Erich Fromm

Psychology German-American 1900 – 1980 268 quotes

Humanistic psychoanalyst, The Art of Loving

Most quoted

"Modern man is alienated from himself, from his fellow men, and from nature. He has been transformed into a commodity, experiences his life force as an investment which must bring him the maximum profit obtainable under existing market conditions."

— from The Sane Society, 1955

"Modern man is alienated from himself, from his fellow men, and from nature. He has been transformed into a commodity, experiences his life as an investment which must bring him a maximum profit under existing market conditions."

— from The Sane Society, 1955

"The mother-child relationship is paradoxical and, in a sense, tragic. It requires the most intense love on the mother's side, yet this very love must help the child grow away from the mother, and to become fully independent."

— from The Art of Loving, 1956

All quotes by Erich Fromm (268)

Modern man is alienated from himself, from his fellow men, and from nature.

The Sane Society 1955

The most profound experience of man is the experience of being loved.

The Art of Loving 1956

The human dilemma is that man is both part of nature and separate from it.

The Sane Society 1955

Only a person who has faith in himself can be faithful to others.

The Art of Loving 1956

The average person is a conformist, accepting the status quo and the values of his society without question.

Escape from Freedom 1941

The problem of modern man is not that he is too selfish, but that he is not selfish enough.

Man for Himself: An Inquiry into the Psychology of Ethics 1947

The ultimate goal of man is to be fully alive, to be fully human.

The Art of Being

The only way to make sense out of change is to plunge into it, move with it, and join the dance.

The Art of Being

The most important freedom is the freedom to be oneself.

Escape from Freedom 1941

The person who has nothing to lose is the most dangerous.

The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness

The human being is a creature of paradoxes.

The Heart of Man: Its Genius for Good and Evil

The ultimate aim of life is to be, not to have.

To Have or to Be? 1976

The only way to overcome fear is to confront it.

The Heart of Man: Its Genius for Good and Evil

The human being is a being of contradictions.

The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness

The human being is a being of choices.

Escape from Freedom 1941

The human being is a being of meaning.

The Sane Society 1955

The human being is a being of creativity.

The Art of Being

The human being is a being of responsibility.

Escape from Freedom 1941

The human being is a being of conscience.

Man for Himself: An Inquiry into the Psychology of Ethics 1947

The human being is a being of reason.

Man for Himself: An Inquiry into the Psychology of Ethics 1947