Erich Fromm

Erich Fromm

Erich Fromm

 

Understanding a person does not mean condoning

it only means that one does not accuse him as

if one were God or a judge placed above him

 

Immature love says: 'I love you because I need you'
Mature love says: 'I need you because I love you'

 

To die is poignantly bitter, but the idea of having to die without having lived is unbearable."

 

"Creativity requires the courage to let go of certainties."

If I am what I have and if I lose what I have who then am I?"

 

Destructiveness is the outcome of unlived lives

 

 

Conditions for creativity are to be puzzled; to concentrate; to accept conflict and tension; to be born everyday; to feel a sense of self

 

As long as anyone believes that his ideal and purpose is outside him, that it is above the clouds, in the past or in the future, he will go outside himself and seek fulfillment where it cannot be found. He will look for solutions and answers at every point except where they can be found--in himself."

 

In love, the paradox occurs that two beings become one and yet remain two

 

While every human being has a capacity for love, its realization is one of the most difficult achievements"

 

We all dream; we do not understand our dreams, yet we act as if nothing strange goes on in our sleep minds, strange at least by comparison with the logical, purposeful doings of our minds when we are awake

 

The paradoxical and tragic situation of man is that his conscience is weakest when he needs it most

 

Man is the only animal for whom his own existence is a problem which he has to solve

 

Who will tell whether one happy moment of love or the joy of breathing or walking on a bright morning and smelling the fresh air, is not worth all the suffering and effort which life implies."

 

Why should society feel responsible only for the education of children, and not for the education of all adults of every age?"