Erich Fromm on Mental Health (1960)

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Philosophy Overdose

3 ай бұрын

Erich Fromm discusses mental health and society in a 1960 interview.
#philosophy #psychology #erichfromm

Пікірлер: 460

@Bill-ou7zp 3 ай бұрын

A profound thinker! "Our culture is primarily concerned with the production and consumption of material goods. In this process, we inadvertently transform ourselves into mere objects without realizing it, losing our individuality despite frequently discussing it. We follow leaders who fail to lead and believe we are acting on our own impulses, convictions, and opinions, when, in fact, we are manipulated by an entire industry through slogans. Yet, no one seems to have a true aim. This alienation from ourselves means we don't feel deeply or intensely. Ultimately, all we seek is conformity, not to be different."

@enterthevoidIi 3 ай бұрын

Based Erich

@JeremyHelm 3 ай бұрын

start of the quote 9:05

@damianwebzyx6613 3 ай бұрын

Well spoken 👏👏👏👏👏

@anhumblemessengerofthelawo3858 3 ай бұрын

_"In observing the allopathic concept of the body complex as the machine we may note the symptomology of a societal complex seemingly dedicated to the most intransigent desire for the distortions of distraction, anonymity, and sleep. This is the result rather than the cause of societal thinking upon your plane._ _In turn this mechanical concept of the body complex has created the continuing proliferation of distortions towards what you would call ill-health due to the strong chemicals used to control and hide bodily distortions. There is a realization among many of your peoples that there are more efficacious systems of healing not excluding the allopathic but also including the many other avenues of healing."_ Ra Material (1981)

@Leaving_Orbit 3 ай бұрын

Well said.

@herolais781 3 ай бұрын

"Being isolated is a part of being sane." I couldn't agree more...

@quantumfineartsandfossils2152 3 ай бұрын

100%

@fallen0851 3 ай бұрын

You would appreciate Pascal then

@leonardcapozzi3318 3 ай бұрын

If I understood Dr. Fromm correctly, I think what he said is that a sane person has the ability to be alone with him or herself (or with another person) without looking for distractions, and that a sane person is able to tolerate the sense of isolation that comes from seeing the world as it really is and not conforming to the standards of a sick society. But that is quite different from saying that being isolated is part of being sane. I think Dr. Fromm would probably say that it's the ability to be alone with oneself that then makes it possible to be together with others in a healthy way, and that would describe a sane person. But I'm no expert on Dr. Fromm, so perhaps I'm mistaken. It's been 35 years since I read any of his books. But that thanks for posting this.

@jeffryphillipsburns 3 ай бұрын

@@leonardcapozzi3318 I think you may be conflating two different observations of Fromm’s. On the one hand, yes, a sane person has a greater capacity to tolerate isolation without drugging himself on television, liquor, guns, Muzak, cellphone obsession, etc. On the other hand, in a society in which sanity is so rare, sane people will necessarily be more isolated because the insane people around him don’t want to be confronted with the reality from which he doesn’t shirk. In other words, in ANY society a sane person can accept isolation honestly to a greater degree, but in an INSANE society, such as ours is, he will have no choice but to be more isolated.

@jeffryphillipsburns 3 ай бұрын

I can’t help thinking of John Lennon’s song “Isolation”.

@sammavaca5714 2 ай бұрын

Fromm is as topical today as in 1960. I wish there would be more people in leading roles today like him.

@philipgardiner2003 2 ай бұрын

“…you’ll have a nice funeral anyway….”

@harrypearle9781 2 ай бұрын

TRUMP Threatens and the people are asleep?

@stevekaylor5606 2 ай бұрын

Howard Glasser!

@REDNOVA1 Ай бұрын

You mean he was a movie star? Weird.

@enlumineresse 3 ай бұрын

I grew up in the 70ties reading his books (and others as well) and I'm so grateful to have had the opportunity to feed my conscience with these enlighting pieces of awareness since my early years. Forever grateful to you , Monsieur Fromm ❤

@telephassarose3501 3 ай бұрын

Yes, “the Art of Loving” was one of my most influential books in the 70s…

@corinaelenaradulescu6450 2 ай бұрын

❤️🌼🫂❤️🌼🫂❤️🌼🫂

@user-ox7xr8nu4t 2 ай бұрын

Self-delusion isn't particularly good for one's mental stability.

@stevekaylor5606 2 ай бұрын

Cover to cover!@@telephassarose3501

@marileorion8186 2 ай бұрын

I discovered Mr Erich Fromm in my college years as i searched for sanity. I found his books, " The Sane Society," "The Art of Loving," The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness," etc. 'incomprehensible' yet then, for their profundity, deeply incisive analysis on the nature of modern man in a society beleaguered by self-centeredness, greed, & lust for created goods. He defined modern man in his 1950's book as: "Well fed, well cloth, but no self." That definition given more than 50 years remains "truer" now than ever before. I am in that society, regrettably, but hopefully Mr. Fromm have made me acutely aware of the meaninglessness of materialistic pursuit. Thank you Mr. Fromm for your insights on the 'destructiveness' of society towards individual well being.

