Erich Fromm

Man for Himself

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“There is no meaning to life except the meaning man gives his life by the unfolding of his powers.” —Erich Fromm
Are we primarily determined by nature or nurture? What are the best ways that people can live productively? In Man for Himself, renowned social philosopher Erich Fromm posits: With the gifts of self-consciousness and imagination, any individual can give his or her own unique answer. This answer is rooted in our human nature, and should correspond to mankind’s powers of reason and love. Therefore, Fromm reasons, “living itself is an art.” In his humanistic concept of man, Fromm describes various character orientations that are to be found in Western culture. For the first time, Fromm analyzes the parallels between economic concepts of market value and how we value others and ourselves—the idea of personality as a commodity. He argues for a return to humanistic ethics, and discusses issues such as the question of conscience, of selfishness and self-love, and of pleasure and happiness. This ebook features an illustrated biography of Erich Fromm including rare images and never-before-seen documents from the author’s estate.
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328 printed pages
Original publication
2013
Publication year
2013
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Quotes

  • b9082857408has quoted6 months ago
    While it is true that man’s productiveness can create material things, works of art, and systems of thought, by far the most important object of productiveness is man himself.

    Birth is only one particular step in a continuum which begins with conception and ends with death. All that is between these two poles is a process of giving birth to one’s potentialities, of bringing to life all that is potentially given in the two cells. But while physical growth proceeds by itself, if only the proper conditions are given, the process of birth on the mental plane, in contrast, does not occur automatically. It requires productive activity to give life to the emotional and intellectual potentialities of man, to give birth to his self. It is part of the tragedy of the human situation that the development of the self is never completed; even under the best conditions only part of man’s potentialities is realized. Man always dies before he is fully born.

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