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Erich Fromm's The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness

reviewed by Doug Zellner

psychology

Erich Fromm's latest work is of overwhelming visual proportions. He has divided his work into three parts, the first two of which present the thinking of well-known Instinctivists, Environmentalists and Behaviorists such as Freud, Skinner, Lorenz, Bettelheim and others. He writes at some length on "relevant data" in the fields of neurophysiology, animal psychology, paleontology and anthropology to disprove the hypothesis that man is innately endowed with a self-propelling and spontaneous aggressive drive.

In Part III he develops his idea that human nature is basically good, that society is the cause of the evil and corruption produced by man. It is Fromm's thesis that there are two types of aggression: Benign and Destructive.

Benign aggression consists of accidental, playful and self-assertive acts or acts resulting from ego hurt, escape from reality, a desire to conform or be free, or a need to attain a desirable goal. Fromm feels that these are defenses against man's growth and can be eliminated by constructing a society in which no one is threatened.

Malignant aggression, consisting of sadism and a passionate desire for cruelty and destruction, is the result of "exploitation and manipulation" which in Fromm's opinion produces boredom and triviality. This type of aggression he feels can be substantially eliminated when the existing socioeconomic conditions are replaced by conditions favorable to the development of man's genuine needs.

Fromm expresses much optimism and hope that through social and political upheavals coupled with understanding and love of mankind man will survive and continue to grow.

The main thing that struck this reader is that, while Fromm constantly expounds on the need for more love, there is very little love expressed in his writing. He writes as if he wishes to win acceptance from people working in the same or related fields and approbation from the pseudo-intellectual.

While he says he loves mankind he never states what qualities of human nature he finds lovable. He never describes what love is or how to use it in influencing changes in society. He leaves me with the feeling that love is some vague quality which would automatically change the world in everyone had it.

Fromm devotes a great deal of space to sadism. He categorizes varieties of it in many different ways from harmless to harmful. He has evidently spent a good deal of time thinking about this subject. What is surprising is that he doesn't acknowledge his own problems in this area. At one point when discussing aggression he gives an example utilizing one of his own patients. Fromm is so intent on controlling the discussion and revealing a petty truth that he does not take his patient's feelings into account. When the man calls Fromm a sadist he simply shrugs it off and chalks the remark up to the man's depressive aggression. Fromm is blind to the conclusion that sadism is produced by one who has the ability to love, but doesn't.

I feel that at some point in his life Fromm must have been severely intimi- dated emotionally. I can empathize with this and can feel his need to react strongly once having identified the problem. It appears, however, that he hasn't looked into his own needs for a solution. All through his book he constantly negates control, despises spontaneity. He unfortunately still permits himself to be so intimidated by success as a psychiatrist/author that he refuses to believe in insight. There is a scrupulous absence of any reference to homosexuality. It seems to me that Fromm, like Freud, has simply refused to recognize his feelings towards the human nature of another man. As a consequence he has kept his ability to love, with the resulting insights, licked away in a closet of fear.

There is no reason to recommend that anyone should read this $10.95 rip-off. Over 200 pages are devoted to case studies of Himmler, Stalin and Hitler, as well as restating Freud's theory of aggression. Not only is our knowledge of human nature not advanced, it could be seriously be retarded. Fromm's populari- ty stems in part from the fact that he never gives society a hassle. Like the spoiled child, society can use this book by a so-called deep thinker to continue on its merry, ignorant path.

See Also

Geoff Mains' Urban Aboriginals

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Erich Fromm's The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness

Journal 2 [1974]

	Warming up to Intro 2, by Jurgen Schmitt [editorial]
	New for Old, by David Tesdell
	The View From the Center Politics is no cure for an empty life
	John Hopkins' "Find Your Way Home", reviewed by Paul Rosenfels [1974] Within an atmosphere often sordid and sometimes mundane, a resourceful and creative playwright, with the help of highly skilled actors, has made a human statement capable of penetrating the psychological fog in which most people choose to live, inviting the audience to become involved in the true idealism and morality of the human undertaking
	A Song For Lovers and Other Strangers, by Angelo Mendez [poetry]
	Conversations with Our Counselors Counselors on staff at the Ninth Street Center discuss their attitudes towards counseling, the problems typical of gay people, the psychiatric establishment, and some of their own personal aims and goals
	A Letter to the Editor, by Bill West