@stevekaylor5606 2 ай бұрын

'One should become concentrated about anything he's doing!' - Eric

@Bushido2505 2 ай бұрын

☝🏼🤲🏼❤

@stevekaylor5606 2 ай бұрын

Erich

@stevekaylor5606 2 ай бұрын

Modern man can build concordance with others - and bring forth an economic, scientific and cultural renaissance. This had been achieved during the 1400s on! @@Bushido2505

@robbytune1058 Ай бұрын

The "Tower of Babel" and the pride of Nimrod to build a castle to reach the heavens is a symbol of egoism and ignorance destroyed or not allowed the clash of cultures, religion, ideology and language barriers that was no longer able to communicate and harmonize on a rational and reasonable goal, not a preposterous view, led to its destruction. The melting toxic soup is poisoning our souls. And insanity is multiplying at alarming rates.

@hambampambulanamanahan7398 Ай бұрын

This might be the best KZbin recommend I've had yet.

@alsosprachzarathustra5505 3 ай бұрын

"Don't rebel against a meaningless life. You'll get a decent funeral anyway." That was spot on.

@ngirroo 3 ай бұрын

This is some metal shit

@ouimetco 3 ай бұрын

Yup

@truffaut650truffaut6 3 ай бұрын

@@ngirroohe was from my capital city...vienna❤yes. He wrote some real metal shit. Good one.😊

@hollygarner1949 3 ай бұрын

not if you are isolated

@user-ox7xr8nu4t 2 ай бұрын

Jewish nutcase blabla, meant to confuse everyone, including himself. 😂

@46metube 3 ай бұрын

hey Erich - we've arrived: madness is the new normal.

@walkietalkie1511 Ай бұрын

Sad and funny too

@barriscar4844 3 ай бұрын

That's the most sensible stream of thoughts i've heard for a long time.

@truffaut650truffaut6 3 ай бұрын

These people exist. They are hidden. But everywhere❤.

@corinaelenaradulescu6450 2 ай бұрын

🫂🌼❤️🫂🌼❤️🫂❤️

@user-ox7xr8nu4t 2 ай бұрын

Jewish nutcase blabla, meant to confuse everyone, including himself. 😂

@user-ee7vr9nn8f 2 ай бұрын

I've been reading Fromm since the 80's. I liked your comment as Fromm I believe meant this.

@christopherwood9032 3 ай бұрын

“We kid ourselves by many avenues of escape” so true. Especially with the prevalence of social media these days. How many are posting(or not posting) on social media for the sake of being socially accepted? A ton of people are projecting their well being on social media but are not well. In many ways social media can be seen as anti- social. Oh the irony…

@alexxx4434 3 ай бұрын

Also, talking about conformity.

@mkl01_99 3 ай бұрын

Wow, just wow. Spitting truth here. I read Fromm in school back in the past century and was impressed at the time. Thank you for renewing my interest in this great human being.

@corinaelenaradulescu6450 2 ай бұрын

🫂🌼❤️🫂🌼❤️🫂🌼❤️🍀

@user-ee7vr9nn8f 2 ай бұрын

He was also a beautiful writer. I have followed him since the 80's. May his teachings last forever.

@TennesseeJed 3 ай бұрын

...64 years later

@janklaas6885 3 ай бұрын

yes 🥴

@lillysnet9345 2 ай бұрын

🦜🦜🦜🦜🦜🦜🦜

@bobHAYES21 2 ай бұрын

Now it is 100 times worse, every problem that he said here about the mental state of people and society is much more obvious now

@alexxx4434 3 ай бұрын

Humanity dodged the bullet back then. But his words resonate arguably more true today than before.

@alexxx4434 3 ай бұрын

@@numbersix8919 I agree. And yes, I was talking about a global war.

@KK-111 2 ай бұрын

Yes, thanks to JFK!, who did not listen to the common thinking advisors surrounding him. We have a rare opportunity, now- as American citizens, to elect another great thinker/visionary/individualist/peace maker to help heal our country- and that is RFK, Jr. (Don't trust the mainstream media soundbites~ Decide for yourself, with all of the information you might need. Go onto his website to read or hear his policy ideas; and/or listen to any uninterrupted interviews he has had.)

@stevekaylor5606 2 ай бұрын

People are commonly taken in by imperial ideology!@@numbersix8919

@stevekaylor5606 2 ай бұрын

RFK may be open to a 1933-like Bankruptcy Reorganization; then an economic, scientific and cultural paradigm shift for the world. This could be like JFK's Alliance for Progress!@@KK-111

@UGPepe 2 ай бұрын

@@KK-111the pro Israel genocide dude? nah

@elizabethwilliams6651 3 ай бұрын

Psychedelics are just an exceptional mental health breakthrough. It's quite fascinating how effective they are against depression and anxiety. Saved my life.

@APOLLINAIREBARTHOLOMIEU 3 ай бұрын

Can you help with the reliable source I would really appreciate it. Many people talk about mushrooms and psychedelics but nobody talks about where to get them. Very hard to get a reliable source here in Australia. Really need!

@Jennifer-bw7ku 3 ай бұрын

Yes, dr.sporesss. I have the same experience with anxiety, depression, PTSD and addiction and Mushrooms definitely made a huge huge difference to why am clean today.

@steceymorgan814 3 ай бұрын

I wish they were readily available in my place. Microdosing was my next plan of care for my husband. He is 59 & has so many mental health issues plus probable CTE & a TBI that left him in a coma 8 days. It's too late now I had to get a TPO as he's 6'6 300+ pound homicidal maniac. He's constantly talking about killing someone. He's violent. Anyone reading this Familiar w/ BPD know if it is common for an obsession with violence.

