Erich Fromm

Erich Fromm , 1900-1980, psychoanalyst and author, b. Frankfurt, Germany, Ph.D. Univ. of Heidelberg, 1922. From 1929 to 1932 he lectured at the Psychoanalytic Institute, Frankfurt, and at the Univ. of Frankfurt. He came to the United States in 1934, where he practiced psychoanalysis and lectured at various institutions, including the International Institute for Social Research (1934-39), Columbia Univ. (1940-41), the American Institute for Psychoanalysis (1941-42), and Yale (1949-50). He served on the faculty of Bennington College (1941-50). He went on to teach at the National Univ. of Mexico (1951), at Michigan State Univ. (1957), and at New York Univ. (1961). Breaking from the Freudian psychoanalytic tradition which focused largely on unconscious motivations, Fromm held that humans are products of the cultures in which they are bred. In modern, industrial societies, he maintained, they have become estranged from themselves. These feelings of isolation resulted in an unconscious desire for unity with others. Fromm's works include Escape from Freedom (1941), The Sane Society (1955), The Art of Loving (1956), Sigmund Freud's Mission (1958), May Man Prevail? (1973), and To Have or to Be (1976).

Bibliography: See biographical studies by D. Hausdorff (1972) and G. Knapp (1989); R. I. Evans, Dialogue with Erich Fromm (1966, repr. 1981).

Fromm, Erich (1900–80) US psychoanalyst and writer, b. Germany. Fromm applied psychoanalysis to the study of peoples and cultures, stressing the importance of interpersonal relationships in an impersonal, industrialized society. His books include Escape from Freedom (1941) and The Art of Loving (1956).