The Concept of Modern Human Beings in the View of Erich Fromm: Destructiveness

Abstract

Vija Sīle explores “The Concept of Modern Human Beings in the View of Erich Fromm: Destructiveness”, thus reflecting only on the one side of human duality (Mairita Satika in her follow-up article in this collection looks at another aspect, namely love). By studying man from the individual, psychological and social perspectives, Erich Fromm in fact explores duality of human nature, revealing the manifold manifestations of its contradictory nature. Fromm asks the question, seemingly rhetorically: do people have a “human nature”, does such a phenomenon even exist? His answer to this self-imposed question is essentialist, because it is based on the conviction that the ideas of humanism are rooted in the belief that all human beings have a human nature. Fromm’s research also focuses on the question of what the driving forces of human beings are. Man’s duality is expressed in his biosocial nature – the way he relates to both nature and society. Fromm focuses on the relationship between the innate and the acquired, seeking to answer the question of how social character is formed and what is inherent in the human personality. Social character is what, in order for society to function normally, must develop in its members the desire to do what is necessary for a wider society. Character is thus a specifically human phenomenon, which Fromm examines from two angles: as individual character and as social character. Character is a relatively fixed form of conducting human energy in the processes of assimilation and socialisation. For man, it can be seen as a substitute for instinct, since they can organise their life according to their character, thus balancing their internal and external situation, value system, preferences, etc. According to Fromm, the character consists of two aspects: the dynamic concept of character and the non-productive personality type. In describing the non-productive personality type in detail, Fromm identifies four characteristics: receptive, exploitative, hoarding, and marketing, which are typical of people in the 18th and 19th centuries, with the exception of the marketing type, which only applies to the present day. Since character is formed through a process of socialisation, it is natural to ask what the role of social conditions in the formation of character is. Not only in the past but also in the present, man becomes cruel and destructive because they lack conditions necessary for their development. Fromm discusses three phenomena which, in his view, are the worst and most dangerous forms of human tendency: necrophilia, malignant narcissism and incestuous symbiosis. Together, they form the “syndrome of decay”, which urges man to destroy for destruction’s sake and to hate for hatred’s sake. It is from the duality of human nature that Fromm’s view of man as a being who must create himself – develop their innate gifts (potential) within the limits of what society can provide – emerges. But it is up to an individual to determine to what extent these possibilities are used. If the individual is unable to fulfil themselves completely, or cannot do so because of certain circumstances (alienation), they become destructive. / Vija Sīle rakstā “Mūsdienu cilvēks Ēriha Fromma skatījumā: destruktivitāte” aplūko tikai vienu cilvēka dualitātes pusi. Savukārt otro pusi – mīlestību – Mairita Satika aplūko nākamajā šī krājuma rakstā. Ērihs Fromms, pētot cilvēku no individuālā, psiholoģiskā un sociālā aspekta, faktiski pēta cilvēka dabas dualitāti, atklājot tās pretrunīguma daudzveidīgās izpausmes. Tieši no cilvēka dabas dualitātes izriet Fromma skatījums uz cilvēku kā būtni, kurai jāveido pašai sevi – jāattīsta savas iedzimtās dotības (savs potenciāls) sabiedrības doto iespēju robežās. Bet tikai no indivīda paša ir atkarīgs tas, cik lielā mērā šīs iespējas tiek izmantotas. Ja indivīds nespēj sevis paša dēļ vai nevar noteiktu apstākļu (atsvešināšanās) dēļ pilnīgi pašrealizēties, viņš kļūst destruktīvs. Atslēgvārdi: Cilvēka daba; raksturs; brīvība; atsvešināšanās; destruktivitāte; rakstura produktīvās un neproduktīvās orientācijas; bēgšana no brīvības; Ē. Fromms.