@APOLLINAIREBARTHOLOMIEU 3 ай бұрын

Is he on instagram?

@Jennifer-bw7ku 3 ай бұрын

Yes he is. dr.sporesss

@michaelg-p3108 2 ай бұрын

Erich Fromm puts to words the things that we know to be true on a deep level, but which so many of us cannot correctly identify or verbalise. Reminds me of Jiddu Krishnamurti who had a great quip, 'to be adjusted to a profoundly sick society is no measure of good health'.

@Steve-ul8qb 3 ай бұрын

More Erich Fromm please!!!

@ChannelMath 3 ай бұрын

there's only so much, and I'll bet it's not very much

@zarathustra8789 3 ай бұрын

Yes, this was an outstanding coversation.

@benbrill3617 3 ай бұрын

unfortunately does not look as if we are going to pass the "sanity" test seems almost certain that we are going to blow ourselves up. He speaks with such clarity. thanks for posting.

@asecretturning 3 ай бұрын

I love this man so much

@Cellocurve 3 ай бұрын

This is so validating for me

@spudsmorocco9202 2 ай бұрын

Me too. The validation makes me weep. Tears of wellbeing and tears of sadness for humanity commingling.

@lotuseater7247 3 ай бұрын

I definitely agree with his closing comments about mental health being used as a means to continue and aid conformity for production. I felt that way about the campaigns we see today. Not to say that awareness and efforts to reduce mental health issues is completely incorrect, but that like anything which hits mainstream understanding, it becomes almost an opiate for the masses. Like when I hear about people having 'resilience', as opposed to making constructive social change.

@DavidAKZ 3 ай бұрын

Yes, resilience .in the workplace that broke me.

@StAsshole 3 ай бұрын

I have had a conspiracy theory it’s called CBT.

@tmtb80 3 ай бұрын

@@StAssholedon't think Beck was a bad guy. He explained what CBT was supposed to help with, and it was not supposed to be used in place of real Therapy. What has happened is that the APA/Insurance Co stress the importance of Evidence Based Practice. So, universities now focus on CBT. Bonus, it is also easy to teach.

@stevekaylor5606 2 ай бұрын

Yes - Szasz and Breggin would not conform to mainstream practices!

@osibisa4947 2 ай бұрын

Love him. Read a lot of his books in my youth. He is very clear on his subject and opens a myraid of possibilities. Some are propethic.

@arinak.9688 2 ай бұрын

What could be a meaningful life according to him? Thanks

@amadosegundomansilladelval9026 3 ай бұрын

Wise words for today 2024, Dr. Fromm' s ideas are fully alive AND necessary to awake ourselves from boredom AND human neglect...

@dillonvado 3 ай бұрын

Wow. Just so on point and so prophetic in so many ways too! Thanks for sharing this.

@balsarmy 3 ай бұрын

Wow that is a great interview. I think it is important to think deeper and have a discipline from inside your own goals, not because everyone says you must be healthy

@bozotro 2 ай бұрын

His book "The Sane Society" helped compel me to become a social scientist.

@user-ug2yz6vb7p Ай бұрын

That is amazing. Well done! He would happy.

@bob7023 2 ай бұрын

Brilliant! So happy to see and hear him speak!

@rozalialuks6583 3 ай бұрын

Simply Wonderful! Thank you!

@Breakfast_of_Champions 3 ай бұрын

Well this has aged like fine wine.

@frankgradus9474 3 ай бұрын

Well said.

@farya88 2 ай бұрын

He is very well spoken, and the clarity of his explanations is a proof, that he possessed and embodied the very well-being he refers to.

@michaelabbet8920 26 күн бұрын

Brilliant! Not only insightly accurate but also 65 years ahead of his time. We are stuff😮

@VancouverCharlotte 3 ай бұрын

This interview was extremely good. Wow.❤️💯🇨🇦🇨🇿

@earthminus10 Ай бұрын

This guy is a strumming our lives with his fingers. Is killing us softly with his song. This man is prolific.He knows what he's talking about and 60 years later.Here we are living out everything he speaks of. He did Speak of Wasted leisure time. Leisure time is the time when we are supposed to work on our art.Or our poetry or our woodwork.Or are just bettering ourselves.Making positive additions to our lives And community.Not stay on our phone or our tablet or a computer twenty 4 Seven. Just think how much happier everybody would be if they used their leisure time to make their life better and the people around them's lives better. No more child abuse no abuse Because people would be more fulfilled. I should delete this but i'm going to just post it anyway.

@mike_qbik Ай бұрын

This is golden. Spot on.

@Medietos Ай бұрын

The best English-speaking German ever, speaking wise words at that. Thank you, also for "The Art of Love".He seems pretty healthy, dear and well himself.

@createone100 2 ай бұрын

When I was in my twenties, I read Erich Fromm’s ‘Escape From Freedom’. I am now in my seventies and I have read hundreds of books. ‘Escape From Freedom’ is, by far, one of the most important books I have ever read.

@walkietalkie1511 Ай бұрын

Could you please recommend your 10 books, merci

@Servant_of_1111 3 ай бұрын

Profound Insights! Thank you Doctor 🙏

@yonathanasefaw9001 3 ай бұрын

Great interview.

