consume in the way of >campus loan< to meet their material desire, which leads to a series of >campus loan< problems. Fromm’s consumption alienation theory has a very important reference significance to solve the problem of College Students’ >campus loan<, so this paper systematically combs the main contents of Fromm’s consumption alienation theory. Firstly, it explains the core concept of Fromm’s consumption alienation theory and consumption alienation; Secondly, it points out that the performance and harm of consumption alienation are mainly reflected in three aspects: consumption alienation makes people lose their subjectivity and creativity, makes people have a false sense of happiness and psychological emptiness, and brings about the survival crisis of modern people; Thirdly, it analyzes the causes of consumption alienation, which has human and social roots; Finally, Fromm pointed out that in order to get rid of consumption alienation, we must establish a productive personality and humane consumption mode and realize the comprehensive reform of the transformation from a sick society to a sound society. Based on Fromm’s consumption alienation theory, this paper analyzes the current situation, harm and solution of College Students’ Campus loan by using the methods of literature research and integrating theory with practice. Firstly, this paper combs the current situation and classification of College students’ >campus loan<, mainly including consumer loan products, routine loan products and campus network loan. At present, consumer loan products and routine loan products are more in contact with college students, and campus network loan seriously endangers the physical and mental health of College students. At present, due to national supervision, it has stopped operation one after another; Secondly, it deeply analyzes the harm of College students’ campus loan to college students themselves, their families and all aspects of the school; Finally, from the perspective of Fromm’s consumption alienation theory, the paper puts forward that to solve the problem of College Students’ >campus loan<, we should cultivate college students’ sound personality and advocate correct consumption patterns, and puts forward specific solutions from these two aspects. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 9/2022]
As one of the most prominent and prolific writers in contemporary Canada, Margaret Atwood has won the Booker Prize twice. >Oryx and Crake< is Margaret Atwood’s eleventh novel, which mainly describes the clear recollections of sole human survivor Jimmy-Snowman before the crack of doom. His best friend Crake has destroyed humanity by creating a deadly virus that quickly spreads to the whole world and causes the destruction of human beings. By depicting the alienation phenomenon in the novel, Atwood reveals the predicament of modern people in a modern society and shows her humanistic concern. Based on Fromm's alienation theory, this thesis analyses the phenomenon of alienation from three aspects: the self-alienation, the relationship alienation and the social alienation. Firstly, the self-alienation means that man loses his creativity and subjectivity. Through creative activities and self-love, man can achieve his spiritual development and subjectivity. Secondly, this thesis also explores the relationship alienation. In modern society, people tend to make use of each other to safeguard their interests, which leads to the love that between family members and lovers is not pure. Through mature motherly love and erotic love, children will establish a more harmonious relationship with their parents and lovers will have a deeper understanding of each other. Thirdly, it comes to the social alienation. Technology alienation and consumption alienation are embodied in the social alienation. The misuse of technology and the possession of material things cause the alienation between man and society. In order to establish a humane society, humans can establish a harmonious relationship with society by having a humanistic planning and humanized consumption. By discussing the alienation phenomenon and the methods to eliminate alienation, this thesis attempts to provide a salutary lesson. In order to eliminate alienation, people should establish a harmonious relationship with themselves, others and society with the creativity, love and humanistic spirit. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 4/2023]
As one of the most famous contemporary female writers in America, Donna Tartt is a newly rising star in American literary circles. It is Tartt’s merit to describe the loss and confusion of teenagers and her work is characterized by its graceful language, compact plot and great readability. As a masterpiece that has taken Tartt’s nearly eleven years to get completed, >The Goldfinch< tells a story of a miserable boy and a famous painting which has escaped a disaster. Since its publication in 2013, >The Goldfinch< has been interpreted by scholars at home and abroad from different perspectives, whose research results are mainly concentrated on its theme and narrative skills. However, there have been no scholars so far who have interpreted the alienation phenomenon of the protagonist in the work from the