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Psychoanalysis in the shadow of fascism and genocide: Erich Fromm and the interpersonal tradition
(2022)
The aim of this paper is to give the reader an overview of several theoretical, empirical, and clinical features of survivor guilt, and to integrate recent contributions of psychodynamic theory and, in particular, of control-mastery theory into the understanding of the concept alongside the latest findings in social psychology about it. After introducing the concept of survivor guilt and its origins in clinical observations on the consequences of having survived severe traumas (e.g., internment in concentration camps), we will discuss the findings in social psychology on the concept of survivor guilt in everyday social interactions, which is based on a conception that does not connect it strictly to severe traumas. We will then focus our attention on clinical observations and empirical research studies about survivor guilt, discussing the hypotheses developed by several control-mastery theorists about its role in psychopathology. Finally, we will illustrate some manifestations of survivor guilt with a brief clinical vignette.
The short story entitled >Mu'tamar Al-Hub< by Taufiq Al-Hakim is a short story that contains the theme of love. The short story is interesting because it contains different views on the understanding of love. This study examines the psychology of the character in the short story which focuses on the characteristics of each character's love. The method used in this study is a qualitative method with the psychoanalytic theory of Erich Fromm. In this study, researchers found two divisions of the psychology of love in the short story character >Mu'tamar Al-Hub<. That is, found four forms of essential elements of love and five forms of objects of love. First, the researcher found the psychology of journalist characters who showed an attitude of concern, and responsibility and included in the type of erotic love. Second, the psychology of the musician character shows responsibility and the type of love in the form of motherly love. Third, the psychology of the poet’s character shows the respect and love included in the category of brotherly love and erotic love. Fourth, the psychology of the female character shows that there are aspects of her knowledge and love character in the form of self-love.
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]