Humanistic Psychoanalysis

Humanistic Psychoanalysis

 Fromm Humanistic Psychoanalysis looks at

people from the perspectives of psychology,
history, and anthropology. Fromm developed a
more culturally oriented theory than Freud.
BASIC CONCEPTS AND
PRINCIPLES
 Fromm believes that the essence of human existence
today is marked by loneliness, isolation, and alienation .
 At the same time, he believed that each period of history
has been characterized by increasing individuality as
people have struggled toward ever-greater personal
freedom to develop all of their potentialities.
 Human beings strive for freedom and autonomy, but this
very struggle has produced feelings of alienation from
nature and society.
People need to have power and choice over their lives,
but they also need to feel connected and related to
other human beings.
The intensity of this conflict and the different ways in
which it is resolved are dependent on the political and
economic systems of the society.
 From referred to these “existential dichotomies” because they are rooted in people’s very
existence. Humans cannot do away with these existential dichotomies, they can only react to
these dichotomies to their culture and their individual personalities.
1. First and fundamental dichotomy is that between life and death.
2. Second humans are capable of conceptualizing the goal of complete self-realization but we also
are aware that life is too short to reach that goal.
3. Third, people are ultimately alone, yet we cannot tolerate isolation.
MECHANISMS OF ESCAPE

 How do people cope with feelings of loneliness,

insignificance, and alienation that accompany freedom?
1. Authoritarianism. The tendency to fuse one’s self with somebody or something
outside of oneself in order to acquire the strength which the individual self is lacking.
 Masochistic form. individuals behave in an excessively dependent, submissive, and helpless
manner toward other people.
 Sadistic form. individuals strive to exploit, dominate and control other people.

2. Destructiveness. A person attempts to overcome

feelings of inferiority and aloneness by destroying and
subduing others.
3. Automaton conformity. The person who uses this strategy seeks to become just like everyone
else by behaving in a completely conventional manner.
HUMAN EXISTENTIAL NEEDS
As animals, humans are motivated by such physiological needs as hunger, sex, and safety; but they
can never resolve their human dilemma by satisfying these animal needs. Only the distinctive human
needs can move people toward a reunion with the natural world. These existential needs have
emerged during the evolution of human culture, growing out of their attempts to find an answer to
their existence and to avoid becoming insane.
 The need for relatedness. To become their feelings of isolation from nature and themselves, all
persons need to care for, share with, and be responsible for others. (submission, power, and love)
 Need for transcendence. Need to surpass passive animal nature, to become active and creative
shapers of their lives.
 Need for rootedness. Human beings need to be an integral part of the world, to feel that they
belong.
 Need for identity. All persons need to have an inner sense of
oneness with self, an identify that sets them apart from
others in terms of their awareness of who what they truly
are.
 Need for a frame of orientation. A stable and consistent way
of interpreting the complexities of the world. It is a set of
belies that allows people to organize and comprehend their
perceptions of reality, without which they would be puzzled
and unable to act purposefully.
SOCIAL CHARACTER TYPES
These are forms of relatedness to others, they represent the interaction of existential needs and the social context in which people
live.

 Receptive type. They are overly dependent and passive, incapable of doing
anything without outside help. And feel that their main task in life is to be loved
rather than to love.
 Exploitative type. Take whatever they need or desire from others through force or
cunning.
 Hoarding type. The person strives to accumulate material possessions, power, and
love, and they struggle to avoid sharing any of their hoard.
 Marketing type. Operate from a frame of reference that states that personality is
valued only as a commodity to be sold or exchanged for success.
 Productive character type. Independent, spontaneous, loving, creative, and
committed to the social good.