perspective of alienation. Therefore, the author attempts to give a brand-new analysis and interpretation of Theodore’s alienation phenomenon in the novel with the guidance of famous psychologist Fromm’s theory of alienation, which aims to provide readers with more abundant angle to understand this masterpiece. This thesis consists of three parts: introduction, main body and conclusion. In the part of introduction, Donna Tartt and her masterpiece >The Goldfinch< are briefly arranged. Besides, this part summarizes the current research status of this topic at home and abroad and gives a brief introduction of the alienation theory of Fromm. The research significance of this paper is also clarified in this part. The body part is the main body of this thesis, which consists of three chapters. The first chapter explores the manifestations of Theodore’s alienation, which is embodied in his alienation from society, from others and from himself. Alienation is an extremely adverse phenomenon that will do harm to one’s mental health. However, it is unavoidable for Theodore to suffer from alienation due to his miserable sufferings and living environment. The second chapter analyzes the roots of Theodore’s alienation, which is carefully clarified from the perspective of society, family and Theodore’s psychology.– The first section discusses the social roots of Theodore’s alienation: the unstable social environment and the general absence of family ethics have caused individuals’ general estrangement and alienation.– The second section shows the family roots of Theodore’s alienation: the early death of his mother and the absence of his family affection lead to the cultivation of his closed and timid character.– The third section explores the psychological roots of Theodore’s alienation: his inner emptiness and loneliness are the fundamental reasons for his alienation. The third chapter analyzes the process of how Theodore constructively eliminates his alienation and finally obtains a sound psychology. The acquisition of fatherly affection and the nourishment of friendship make him feel be loved and help him gain a sense of security and the courage to move forward. Besides, the re-establishment of relationships with the outside world gives him a sense of accomplishment and helps him realize his own value. Moreover, the painting >The Goldfinch< provides him with a broad artistic space, in which he can find some comfort and courage. All of these factors have contributed to the elimination of Theodore’s alienation.– The conclusion part is the summary of the above analysis. By analyzing the manifestations and roots of Theodore’s alienation, and his efforts to eliminate alienation under the guidance of Fromm’s alienation theory, the author constructively gives the advice of solving the spiritual crisis and eliminating the alienation phenomenon of modern people. Besides, the significance and shortcomings of this thesis are also clarified in this part. With the rapid progress of society, people’s material life has been greatly improved. However, people’s spiritual world has not kept pace with their increasing material wealth. The relationships among people become aloof and isolated, which is harmful to one’s healthy development and the progress of society. Therefore, this paper aims to provide some constructive suggestions for modern people to properly handle their anxiety and eliminate their alienation phenomenon through the detailed analysis of Theodore’s alienation. It also aims to achieve the healthy development of individuals and help them establish a harmonious relationship full of love. [www.cnki.net, 11/2022]
[Chinese abstract not available.] Monica Ali is a British Bengali female writer. She was listed as the best young British novelist by Granta, a famous English literary magazine. >Brick Lane<>Brick Lane<>Brick Lane< is a representative work of Ali, whose other notable works include >Alentejo Blue< and >In the Kitchen<. >Brick Lane< tells the story of Nazneen, a Bangladeshi girl who immigrates to Great Britain with her husband. The heroine of the novel, Nazneen, is a traditional and conservative woman at first. After the baptism of immigrant life and the change of her own thinking, she eventually grows into an independent and confident woman. Her husband Chanu is always looking forward to a bright future in Britain, but he is ostracised. In the end, they make different choices about their immigrant lives. In Ali’s work, she describes the intense and difficult life of Bengali immigrants incisively and vividly, but also profoundly reveals the alienation of the relationship among the characters in the novel. This thesis uses Fromm’s alienation theory from three aspects: alienation of human’s self relationship, man’s alienation from others and man’s alienation from society to interpret the alienation of characters in >Brick Lane<, and it further discusses the ways to eliminate alienation through the elaboration of alienation phenomenon.– First of all, this thesis gives a brief description of the author Monica Ali’s life and introduces the plot of the novel >Brick Lane< and the research status of scholars at home and abroad on >Brick Lane<.