@abdulrahim3138 3 ай бұрын

Very informative and helpful. Thank you for uploading this video.

@johnmitchell8925 2 ай бұрын

Totally amazing in 60 years later nothing's changed .😢 this is so scary 😨. I have no idea how I came across this video but it freaked me out. I'm 63

@DizGuys 2 ай бұрын

Very prophetic....he perfectly described the state we are in now.

@2.7petabytes 3 ай бұрын

It's no measure of health to be well adjusted to a profoundly sick society. Jiddu Krishnamurti

@ouimetco 3 ай бұрын

Just witness the Americans.

@yogadr6 2 ай бұрын

Far better to be well adjusted than to be miserable in the same environment. Adapt, adjust, improvise!!

@fattyz1 Ай бұрын

Yes. He is correct that was the peak of that cycle and things have been deteriorating since. This will continue regardless.

@FloraJoannaK 2 ай бұрын

Relevant especially now!

@EspacioAlegra 2 ай бұрын

Minute 3:27 just blew my mind! Thank you for sharing such an enlightening interview on mental health!

@DorothyPotterSnyder 3 ай бұрын

Brilliant, frightening, true.

@PoetlaureateNFDL 2 ай бұрын

Thanks for this!!

@miguelcolon9203 2 ай бұрын

One of my favorite author because his eclective views of human being.

@light4217 3 ай бұрын

Please post more of Erich Fromm

@sejaleeuwen 2 ай бұрын

This is great, i had to laugh out loud several times, great interview 😀

@PreacherAtArrakeen 3 ай бұрын

One of my favourite psychologists. I still have a number of his books. Some can be found as free pdf files, at this point.

@allencollins6031 3 ай бұрын

Mother Richards!!!

@PreacherAtArrakeen 3 ай бұрын

Of the Order of the Holy Telecaster!@@allencollins6031

@truffaut650truffaut6 3 ай бұрын

Willing to be sane❤

@philosophischepraxisdr.ros4647 2 ай бұрын

Vielen Dank, großartig, dass wir es anhören können!

@Hermetic_ 2 ай бұрын

Genau. That’s the only German I remember ;)

@Fischer67 3 ай бұрын

Thank you for this contribution. Since realism is mentioned here and as Erich Fromm said "that certainly the opinion of many is that mental health is actually the same as adjustment" (the opinion Erich Fromm does not share), at this point and context a short excerption of "The Insanity of Normality - Toward Unterstanding Human Destructiveness" by Arno Gruen, the german title of this Book is "Der Wahnsinn der Normalität - Realismus als Krankheit: eine Theorie der menschlichen Destruktivität", that means something like that in English as "The Madness of Normality - Realism as sickness: a theor y of human destructiveness": ..... "This phenomenon of a sudden shift to an opposite direction characterizing those devoted to a given set of rules, a leader, or a political ideology demonstrates very clearly what is involved in our usual concept of "identity"; it suggests that for many people identity and duty are in effect the same - for them, obedience and performance of duty constitute "identity". Wherever this is the case, we can be sure that no authentic inner self will be present. The history of Nazi Germany of course demonstrates this in an extremely drastic fashion. Scarcely was the Nazi hegemony past when many people - without any awareness of the hypocrisy involved - switched from their loyalty to National Socialism to an allegiance to the new democratic or communistic norms. The lesson of Nazism is not only a history lesson in power politics, greed, megalomania, and evil; it also teaches us what men and women without any connection to their inner being are capable of. If we learn this lesson, it should help to protect us from similar fate today, for such people are still among us. Instead of following political ideologies, nowadays they may follow, for example, the rules of success in the business world. In this context, they can change loyalties, that is, identities, much more frequently without even revealing their lack of a center. Indeed, flexibility in shifting loyalty - for instance, "corporate identity" - has become the test of adaptability and "realism". Thus it has become more difficult to recognize the danger this kind of adaptability represents for humanity. The Nazi era offers very concrete examples of this danger. Albert Speer, among other things Hitler's minister of armaments, clearly foreshadowed the modern type of succesful manager so familiar to us now: obliging, a genius at sensing and manipulating the trend of the times, elegant, seemingly devoted to a high impersonal goal, amenable to anything - and therefore completely amoral and, despite his brillant social exterior, without an inner core. When Albert Speer was cross-examined by Robert H. Jackson, the American chief prosecutor at the Nuremberg trials, a man emerged who lacked the slightest sense of the contradictions between what is and what ought to be. During the war, he sent slave laborers into the arms factories without a thought for their rights or welfare. He was interested only in numbers. Although this man revealed a total lack of human emotions throughout his career, he made a great impression - as his memoirs of 1969 reveal - because of his urbanity, his sharp powers of observation, and his knowledge of WHAT ONE OUGHT TO FEEL (italics in original as hereinafter). And here is the crucial point: the modern man of this type KNOWS what feelings he is supposed to have, but does not EXPERIENCE the tension that would arise if he were actually to live with this feelings. For if this were the case, he would be confronted with the contradictions between the organizational necessities and goals he advocates and an empathic perception of the suffering of human beings involved. Speer, who knew only to well what one ought to feel, was an embodiment of the soulless manager who understands how to convince the public what feeling person he is. Even his former enemies believed this. For example, the NEW YORK TIMES, upon Speer's death, praised his "humanity". Yet he was simply a man for whom EVERYTHING was possible, thus even his complete turnabout in political allegiance after the collapse of the Third Reich. In classifying such behavior as realistic, we lose sight of the underlying pathology: the absence of an authentic self and the ability to devote oneself, under the guise of organizational efficiency, to destruction and murder. A conservative German nobleman, Friedrich Reck-Malleczewen, who was murdered in Dachau in 1945, described this same Speer as a man who, “with that clean-cut expression of his,” is “the epitome of this whole sickening, mechanical, little-boy-at-heart generation.” This conservative, whose resistance to German fascism came out of the inner core of a human being capable of compassion and, therefore, of moral stature, immediately recognized the soullessness of a conformist. It is precisely the Speers of this world, with their capacity for adjustment to “reality”, who become successful managers of this same reality. ...... These examples force us to reexamine the concept of identity. Commonly, it is understood as the basic constellation of personality traits unique to an individual and setting her or him apart from others. Yet an identity based only on identifying with others may be nothing more than a set of duties surrendered to in order to escape one's own identity. The resultant identity constitutes a betrayal of the self, a settling for a lie about the self, which then intensifies one's inner emptiness and hatred. The nature of this inner emptiness tends to escape our notice precisely because those people affected by it are so well aware of how they ought to behave. They are experts in appearing to be feeling human beings. If we are not alert and fail to see that they sense no moral tension between what is and what ought to be, we will take their appearance for reality and attribute genuine human traits to them. This occurs so frequently because our civilization considers inner "tension" of this kind to be illness. Adolf Eichmann best illustrates the absurdity of such an "identity". Here was a man who at his trial in Jerusalem could say of his participation in "the Final Solution," "I must point out that I do not consider myself guilty from the legal point of view," but he could also say, "I regard the murder, the termination of the Jews as one of the most hideous crimes in the history of mankind." This man who had been responsible for the death of millions was able to quibble in this fashion about details of his historical image. Yet in the presence of the power his Argentinian captors represented, when he had to move his bowels, after having sat down on the toilet, he obediently asked his guard, "May I do it now?" In performing one of the most private bodily functions, he surrendered his will, yet at the same time he quibbled at his trial about aspects of his external identity. Hannah Arendt's famous formulation "the banality of evil" is not quite accurate. Rather, evil has its roots in the perversion of human potential, in people without true selves. Arendt criticized the Eichmann trial because it attempted to explain the defendant's actions by his evil character. She countered by claiming that Eichmann was simply a deadly normal bureaucrat who did not know what he was doing. She failed to see in him the ultimate perversion of our time: that people can give the appearance of having feelings when in fact they have none."........ P.S: In memory of Erich Fromm, Hannah Arendt and Arno Gruen

