KRITIKE VOLUME EIGHT NUMBER TWO (DECEMBER 2014) 77-97
Article
The Philosophical Anthropology of Erich Fromm: The Conscious and the Unconscious in Man Ian Raymond B. Pacquing
Abstract: The philosophical anthropology of Erich Fromm rests on his analysis of the existential dichotomy, which breaks man’s humanity. When man disobeys God in paradise, he begins to become human. He begins to be free. For Fromm, disobedience is a prerequisite towards freedom. However, there is in him a yearning to go back to paradise to enjoy the “roots of his own nature.” He wants to be secured and taken care by a loving God. This allegory was taken and interpreted by Fromm that man is separated from his own nature. In paradise, he is an animal. He does not possess any reason or freedom as a human being. Physiologically, he does what other creatures do. However, saying “no” to God’s commandment allowed him to become human. He has reason and freedom. He is forced to take the responsibility to build his own humanity. Now, he is torn between two existential nature i.e., his animal nature and human nature. There is no way for him to return to his paradisiacal roots. He has to move on and build his true human nature. For Fromm, this can be done through reason, faith, and love. Keywords: Fromm, existential dichotomy, neurosis, freedom
Prophetic Messianism
R
ainer Funk, the autobiographer of Fromm, once remarked that anyone who reads the work of Fromm must begin with his concept of man.1 For Funk, this is the central issue of Fromm’s thought, which must never be separated from his discussions on sociology, anthropology, religion, sciences, and technology. Any study concerning the nature of man must begin and end with man. Fromm anchors his thought on humanism, which 1 Erich Fromm, On Being Human, ed. by Rainer Funk (New York: Continuum, 1999), Foreword, 9.
© 2014 Ian Raymond B. Pacquing http://www.kritike.org/journal/issue_15/pacquing_december2014.pdf ISSN 1908-7330