There is a wide variety of psychoanalytic theories. From Freudian psychoanalysis to divergent currents such as Adler’s individual psychology or Carl Jung’s depth psychology, numerous authors have studied the human psyche from the postulates that originate the psychodynamic approach.

One of the thinkers and writers who differs most in this respect is Erich Fromm, author of a current that mixed psychoanalytic theories with humanist philosophy. He was responsible for offering a vision of the psychodynamic current more focused on the social and on the need to motivate reflection based on inspiring ideas. In this article we will review the main books of Erich Fromm .

Who was Erich Fromm?

Fromm is considered the father of humanistic psychoanalysis . He believed that, although the patient’s pain and suffering are elements of great importance, the focus should be on the search for happiness and well-being. In other words, he considered that to overcome discomfort and pain it is necessary for the subject to accept himself and develop affection, giving meaning to his life and to the pain he has suffered.

Thus, he proposes that to understand the mind it is necessary to explore the positive side of the personality and its strengths, instead of concentrating on pathological aspects.

  • You can read more about this author in the following article: “Erich Fromm: biography of the father of humanistic psychoanalysis”.

12 of Erich Fromm’s best books

Below you can find a selection of the best books by Erich Fromm, considered among the most relevant of his work.

1. Fear of freedom

Considered one of the main and most important works of Fromm , in this essay the author works on the concept of freedom and its meaning for the modern human being.

Here, this thinker analyzes the concept in society and the fall of the human being in aspects that put it in crisis. The book also explains some of the aspects of freedom that are currently being compromised, such as its political expression, alibied by fascism, or social expression, with society tending to make all individuals behave and behave in a homogeneous way.

  • If you are interested in this book, you can learn more about it by clicking here.

2. The art of love

One of the concepts that Fromm often works on is love. In this work, another of the best known and most representative of the author, this concept is analyzed and reflects on what it means to love.

The author delves into the various forms of expression of love , both towards the couple and towards family, friends or even towards oneself. Love is seen as something that must be cultivated and transformed in order to understand the beloved, a work of art in which the person occupies his or her energies and which implies maturity and learning.

  • To know more about this work, access this page.

3. The Heart of Man

The third of Fromm’s greatest works is The Heart of Man. Here, the author analyses and reflects on aspects such as the capacity of the human being when looking for pleasure or causing pain , on violence and frustration, the love of life or death (referring to Freudian impulses), freedom or aspects such as the Oedipus complex and narcissism.

4. Beyond the chains of illusion

This book was defined by Fromm himself as an intellectual autobiography regarding his thought , relating some vital experiences (such as the suicide of a young woman and the experience of the First World War) that marked him and made him look for an explanation about irrationality, finding some answers in Karl Marx’s work.

Furthermore, in this book Fromm confronts the ideas of Freud and Marx, which were the origin of his thinking, working on concepts such as individual and social responsibility.

5. The pathology of normality

In this book the author works on a fundamental aspect of his theory, the fact that the normal can become pathological and the pathological can become normal . For the author, pathology usually develops due to the attempt to adapt to the demands of an increasingly demanding society, deteriorating people’s mental state because we are increasingly unable to link ourselves to reality.

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6. And you shall be like gods

Today’s society has left aside the concept of God, leaving a certain vacuum that causes confusion between what we are and what we possess. The consumerism of our time is generated by the absence of a vital sense and a feeling of isolation and inner emptiness. The author proposes to try to find changes in the social structure that can lead the human being to feel liberated and full .

  • To learn more about the book use this link.

7. The art of listening

In the texts of this work, Erich Fromm talks about his way of understanding therapy as a process through which to understand the person and his unconscious. He proposes that the therapist listens to his patient with affection and sympathy , moving away from cold therapeutic relationships based on theory.

  • You can find more information here.

8. Spirit and Society

This posthumous book includes several articles by Fromm in which it is evident what the author considers as the starting point of his theory, the fact that social demand causes states of inconsistency in people . This would be one of the factors that would separate Fromm from the psychoanalytic school.

We also talk about aspects such as the understanding of the social unconscious, the therapeutic relationship, bureaucracy or the paradoxes that society makes us face.

  • On this page you can read more about the book.

9. From having to being

In this book, Fromm proposes that today’s society is immersed in a situation in which being is confused with having, so that those who have more are those who are better. Therefore, people should analyze their own lives and ways of thinking, proposing that we live with love and reason as the main pillars. Pain and suffering are necessary to become wise , so we must forget about the method of flight to focus on being again.

  • To find out more, go to this page.

10. On disobedience

Obedience to one’s own nature and political disobedience are the theme on which this work is based, which summarizes the author’s thoughts on the subject. The author indicates that the fulfilled human being must have the needs of identity, relationship, transcendence and belonging covered, criticizing the obstacles that society puts in our way so that we are capable of fulfilling them. Falling into blind obedience and totalitarianism can damage the integrity of the person and ignore the value of people and life.

  • You will find more information about the work through this link.

11. The forgotten language

This book deals with one of the aspects that have been strongly analyzed by psychoanalysis: dreams. In this book Fromm tries to participate in the analysis of the symbolic elements of the dreams , helping us to understand what they mean and how they can help to understand the unconscious according to the paradigm of the psychocodynamics.

  • If you want to get this book, you can start the process here.

12. Ethics and Psychoanalysis

In this work Fromm raises the need to apply an ethic in the world of psychology , considering that psychoanalysis has made a great mistake in trying to separate the psychological from the moral in patients, ignoring that the latter also forms part of the person and his or her experiences (one must try to help the patient to form a positive ethic and character). Such ethics should not be authoritarian, like the ethics of the Overself and censorship, but should be humanistic and objectivistic, based on self-love, self-acceptance and the unfolding of potentialities.

  • To read more about the book, click here.