@Fischer67 3 ай бұрын

At the End of the book it is said: ..... "I use the term "psychosis" exclusively to describe the disorders of an externally derived self, not to describe schizophrenia. Psychotic behavior is characterized by the lack of attempts at synthesis and integration. Schizophrenia, on the other hand, is a struggle for integration that fails because of a lack of the strength to live one's inner truth in a hostile social context. For this reason, the symptoms of schizophrenia will always have meaning. The symptoms of psychosis, as I understand it, have none; they are only an expression of hatred and destructive rage. Schizophrenics' symptoms are messages they have encoded out of fear of not being understood. If we decode these messages, if we make an effort to understand them, then they can help us penetrate the fog created by those psychopaths who are in the seats of power and who have forced upon us a diminished view of reality. But as Abraham Lincoln once put it, "You may fool all the people some of the time; you can even fool some of the people all the time; but you can't fool all of the people all this time." Listening to those whose "insanity" is their protest will help us recognize more clearly those who are trying to fool us with their "realism". Once we have understood that their disguised destructive rage is nothing other than an escape from inner chaos and emptiness, we can identify their psychosis for what it is. Then the power they have over us will vanish. This also will help us to gain a better understanding of the problem of good and evil. Where the inner world of feeling is split off, there will also be found only a split-off "morality" without any real influence on our actions. Because this kind of morality promotes the suppression of the autonomous self, it becomes itself a source of the evil it supposedly is combating. Truly responsible actions and genuine humaneness are possible only if there is an autonomous self that integrates the internal and external worlds. In this possibility lies the hope for our future." That is one of the reasons I have written this book." ....... Out of "The Insanity of Normality - Toward Unterstanding Human Destructiveness" by Arno Gruen

