FREE ESSAY ON ERICH FROMM

ERICH FROMM

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Erich Fromm who is a liberal social psychodynamic psychologist who was also a student of
Freuds'. He believes that man is innately good and society is the thing that corrupts
him. He also feels that the conscious mind dominates over the unconscious. Fromm says man
is a social creature and he believes that mankind has social needs. He says life is a
struggle and society makes our lives difficult. 
Fromm feels that the four needs of mans' social life are relatedness, frame of reference,
identity, and transcendence. Relatedness is a basic need and it states that man needs to
feel connected to humanity whether it be friends, family, or activities. It also states
that man has to be interacted with other in order to belong. The problems start when a
person feels that they are not a part of something. Relatedness is probably the most
powerful need. Frame of Reference are common ideas and beliefs of looking at the world.
This is when we seek out a belief system or a value system. We receive our frame of
reference from where we find our relatedness. Without frame of reference there is no
meaning to life. Identity is the next out of the four needs of mans' social life which is
when you know who you are and what you stand for. With identity you have to establish
your own uniqueness or identity. Recognizing differences in others help you to find your
own identity. Next comes transcendence which is rarely achieved and this means to rise
above societies conformities in order to be an individual. With transcendence there is a
risk of losing your relatedness, and for this not to happen relatedness must allow you
rise above society. A conflict of freedom and loneliness means that the more that we
become transcendent the more we lose the relatedness. I agree with Fromm when he states
that society corrupts man. I also feel that the conscious mind dominates over the
unconscious. I do not agree that man is 100% social either. When Fromm says that the four
needs of social life are relatedness, frame of reference, identity, and transcendence I
could not agree with more. Everyday you see people that have to be well connected in the
social pipeline and without it I do not think they would function normally. There are
plenty of people that have to be liked and be in a certain group in order to be mentally
stable. People think it is a bad thing when you are not in the popular group or not cool
enough to be liked and accepted by a certain group. I also do feel that there are some
people who know who they are and what they stand for. These are the people that survive
the longest is the long run because they know who they are and they will not change for
anything. Realizing other people's differences also helps to boost your identity which in
turn causes a person to create their own uniqueness. I think that I am a perfect example
of a person who has all four needs met at all times and that I know exactly what I am and
who I stand for. I would not change who I am and my behavior just to fit into the social
pipeline. I have to plenty of parties where there has been everything from drinking to
sex and I have never given in to the peer pressure of drinking, smoking or anything else
while I was there, but I still had all the fun in the world. The reason why I don't give
in is because I care about my health I have set values for myself and I like to follow
them exactly like I planned. This way I will never do something that I would regret. All
of Fromm's theories are very accurate when it comes to social needs, but when it comes to
human behavior in general I don't feel that man is completely social.