– Secondly, this thesis introduces the evolution of Fromm’s alienation theory and three main aspects of alienation. In the background of immigrant life, the characters in the novel blindly pursue high status in the western society. And under the influence of traditional ideas, women blindly follow men’s arrangements, lose their self-consciousness and produce self-alienation. In addition, the abnormal relationship between husband and wife also leads to the alienation between people.– Thirdly, immigrants are a special group and they have conflicts with the local social culture. Therefore, this thesis focuses on the analysis of the alienation between man and society and how to eliminate this alienation, so that people can be able to live in an equal and harmonious social environment.– Finally, it is the conclusion of the thesis. This thesis aims to explore how to effectively eliminate alienation when people are in an alienated environment by analyzing the alienation state and redemption methods of characters in >Brick Lane<. At the same time, it reminds us to fully realize our own values and give play to our subjectivity to eliminate alienation. And we should learn to get along with others in a loving way to build a healthy and equal society. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 9/2022]
>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]
With the implementation of the >Internet +< action plan and the extensive involvement of intelligence, the consumption frenzy mediated by the Internet has rapidly intensified, and people have changed from traditional offline consumption to online consumption that does not depend on time and space. The consumption concept, consumption pattern and consumption structure of Chinese people are affected to varying degrees. In particular, the group of college students has gradually occupied a very important position in online consumption. In the process of playing a social role, the consumption demand is constantly changing, and online consumption has also been enthusiastically loved by college students. At the same time, the symbolic meaning and consumption characteristics brought by the world of online consumption are gradually infiltrating the consumption concept of college students. She is no longer a simple satisfaction of consumption needs, but has gradually evolved into a kind of consumption that is separated from consumption. The true meaning is the transformation towards consumption alienation such as symbolic consumption, conformity consumption, and advanced consumption. Simply put, college students’ online consumption shows an increase in consumption year by year, in various forms. Most students have irrational consumption behaviors, which will undoubtedly bring a kind of non-positive guidance to college students. In serious cases, it will cause unpredictable harm to the future development of college students. Therefore, for college students who have not yet stepped into the society, it has important practical significance to study the alienation of online consumption of college students. From the perspective of sociology, this research combines Baudrillard’s theory of symbolic consumption and Fromm’s theory of consumption alienation. 850 college students conduct research on Internet consumption. The content of the questionnaire consists of two parts, the first part is the basic situation of the respondents, and the second part is the specific situation of college students’ online consumption. Using SPSS to analyze the survey data and combined with the interview data, the current situation of the alienation of college students’ online consumption is summarized as follows: At present, female college students are more likely to have online consumption alienation than male college students, and junior students are more likely than freshmen, sophomores and seniors. Of students’ online shopping consumption alienation is more serious, compared with other majors, the alienation of online consumption is also more obvious for art college students. The alienation of college students’ online consumption is affected by consumer subjects, consumer groups, and social environment, and relevant analysis is carried out. The influence of consumer subjects is mainly reflected in consumer psychology, venting impulsive consumption, com-paring conspicuous consumption, blindly conforming consumption, and advancing consumption. Finally, the article puts forward some suggestion-s to guide college students to reasonable network fees from three levels: individual, group and society. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 1/2023]
