Quotes from Erich Fromm

La persona umana ama con entrambe le coscienze, materna e paterna, ad onta del fatto che esse sembrino contraddirsi l'una con l'altra. Se conservasse solo la coscienza paterna diventerebbe dura e disumana. Se conservasse solo quella materna perderebbe la capacità di giudizio e ostacolerebbe se stessa e altri nel loro sviluppo.

One can experience a situation of the past with the same freshness as if it occurred in the here and now; that is, one can re-create the past, bring it to life (resurrect the dead, symbolically speaking). To the extent that one does so, the past ceases to be the past; it is the here and now.

The starting point for these reflections is the statement that the character structure of the average individual and the socioeconomic structure of the society of which he or she is a part are interdependent.

The ability to love depends on one's capacity to emerge from narcissism

the psychoanalyst is cured by his patient—provided they do not treat each other as objects, but are related to each other genuinely and productively.

O passo mais importante no aprendizado da concentração é aprender a ficar só consigo mesmo, sem ler, sem ouvir rádio, sem fumar, sem beber. Na verdade, ser capaz de concentrar-se significa ser capaz de ficar só consigo mesmo

Thus, our religious attitude may be considered an aspect of our character structure, for we are what we are devoted to, and what we are devoted to is what motivates our conduct.

Even a person of mediocre intelligence and ability can easily run a state once he or she is in the seat of power.

Man] has transformed himself into a thing.

are his means of security, makes himself a prisoner. To be loved, and to love, need courage, the courage to judge certain values as of ultimate concern—and to take the jump and stake everything on these values.

I refer to the view that we have no alternatives to the models of corporate capitalism, social democratic or Soviet socialism, or technocratic "fascism with a smiling face." The popularity of this view is largely due to the fact that little effort has been made to study the feasibility of entirely new social models and to experiment with them.

L'amore infantile segue il principio: amo perché sono amato. L'amore maturo segue il principio: sono amato perché amo. L'amore immaturo dice: ti amo perché ho bisogno di te. L'amore maturo dice: ho bisogno di te perché ti amo.

It is one of the most characteristic and destructive developments of our own society that man, becoming more and more of an instrument, transforms reality more and more into something relative to his own interests and functions.

He who knows nothing, loves nothing. He who can do nothing understands nothing. He who understands nothing is worthless. But he who understands also loves, notices, sees …. The more knowledge is inherent in a thing, the greater the love …. Anyone who imagines that all fruits ripen at the same time as the strawberries knows nothing about grapes.

La maggior parte della gente non si rende nemmeno conto del proprio bisogno di conformismo. Vive nell'illusione di seguire le proprie idee ed inclinazioni, di essere individualista, di aver raggiunto da sé le proprie convinzioni; e si dà il fatto che le sue idee siano le stesse della maggioranza.

Modern political democracy, if it restricts itself to the purely political sphere, cannot sufficiently counteract the results of the economic insignificance of the average individual. But purely economic concepts like socialization

L'atto sessuale senza amore non riempie mai il baratro che divide due creature umane, se non in modo assolutamente momentaneo.

O amor não é, primacialmente, uma relação para com uma pessoa específica; é uma atitude, uma orientação de caráter, que determina a relação de alguém para com o mundo como um todo, e não para com um "objeto" de amor.

Needless to say that in this beautiful poem Goethe expresses the core of his concept of investigating nature.

destroy his freedom and the integrity of his individual self.9

A questo modo due persone si innamorano, certe di aver trovato sul mercato l'oggetto migliore e più conveniente, considerando i limiti dei loro valori di scambio.

A meno che non traggano piacere l'uno dall'altro, perché si stringono come amanti? Senza la Terra, come fiorirebbero il fiore e la pianta? Che cosa produrrebbe l'acqua o il calore del Cielo?

Ako je psihoanaliza efikasna, to nije zato što pacijent prihvata nove teorije o razlozima svog nezadovoljstva, ve? zato što zahteva kapacitet za to da bude autenti?no zbunjen; on se ?udi otkri?u dela sebe, o ?ijem postojanju nije imao predstavu.

We need such an object of devotion in order to integrate our energies in one direction, to transcend our isolated existence, with all its doubts and insecurities, and to answer our need for a meaning to life.