In this paper I discuss the nature of Erich Fromm’s humanistically based social psychology, consider its clinical applications, and make a Jungian critique. Fromm is primarily concerned with humankind’s tendency to escape from positive freedom and directing people towards independence by way of what he refers to as the productive orientation, which is through active loving and penetrating thought. His character typology consists of the productive orientation and four non-productive structures. While the productive orientation progresses towards the syndrome of growth, the non-productive orientations are related to three malignant dispositions or evil, which converge towards the syndrome of decay. Fromm emphasises insight, one source of which is the unconscious that, in his view, consists essentially of universal symbols. He believes that humankind is ultimately motivated by great passions such as love, hate, ambition and the aspiration for truth, and not instincts such as sex or hunger. Due to social and historical conditioning, individuals are relatively unconscious of these passions and are instead governed by the prevailing social pattern. Today, it is generally defined by the marketing structure, which encourages a labile ego and exaggerated outer-directedness. I conclude with a Jungian critique, where I point out the shortcomings of a psychology based on reason that inadequately integrates the instinctual aspect of the psyche.
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