Although scholars from home and abroad have paid much attention to the alienation theme in O’Neill’s >Long Day’s Journey into Night<, their examinations are mainly from one perspective and seldom from multiple aspects. Therefore, in light of Erich Fromm’s analysis of man’s relation to himself, others, and society in his alienation theory, the thesis purports to argue that, by analyzing the causes of alienation in >Long Day’s Journey into Night<, the Tyrones, the main characters in the play, are in the existence of meaninglessness and hopelessness. The thesis includes an introduction, body, and conclusion, and the central part is the body, which is divided into three chapters. With the application of Fromm’s notion of escape mechanism, chapter one inquires why the Tyrones are beset by alienation from themselves and how they attempt to eliminate alienation. Authoritarianism and destructiveness are the causes why the Tyrones run up against alienation from themselves. Precisely, the Tyrones’ dependence on anonymous authorities engenders their idolatrous love for Catholicism and their parents. Meanwhile, pushed by the automaton conformity mechanism, each in the Tyrones is split into real self and pseudo self. In addition, the Tyrone family, with the mechanism of destructiveness, tries to eliminate themselves from suffering from alienation through alcohol or morphine, which are weak and unsustainable, so they cannot eliminate alienation. By analyzing the reasons and attempts, the chapter reveals people’s meaningless existence in that they fail to achieve their self-development.– Chapter two studies why the Tyrones sustain alienation from others in the conjugal, parent-child, and sisterly/brotherly relationships. To be specific, affected by egoism, human relationships, enslaved by personal benefits, are reduced to relations between commodities. Due to inhuman relationships, the Tyrones cannot gain happiness or hope in their relations with others. In chapter three, the reasons for alienation from society suffered by the Tyrones are explored from their production process, consumption activities and past experiences. The family is separately trapped in the past and cannot get rid of the agony from the past, so they become the slave of their past experiences. In the production process, the Tyrones work only for the sake of dollars, thus ceasing to be an active agent in society. In the consumer world, the Tyrone family purchases not for the use-value of commodities but the possession of them. Hence, the Tyrone family, being the object of social activities and the past, finds no way to succeed or step into the future, consequently caught in the existence of hopelessness and meaninglessness.– The conclusion part points out that, in the capitalist society, the Tyrones suffer from alienation from themselves, others, and society, leading to a meaningless and hopeless existence. Through investigating the causes of the alienation in the play, the thesis reveals the living predicament of modern people, which will arouse people to pay attention to their existence and spiritual needs. [www.cnki.net, 11/2022]
Lu Ling was a famous modern writer in the 1940s. In his novels of the 1940s, Lu paid attention to the wanderers oppressed by the war environment from the unique perspective of the wanderers, which led to his novels with a distinct wandering feature. With the transformation of geographical space and spiritual confusion, wandering as a state of existence became a form of literary expression and then wandering writing occurred. This thesis takes L< in order to analyze the presentation form of the wandering writing and explore the original life strength, subjective fighting spirit and free will show in the wandering writing of Lu Ling’s novels in the1940s, thus discovering the causes that bring about Lu Ling’s wandering writing in the 1940s and the literary historical significance of the wandering writing. The thesis is divided into four chapters: The first chapter mainly analyzes the presentation form of the wandering writing in Lu Ling’s novels in the 1940s and uses text analysis to interpret several wandering images in the novels. This chapter shows the dual wandering of the wanderer’s body and mind and the free state of the wanderer’ spirit, showing the wanderer and the writer’s own spiritual meaning of seeking and the pursuit of life value.– The second chapter explores the spiritual connotation of the wandering writing in Lu Ling’s novels in the 1940s, which analyzes the assertive primitive life force embodied in Lu Ling’s novels in the 1940s from Freud’s personality structure theory, explores the subjective fighting spirit contained in the author’s wandering writing from Hu Feng’s realist theory and inquires into the metaphysical problems of the wanderer’s pursuit of freedom and where the wanderer should go from the perspective of the existential theory of Sartre and Fromm’s freedom theory. What the author expresses through the wandering writing is a road to salvation combining individual liberation with national liberation, showing the wanderer’s transcendent exploration for the meaning and value of life in the 1940s.– The third chapter analyzes the causes leading to the wandering writing in Lu Ling’s novels in the 1940s, which explores the opportunities for the wandering writing in Lu Ling’s novels in the 1940s against the background of the wars and his turbulent life experience, and probes into the theoretical origins of his wandering writing from the May 4th literature, modern Hu Feng’s theory, and Western literary thought, and explores Lu Ling’s unique literary thought.– The fourth chapter discusses the literary historical significance of the wandering writing in Lu Ling’s novels in the 1940s. It sorts out the wandering writing of the writers since May Fourth, analyzes the inheritance and development of Lu Ling’s wandering writing through the similarities and differences between these writers and Lu Ling, and summarizes the contribution of the wandering writing in Lu Ling’s novels in the 1940s to the July School and the literary history of the 1940s from the perspective of realism, which is manifested in Lu Ling’s practice and development of Hu Feng’s theory and realist creation. Lu Ling pushed the traditional wandering writing into a new direction of development, and endowed the realistic writing with new theoretical and epochal significance in the inheritance and development, thus ascending to the character of epic. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 11/2022]