@Fischer67 3 ай бұрын

It says in the Preface: ..... "It may strike the reader that I quite often refer to literature. In my opinion, literary works are closer to human reality than is, for instance, psychological research, which is much too strongly oriented toward the myth of realism and the power structures resulting from it. The artist, however, has not lost a connection to human needs and motives. Not the least of writers' reasons for writing is their desire to pit their creative powers against the deceptions of "prevailing opinion." They speak in a language that takes the totality of human experience into consideration. On the other hand, the sciences, as Michael Polanyi has aptly described, attempt "to eliminate our human perspective from our picture of the world." For this reason, the witness of writers to the totality as well as to the schizoid nature of human experience is of great importance to me. Their work often affords concrete examples of that insanity which, concealed behind the mask of health, is increasingly on the verge of delivering humankind over to self-destruction. In order to illustrate my views with empirical cases, I sometimes turn to examples that may seem to represent extremes of human behavior. Perhaps some people will not find these examples significant, because their internal structure will not allow them to see the continuum running through the great diversity of human behavior. Such an attitude, however, simply mirrors the widespread denial of the ties that link us all together. It is essentially a logical maneuver intended to divert us from the continuum. The logic behind such splitting o human nature into categories and compartments merely serves to strengthen doubts about our totality and to make us insecure. The foundation of our wholeness lies in what our feelings and our heart tell us. The language of the heart proceeds from our deep-seated needs for love and warmth, which we would like to give as well as receive. Our civilization, however, has made us anxious and ashamed if we feel vulnerable. The language of "reality" promises us relief from the "burden" of our needs, making us ready to stop trusting our perceptions. This is why language of the heart is our only salvation. Our fragmentation must be overcome not by acquiescing in the logic of an alleged "reality" but by insisting on our own ability to feel compassion, to experience sorrow and joy. That is one of the reasons I have written this book." ....... Out of "The Insanity of Normality - Toward Unterstanding Human Destructiveness" by Arno Gruen

@Fischer67 3 ай бұрын

@@numbersix8919 To understand the imagination that the "schizophrenic's symptoms are messages they have encoded out of fear of not being understood, at first we probably have to know something about our own fears and feelings. Probably also, not each and every one of us would often have the opportunity to try to become in contact with a schizophrenic person, to try to encode their messages. So most of us at first have to search at another place, I guess. A few sentences later in the excerpt Arno Gruen said that "listening to those whose "insanity" is their protest will help us recognize more clearly those who are trying to fool us with their "realism". (note: which are also in a state of split consciousness). As Arno Gruen put it, the most of us in our culture of the so-called civilized societies ARE in a split state of consciousness. To have this in mind, here is the point where oneself could begin, to look inside as a process, so to say. Not an easy way of course, because the "outer world" with it's created "Insanity of Normality", emerged out of our culture, continues to exist at the same time and is existing for a long time. To illustrate this Arno Gruen again and again gives examples of holistic perception among indigenous people, which doesn't necessarily mean that we all have to go back into "the jungle", as A.G. put it similarly, after he was asked if we all have now to get back the "jungle". As I see, the schizophrenic, can't go with a society with it's dishonest connections, which for us ("the "normal insane" and "the official insane", so to say) are veiled. To which of these mentioned "two groups" someone might be belong to, certainly play a decisive role at the beginning above all, so to say. So the roots of this cultural "creation", as I see it, like Arno Gruen also, as far I understand, can be find in our self, which is split. At the beginning of "The Insanity of Normality" can be found a quote, which I like to mention in this context: "Good and evil are not determined by intercourse of people with one another, but entirely by a man's relations with himself." Jakob Wassermann Perhaps also so-called World literature can give inspirations, to look in - and outside, again and again. For myself, as an example, not too long ago I remembered that there is short loving scene out of "Im Namen der Rose" / "The Name of the Rose" by Umberto Eco, I saw as a film and read longer time ago. Arno Gruen mentioned it in his work. "Im Namen der Rose", "In the name of the Rose", literally, actually. Empathie versus Cognition (Empathy versus Kognition) is the title of a lecture by Arno Gruen in german language. Well, the word versus probably has two meanings. One in the sense of "against" another in the sense of a scale with it's two scale (Waagschalen in German). In today's times we like to use scales in the sense to measure things, our cognition likes to measure. Actually an older scale had two shell/cup, that need to be filled to be in balance. From Arno Gruens' point of view, our hatred derives of our unconscious self-hatred. This part of us that was split early on, needs the enemy outside, so to say. So therefore it would not be the hatred of existence, unless one only understands existence as externally directed being. Generally speaking, as I understand "The Alien in us" needs "the enemy outside". "Der Fremde in uns"/"The Alien in us" by Arno Gruen was only pulblished in German, as far I know. I hope that I was able to shed some light on your question about the "understanding the code of the schizophrenic" as you said. The encoded message, is to found as a part of a code in our self, one could think. "Verratene Liebe - Falsche Götter" another title of Arno Gruen in German, can be translated as "Betrayed Love - false Gods". I hope that I was able to shed some light on your question according to be "100% sure how to understanding the code of the schizophrenic" as you said. Thanks for sharing your thoughts and all the best

@Fischer67 3 ай бұрын

@englishincontext4025 2 ай бұрын

One of my favourite books has always been 'Fear of Freedom', by Fromm. He explains why people take flight into tribalism and unreality because they are willing to assume the burden of responsibility which comes with being an individual.

@anonymoushuman8344 3 ай бұрын

Fromm was part of the Frankfurt School with Adorno, Horkheimer, Benjamin, Habermas, and Marcuse. But he reached a vastly greater audience with a much more accessible, healthful message than the others.

@anonymoushuman8344 3 ай бұрын

Thanks for reminding me of the importance of Popper here. I've read bits of The Open Society and its Enemies, but I have yet to study it carefully or read the whole thing. I actually regard all of those Frankfurt School figures as important thinkers. I didn't mean to suggest that they are "unhealthy" exactly. I'm fond of Benjamin and Habermas, different though they are. Adorno and Horkheimer tend to leave me cold even when I share their views. Fromm, though, was able to radically critique modern society, authoritarianism, and runaway capitalism while speaking directly to the vital concerns and psychology of everybody. I don't know much about Soros, but he strikes me more as a proponent of the open society than an enemy of it. He does some good things, doesn't he?

