Erich Fromm was an American psychoanalyst and social philosopher born in Germany who studied the relationship between psychology and society. Fromm believed that by applying psychoanalytic concepts to the treatment of cultural ills, humanity may achieve a psychologically balanced "sane society." He was famous for criticizing Sigmund Freud's views and for creating the concept of freedom as a fundam
ental aspect of human nature. Erich Seligmann Fromm was born on March 23, 1900, in Frankfurt, Germany. He moved on to Heidelberg University to study sociology and received his PhD in 1922 under Alfred Weber's supervision. In 1924, he began studying psychoanalysis at Frankfurt University and later transferred to the Berlin Institute of Psychoanalysis. Fromm had a hectic career that comprised various teaching posts, authoring a number of books, and having his own clinical practice throughout his life. He was able to write for a wider public, establish a deep social critique, and integrate psychological understanding with social philosophy. He also contributed a deep religious knowledge, a humanistic ethic, and a sense of possibilities to his work. In his first major book, Escape from Freedom (1941), Fromm examined the process of freedom and self-awareness from the Middle Ages to the modern era, analyzing the temptation, brought on by modernization, to seek refuge from contemporary insecurities through authoritarian forces such as Na**sm. In The Sane Culture (1955), Fromm argued that in a consumer-oriented industrial society, modern man has grown alienated and estranged from himself. He believed that life was a paradox since people are both a part of and apart from nature, and that society and culture had a significant impact on human growth. His humanistic psychoanalysis assumes that humanity's separation from nature has resulted in feelings of loneliness and isolation, which he refers to as "basic anxiety." Erich Fromm is generally acknowledged as one of the most prominent psychoanalysts of the 20th century. While Freud influenced him early on, he subsequently joined the neo-Freudians, which included Karen Horney and Carl Jung. Fromm questioned several of Freud's concepts, including the Oedipus complex, life and death instincts, and the libido theory. He authored books of criticism and analysis of Freudian and Marxist thinking, psychoanalysis, and religion, in addition to his well-known writings on human nature, ethics, and love. With his psychological writings weaving politics and philosophy together, Fromm is now widely considered as the father of political psychology.