Contemporary American writer George Saunders was recognized as >the writer for our time<. He was the winner of the 2017 Man Booker Prize for his novel >Lincoln in the Bardo<. Saunders is good at writing short fictions, with >CivilWarLand in Bad Decline<, >Pastoralia<, >In Persuasion Nation< and >Tenth of December< as his representative works. His short story collection >Tenth of December<, published in 2013, keeps Saunders’ terse, humorous and ironic writing style, describing the alienated body under the context of consumer culture. The current research on >Tenth of December< mainly focuses on one to two short stories in the collection. Most of the studies are conducted from the perspective of post-colonialism, feminism, ethics and consumption in cultural studies. Topics of the research cover trauma, ethics, alienation etc. However, body as an important research object has not been discussed yet. In light of it, the paper focuses on the alienated body caused by the consumer society and aims at exploring its nature and its social and cultural roots, as well as the writing intention and the social value of the collection. There are five chapters altogether. The first chapter gives brief introduction to George Saunders and >Tenth of December<. Besides, after sorting out the previous and the current studies on Saunders’ works, this chapter points out the significance of the study and expounds the researching approach.– The second chapter defines >the alienated body< by means of sociology and Erich Fromm’s theory of alienation, and sorts out the phenomenon of alienation in body and its subsequent consequence.– The third chapter, based on Jean Baudrillard’s theory of the consumer society and Max Horkheimer’s critique of instrumental reason, is committed to interpreting the phenomenon of the alienation of the body and exploring the social roots for it, including the re-appropriation of the body by capital, the toiling of body by sign-value consumption as well as the impairment of body by instrumental reason. Based on the former two chapters, the fourth chapter is devoted to exploring the palpable ways out of the dilemma. Individuals whose bodies are alienated should, first of all, become an independent subject to regain subjectivity. Secondly, death also serves as a solution to the alienation of the body. Last but not least, individuals can turn to the power of the humanist communities to realize salvation.– The last chapter is the concluding part, summarizing the main idea of the paper and pointing out the social values embodied in the novella as well. Through textual analysis, a conclusion can be drawn that the alienated body is the product of the consumer society. By revealing the alienation of the body, the story collection aims at speaking for the marginalized people whose bodies have been utilized as an operational capital by revealing the alienation of the body and appeals for the renaissance of humanistic spirit in the consumer society. On top of that, the problem that happened to the body is also associated with the future of humankind. [www.cnki.net, 1/2023]
Fromm is one of the main representatives of Frankfurt School. He is deeply influenced by Marx and Freud. He combines Marx’s social critical theory with Freud’s psychoanalytic theory to systematically criticize the alienation of human existence. He is known as one of the founders of >psychoanalytic sociology<. Fromm paid special attention to the problem of alienated consumption in his analysis of the phenomenon of alienation in the existence of capitalist society, formed a relatively systematic thought and theory on alienated consumption, launched an ethical criticism on alienated consumption from the standpoint of humanitarianism, and put forward a new humanitarian consumption ethics of >re existence<. Fromm spent his whole life studying the problem of human existence. In the early stage, Fromm focused on psychological analysis from the microstructure of human spiritual entity. After coming into contact with Marx’s thoughts and theories on >alienated labor< and >humanism<, he began to construct his theoretical framework on the alienation of human existence from the macro social and economic structure. Fromm’s alienation of existence mainly includes three alienation phenomena: freedom alienation, love alienation and alienation consumption. Fromm believes that alienated consumption is one of the most serious problems in modern capitalist society. Alienated consumption makes people become greedy consumption machines and brings false freedom and happiness. It not only leads to the materialization of humanity and serious survival crisis, but also leads to the waste of resources and the