@anonymoushuman8344 3 ай бұрын

Three questions, then: (1) What kind of socioeconomic system do think would be best? (2) What would be Popper's view on what Soros ought, ideally, to do with his wealth given that he has it? (3) Suppose it was in your power to take over all of Soros's resources. What would you do with them?

@stevekaylor5606 2 ай бұрын

Color revolutions against nations which may leave the fading Unipolar, feudal order!@@numbersix8919

@stevekaylor5606 2 ай бұрын

A new financial Architecture would include a global Glass-Steagall Act. This would freeze $2 thousand trillion of gamble-up claims and make credit available for physical economies!@@anonymoushuman8344

@stevekaylor5606 2 ай бұрын

A Rules Based Order for Unipolar globalists! @@numbersix8919

@elnegro9158 2 ай бұрын

Gracias !!! MUUUCHÍMAS GRACIAS !!!

@keepmyexpectationsongodnot4039 2 ай бұрын

Effectively modern man is living in a society well fed,well cloth ,but not self Love from a beautiful timeless bellicima lady full of class and elegance and grace and finesse who loves humanity with humility ❤ Many thanks ❤️⭐️✨🌟❤️

@lydiamalinovic9402 2 ай бұрын

wise,wise aware.....my favorite..great human being..

@tomspaghetti 3 ай бұрын

00:08:50 hits the nail on the head!

@samloutalbotmusic 3 ай бұрын

Brilliant.

@compassion7672 Ай бұрын

I am in awe😮

@danieloleary1067 2 ай бұрын

Mr. Fromm's incisive comments are even more pertinent nearly 65 years later.

@Michelina22 Ай бұрын

It amazes me what used to go on in one way and then I think how much crazier things got in other ways So sad 😞

@jainfreeman9587 3 ай бұрын

I have: BORDERLINE PERSONALITY DISORDER. and anxiety & depression. Also cPTSD. I am amazed I'm still alive! (I have survived suicide attempts)

@greenthumb8266 3 ай бұрын

It’s not that you are “sick” or “mentally ill” as society today would call it, and want to medicate you, it’s that society itself is “sick” ! Those of us that can see the corruption and dishonesty and are distressed by society’s illness and lack of a common willingness to change and improve what is accepted as “normal”, those of us that simply cannot conform-fit in- that cannot lie to ourselves to be just like everyone else are of course distressed. And then we are labeled as “mentally ill”, depressed, or on the spectrum of autism, or have anxiety (as if that was something unusual that needed to be fixed by medication) no , I say, it is completely normal and healthy to be depressed about the constant gaslighting and demands for conformity that this society demands of everyone, starting from our youngest and most innocent , separated from their parents and forced to be like everyone else at school and then on to the demands of a job that takes all your time and energy but doesn’t pay you enough to pay for rent and food enough to live. No , my friend, you are not “sick” , you are sensitive to the injustices in this world. And the food on market shelves today are not providing us with the most necessary vitamins and minerals that our bodies need to function. I take D3, Zinc, B complex with C, magnesium L-Threonate daily , I meditate 15 to 20 minutes twice a day, and I get outside barefoot everyday whenever there isn’t too much snow. If you have a spiritual calling , pray to the Creator, again not a religious god, that too has been so twisted and corrupted for fear/control and personal gain, but the force that created all of us and everything we see does exist and loves us all unconditionally, just my humble opinion. Peace Some helpful YT channels for working through what life in an unhealthy community has done to you are ; the Crappy Childhood Fairy, Therapy in a Nutshell , and Dr Gabor Maté

@jainfreeman9587 3 ай бұрын

@dejuren1367 awww. Thank you! 😊

@stuartcallaghan3285 3 ай бұрын

Youve got this brother 💯🙏

@omarelshayal6136 3 ай бұрын

Survival is the first victory. Please show yourself mercy, be kind to yourself. Then be disciplined in action. These words are for me before anybody else. God bless you snd grant you peace of mind and strength.

@DavidAKZ 3 ай бұрын

Much love ❤️ please be kind to yourself. ❤

@BA-ei7tl 2 ай бұрын

Brilliant!

@ov0Frito 2 ай бұрын

Greetings from Brazil 🇧🇷

@briteness 2 ай бұрын

This Frankfurt School psychologist/philosopher/activist seemed impressive to me in the 80s, when I was in my teens, although he was already dead by then. He was very popular in the mid-century period among Ivy League sorts. I think I first learned of him from browsing in my Dad's home library. His work does not really hold up today, but it is interesting to see him and hear him talk.

@samfawlia 3 ай бұрын

almost a year ago i had a dream i was in art school and Erich Fromm was one of the tutors. the crazy thing is i had no idea who he was before the dream and he looked like this in the dream. Maybe i saw his name on something and it stayed in my subconscious, but pretty cool.

@lindavernon8051 3 ай бұрын

Wow! That’s amazing!

@stevekaylor5606 2 ай бұрын

He does relate like an artist - a little like Pablo Casals!

@ajmosutra7667 2 ай бұрын

Ahead of time. His analisis still hold up today 👍👍👍👍🔥😁

@philomenamagill700 2 ай бұрын

Excellent

@gioggioogiuggio 2 ай бұрын

Great one

@acm01864 2 ай бұрын

Thank God!!!!! Someone who cared!😊

@zarathustra8789 3 ай бұрын

This man is so based, holy smokes!