deterioration of ecological environment. He pointed out that the lack of people’s transcendental needs and the capitalist economic system are the two root causes of alienated consumption. The character of modern society has strengthened the degree of alienation in the field of consumption. In this regard, Fromm proposed that the sublation of alienated consumption can be realized through human psychological reform, the establishment of productive personality and the improvement of social system, but his ideological approach of paying too much attention to human psychological role deviated from Marxist historical materialism, making his theory covered with idealism and Utopia. Facing the morbid western consumer society, Fromm deeply revealed the alienation relationship between man and self, man and society and between man and nature in capitalist society from the three dimensions of individual, society and nature. In order to make people in western society get rid of alienated consumption, correct human nature and save the society, Fromm deeply exposed and criticized the inhumane phenomenon of alienated consumption, and clearly put forward the consumption ethical principle of new humanitarianism of >taking human existence as the highest value pursuit<, as well as the value orientation of >re existence<, healthy and humane consumption mode and the ethical norms that people should bear historical responsibility, so as to realize people’s real freedom and happiness and rebuild the harmony between man and nature. Fromm’s alienated consumption theory embodies the value orientation of pursuing individual freedom, rationality and love, the willingness and yearning for social harmonious order, and the attention to maintaining the balance between freedom and order, rationality and emotion, which leads to consumers’ rational reflection on the moral concept, aesthetic evaluation and love emotion of alienated consumption, and then stimulates the consciousness of alienated consumption and survival crisis under the capitalist system. Fromm’s revelation of the triple distorted ethical relationship caused by alienated consumption is profound, and his criticism of the inhuman consumption view of alienated consumption is reasonable. His alienated consumption theory provides a new path for people in western society to deeply understand the essence of capitalist society, and also provides a reference for the construction of socialist consumption ethics with Chinese characteristics in the new era, It reminds us that we should give consideration to the development of spiritual civilization while vigorously developing material civilization, and pay attention to the real needs of people and the harmonious development of society. Therefore, we should Constructing individual consumption ethics of >re existence<, advocate consumers’ moderate consumption, and rebuild the traditional virtue of thrift. Build a sustainable social consumption ethics, advocate the concept of green consumption in the society, guide sustainable consumption, and rebuild the harmony between man and nature. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 1/2023]
Erich Fromm is a famous Western Marxist, and a key member of Frankfurt School. He constructed his own humanistic ideology, with exploring the living dilemma of modern people, criticizing the morbid society and yearning for a sound society in the future as the goal, calling for human subjectivity as the object of study and the thread that runs through all theories, analysis of phenotypic analysis mechanism and character structure of modern alienation as the breakthrough point. There is a profound brand of the times and a complex theoretical background during the formation of humanistic thought. The brutality of the two world wars trampling on human nature, the rapid recovery of western economies lead to the war aggravating the alienation of human nature and generalizing the phenotypic analysis problems, and the influence of religion and family all prompted him to devote himself to realizing the return of >human< in academic and practice. The recommendation and application of Marx’s theory of labor alienation by Frankfurt School and the exploration and revelation of human nature by psychoanalysis theory have prepared the prerequisite conditions for the construction of his cultural view of human nature and humanitarian ideological system. >Alienation< – the core concept of Marx’s theory, Freud’s theory of the structure of character, the cultural undertones of western liberalism and humanism, the social critical theory of the Frankfurt School. All of these above, are the theoretical origin of its ideological system. Starting from the logic of modern man, Fromm takes Marx’s theory of labor alienation and Freud’s >synthesis< of psychoanalysis as the research tool, comprehensively and systematically expounds his own humanitarian thoughts. First, freedom is a matter of quantity as well as quality. Through analyzing the phenotypic analysis mechanism and character structure of human alienation, he pointed out that modern people have two sides of >gain< and >escape< in their treatment of freedom which root in man’s living circumstance and individual experience. Second, alienation is a universal objective existence. He defined alienation as an emotional and psychological subjective experience. He believes that alienation of capitalist society is constantly deepening and universalizing, mainly in the aspects of human nature, social character, social psychology and emotion. Third, love is a force that overcomes alienation. Love is an art and an ability that can be learned by practice. The ability to love is the way and method to overcome alienation, but the acquisition of the ability to love depends on the influence of the society on the personality of the individual. Modern westerners are cogs in machines that cannot love, so the ability to love is gradually being lost. Fourth, the hallmark of a healthy society is sharing. Through the psychoanalysis of human beings, Fromm concluded that western society is morbid and unsound. He proposed to reform the society from three aspects – economy, politics and culture, and expected to build a >humanistic public ownership< of a sound society with shared work, shared experience and common management. He believed that this is the goal of all the modern people. Fromm’s humanistic thought is unique. In the construction of the humanistic ideological system, he took a road of focusing on the micro, the macro and the reality. Its main characteristics are the >comprehensive< innovation in the ideological system, and the call for the subjectivity of human beings in the purpose and method. The most notable feature is the profound analysis and humanistic criticism of western capitalism based on reality. Fromm’s humanistic thought has irreplaceable academic status and application value in the western cultural tradition and the theoretical pedigree of Western Marxism. It has enlightenment and reference function in restraining the phenotypic analysis mechanism and social character of human alienation and overcoming the >possession-oriented ways of existence< to a certain extent. But supplementing Marxism with the subjectively defined theory of human nature, attributing the pathology of modern and contemporary capitalist societies to problems of human nature, defining the transformation of western society as the transformation of human nature, using >love< and >character construction< as tools to transform reality and build a sound society all obviously have theoretical prejudice and character of Utopia. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 1/2023]
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]
[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]
[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]
Erich Fromm criticizes the common notion that >obedience is a virtue< and >disobedience is a vice.< To prove his point, he argues that obedience can be utilized by any unjust and inhumane authority for their evil ends. Not only that, but he also says that the history of Western civilization is replete with stories of the struggle for the affirmation of the human person as an individual entity through disobedience. Thus, Fromm argues that disobedience can be utilized for the liberation and evolution of the human person. Therefore, he affirms that disobedience can be considered a virtue.
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]
While Kingsley Amis‘s novel >Lucky Jim< shows the anger and disillusionment of 1950s British youth, it also contains Amis’s still-positive attitude towards British young people like himself who are in a predicament. Focusing on the two core concepts of Fromm’s theory of freedom, negative freedom and positive freedom, written within the same historical period as Kingsley Amis’s >Lucky Jim< (1954) and Jim’s transcendence from negative freedom to positive freedom as the research object, this thesis deeply interprets the disillusionment, awakening and self-reconstruction in Jim’s journey to true freedom.– The study found that: the social culture, hypocritical academic environment, weird interpersonal relationships, and the fettered and immature personality of Jim himself all induce him to pursue a negative freedom through by escaping responsibility and rebelling against middle-class culture and social traditions traditionally enjoyed by postwar capitalist society. However, these radical actions, which Fromm called >negative freedom<, did not bring Jim spiritual relief, but brought him alienation and disillusion. The alienation and disillusion brought about by Jim’s pursuit of negative freedom, which makes Jim wake up from his negative freedom and seek a new way of freedom. Ultimately, Jim’s pursuing for freedom transforms from negative freedom to positive freedom through spontaneous love for Christine and a series of creative activities to regain his true self and a sense of belonging. This self-reconstruction gives Jim the courage to face his destiny and choose to reconnect with the outside world and enjoy healthy human relationships. And with the favorable changes of the external political, economic and cultural environment, Jim finally frees himself from the sufferings of his negative freedom, and finds the true path to positive freedom. This study attempts to show that neither avoiding responsibility nor seeking one’s psychological escape through rebellion can solve the survival dilemma suffered under the influence of negative freedom. And only when we can live and love spontaneously in a positive way, and actively establish a close connection with the world, can we get out of the predicament and obtain true freedom. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 5/2023]