@ernestfechner8397 3 ай бұрын

We need sanity now… more so than ever.

@moralfortitude...2217 2 ай бұрын

damn, this Man is deep but every damn thang is a bullseye...🎯🎯🎯

@majidnba 2 ай бұрын

The intensity and clarity of awareness and response to the world. Lack of egocentricity. The intensity of energy and vitality. An Iranian poet once said: Life is washing of a plate

@Michelina22 Ай бұрын

13:47 wow and that was back then ! What a question !!

@clemfarley7257 Ай бұрын

I always found serfs to be authentic, nonillusory, genuine, nonmaterial, peaceful examples we can set our sights by. Primitives, too. In 85 yrs we haven’t blow up the world. I’ve always lamented that.

@pisceananarchyvortex7223 2 ай бұрын

This aged VERY WELL

@aarongreenberg159 2 ай бұрын

"Our culture is concerned primary with production and consumption of things, and in this process of being primarily concerned with things, their ever-increasing production, their ever increasing consumption, we ourselves, turn ourselves INTO things."

@narveenaryaputri9759 Ай бұрын

Absence of sickness / wellbeing . What is wellbeing: this is our realization today

@zoekay4334 Ай бұрын

I'm only half-way through - but there is so much wisdom here about the state of people today - 'being' seems to have degenerated ! Is there anyone around today who has this kind of wisdom? I'm recommending Iain McGilchrist at the moment

@hossamhafez9826 Ай бұрын

They have increased.. in wisdom Add this to that ❤

@cheri238 Ай бұрын

Dr. Iian McGilchrist's books and lectures will help others for generations to come in various fields, I agree. 🙏❤️🌎🌿🕊🎵🎶🎵

@LUPITA-_ 3 ай бұрын

Gracias a Dios hoy tenemos a ECKHART TOLLE, para guiarnos y no desesperarnos estando tranquilos y contentos con nuestro SER INTERNO, NUESTRO YO SOY, Y DE ESE LUGAR TRABAJAR EN NUESTRA VOCACIÓN, NUESTRAS RESPONSABILIDADES Y HABILIDADES, SALUDOS Y BENDICIONES. !!

@dnrvoeg4289 3 ай бұрын

si, eckhart y un poco OSHO, Gurdieff, Ouspensky ;)

@marianhunt8899 2 ай бұрын

Some people don't even have food. The body has to be looked after before the mind to ensure basic survival at all.

@shirazi2020 2 ай бұрын

As Carl Jung had so painstakingly asseverated many decades ago that all fears, phobias and mental illnesses are direct result of mismanagement of your soul . Just like the body , the soul too needs nourishment. Unfortunately , most people live their whole lives without even acknowledging the presence of their own soul , leave alone express their utmost gratitude for the sustenance it provides them . It’s the deprivations of this nourishment which brings about this feeling of emptiness , insecurity, discomfort, depression and eventual madness. Psychotherapy is bound to fail if the most important spiritual aspect is ignored . It’s like doing plastic surgery on a leaf when the problem lies in the roots.

@marianhunt8899 2 ай бұрын

Poverty is also a growing pernicious root in the USA. Citizens can't even afford food and rent. Physical survival comes before spiritual enrichment.

@Boomsterblak 3 ай бұрын

Prolific ..my basis of study is on the Human Condition and it has or has not changed since the beginning ..Plato's chapter 7 the cave comes to mind...they have done tests with MRI to show the brain activity when faced with a cognitive understanding different than ones own.the results agree with the writings of plato..as one is challenged with a reality different than the individuals accepted belief...the brain reacts in a way that makes a person have to work through the disfunction..and if the brain is not wired to do so...anger and frustration are the result...His remarks on the fascist state..very relevant in the worls especially U.S. in 2024....Thank you.

@marianhunt8899 2 ай бұрын

Yes, it's a state totally captured by corporate interests and unable to respond to even the most basic needs of citizens such as affordable shelter (a humble home), to keep out of the rain and freezing cold etc. Some citizens are doing far worse than wild animals who can at least build a nest or den. It's pitifully shameful for this to be happening in the richest nation on earth.

@l.holbach5696 2 ай бұрын

Great intellectual.

@tampanensis 16 сағат бұрын

From Huston Smith's "The Search For America" on National Educational Television

@TureIMasterEquality 2 ай бұрын

Such passion & dedication in his message, leads one to believe he's right, or is he..?

@tonysproule3408 2 ай бұрын

His prediction's were similar to society's outcome from Orwell's 1984.

@stevekaylor5606 2 ай бұрын

Mental health is the development of a mental + emotional dedication - a cathexis!

@ChannelMath 3 ай бұрын

His book "Escape from freedom" is ostensibly about how the German people could go along with Hitler, but for it was more insightful into the present day

@athenakoios 2 ай бұрын

What would he say if he sees our life now? 60 years later we are in much worse place.

@MatsubaAgeha 2 ай бұрын

PROPHETIC❗😳💧

@johngjesdahl-xx2gb 2 ай бұрын

" thousands of frustrated consumers roam the streets of large cities in search of some unknown ego fulfillment " ...Zap Comics 1969. Some of E F comes through into pop culture...more will be a blessing.