Inwiefern eignet sich Erich Fromms Entwurf einer humanistischen Ethik für den Ethikunterricht der Sekundarstufe II? Dieser Frage soll in der vorliegenden Arbeit nachgegangen werden. Die Untersuchung wird sich in drei Schritte unterteilen. Im ersten Teil der Arbeit wird eine Untersuchung des Gegenstands der Psychologie in der Geschichte der Philosophie durchgeführt. Hierbei soll anhand einer Auswahl von Philosophen dargestellt werden, wie sich im Laufe der Jahrhunderte die Psychologie als eigenständige Wissenschaft aus den Sphären der Philosophie emanzipierte. Ein besonderer Fokus wird hierbei auf Sigmund Freuds Psychoanalyse liegen. Im zweiten Teil der Arbeit wird daraufhin untersucht, wie die Erkenntnisse der Psychologie von der Philosophie genutzt wurden, um mit Hilfe dieser Erkenntnisse eigene ethische Theorien zu entwickeln. Hierbei soll Erich Fromms Ansatz demjenigen von John Dewey gegenübergestellt werden. Beide nutzten die Erkenntnisse der Psychoanalyse und der Psychologie aus unterschiedlichen Bereichen und mit unterschiedlichen Motiven. Diese Gegenüberstellung eignet sich insofern, dass sie die Individualität beider Ansätze verdeutlicht und die Vielfältigkeit der Interdisziplinarität aus Psychologie und Philosophie illustriert. Im dritten und letzten Teil der Arbeit soll anschliessend untersucht werden, warum gerade Erich Fromms Ansatz als geeignetes Unterrichtsthema für den Ethikunterricht der Sekundarstufe II erscheint. Diese didaktische Untersuchung läuft in drei Schritten ab: Zunächst wird anhand Fromms eigener Aussagen zu Pädagogik und Erziehung eine psychoanalytische Perspektive eingenommen, die vor allem Fromms Untersuchungen zum (Un-)Gehorsam und zur Autorität in den Blick nimmt. Im zweiten Schritt soll anhand Wolfgang Klafkis Theorie der kategorialen Bildung eine allgemeindidaktische Untersuchung der humanistischen Ethik Fromms stattfinden. Dies soll dazu beitragen, den Blick vom Unterrichtsgegenstand hin zu den Schüler*innen zu lenken, vor allem aber das Potential einer wechselseitigen Erschliessung von Subjekt und Objekt im Sinne Klafkis zu analysieren. Im letzten Schritt wird abschliessend erörtert, wie Ekkehard Martens Philosophiedidaktik mit Erich Fromms Ansatz harmoniert. Der Fokus liegt hierbei auf Martens Definition von Philosophie, die er vor allem als Tätigkeit und Kulturtechnik versteht. All dies soll schliesslich dazu beitragen, die Frage nach einer Eignung von Fromms Ansatz für den Ethikunterricht zu beantworten. [Weltbild Verlag, Schweiz]
The concept of this qualification work is to look at the question of human nature. This subject is narrowed down to an assumption that the human nature is not a solid or given substance but rather a question that needs to be answered. This interpretation is then discussed from a point of view of three thinkers. Those are: Erich Fromm, Mircea Eliade and Carl Gustav Jung, chronologically in this order. Except the original presumption ideas of these men differ quite noticeably, or at least between the two main ones, who are Jung and Fromm. These differences are then presented throughout this work. Ideas of Mircea Eliade are used as a thematic bridge to fill the gap between the two at first seemingly incompatible islands Carl Gustav Jung and Erich Fromm. At the end, an attempt to find certain similarities between the main characters is submitted.
As a famous contemporary philosophical theorist, psychoanalyst and social activist, Fromm has attracted much attention for his outstanding humanistic theoretical interest and profound social criticism. Since the 1980s, the research on Fromm’s theory has gradually emerged in Chinese academic circles, and some influential theoretical results have been produced. Through literature review, it is found that domestic and foreign researches are more focused on Fromm’s Theory of human nature, alienation theory, freedom theory, Social character theory and unconscious theory, etc, while the systematic and overall research on Fromm’s Sane social theory is less. Based on this, this paper attempts to conduct a more systematic study of Fromm’s sane society theory. This paper mainly conducts research from the following four aspects: First, to sort out the background and ideological origin of Fromm’s sane society theory. Second, analyze the logical structure of Fromm’s sane society theory, and study the concepts and connotations of >Sane man< and >Sane society< proposed by Fromm. Third, research and analyze the theoretical value and its theoretical limitations of Fromm’s sane society theory. Fourth, to summarizes the contemporary enlightenment of Fromm’s Sane Society theory. Through research, the author believes that although Fromm’s sane society theory is far from Marxist anthropology, it still has certain theoretical value and reference function. In particular, his profound critique of the alienation phenomenon of capital society, can provide a certain theoretical reference for our correct understanding of capital modernity. [Translation: www.cnki.net, 1/2023]