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Identity Quotes by Erich Fromm

18 Identity quotes by Erich Fromm

All Identity quotes Erich Fromm’s page

Erich Fromm’s eighteen brief statements on identity blend psychology and ethics into a compact guide. His emphasis on love, freedom, and authenticity makes this set a useful touchstone for anyone probing the deeper motivations behind their self‑image.

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Man may be defined as the animal that can say ''I,'' that can be aware of himself as a separate entity.

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Integrity simply means not violating one's own identity.

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Integrity simply means a willingness not to violate one's identity.

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Integrity simple means not violating one's own identity.

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The member of a primitive clan might express his identity in the formula "I am we"; he cannot yet conceive of himself…

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All genuine ideals have one thing in common: they express the desire for something which is not yet accomplished but which is…

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Integrity simply means a willingness not to violate one's identity, in the many ways in which such violation is possible.

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If an individual is able to love productively, he loves himself, too; if he can love only others, he cannot love at…

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Also in contemporary Western society the union with the group is the prevalent way of overcoming separateness. It is a union which…

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Man, the more he gains freedom in the sense of emerging from the original oneness with man and nature and the more…

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If I perceive in another person mainly the surface, I perceive mainly the differences,that which separates us. If I penetrate to the…

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“The frightened individual seeks for somebody or something to tie his self to; he cannot bear to be his own individual self…

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The person who gives up his individual self and becomes an automaton, identical with millions of other automatons around him, need not…

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“The failure of modern culture lies not in its principle of individualism, not in the idea that moral virtue is the same…

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“There is only one passion which satisfies man’s need to unite himself with the world, and to acquire at the same time…

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“If the individual realizes his self by spontaneous activity and thus relates himself to the world, he ceases to be an isolated…

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“Man’s development requires his capacity to transcend the narrow prison of his ego, his greed, his selfishness, his separation from his fellow…

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“Once the primary bonds which gave security to the individual are severed, once the individual faces the world outside of himself as…

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More by Erich Fromm

The capacity to be puzzled is the premise of all creation, be it in art or in science.

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Only when man succeeds in developing his reason and love further than he has done so far, only when he can build a world…

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Freedom does not mean license.

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“It is hardly necessary to stress the fact that the ability to love as an act of giving depends on the character development of…

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The pace of science forces the pace of technique. Theoretical physics forces atomic energy on us; the successful production of the fission bomb forces…

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Exploitation and manipulation produce boredom and triviality; they cripple man, and all factors that make man into a psychic cripple turn him also into…

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Well-being is possible to the degree to which one has overcome one's narcissism; to the degree to which one is open, responsive, sensitive, awake,…

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“The wealth of data to be found in social and political life. The belief that people do not want to make sacrifices is notoriously…

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By equality, one once understood equality in the very same sense in which the Bible speaks of equality: that we are all equal, inasmuch…

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“Human beings had two basic orientations: HAVING and BEING HAVING: seeks to acquire, posses things even people BEING: focuses on the experience; exchanging, engaging,…

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“Most people are not even aware of their need to conform. They live under the illusion that they follow their own ideas and inclinations,…

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Just as modern mass production requires the standardization of commodities, so the social process requires standardization of man, and this standardization is called equality.

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To respect a person is not possible without knowing him; care and responsibility would be blind if they were not guided by knowledge.

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Love is an active power in man; a power which breaks through the walls which separate man from his fellow men, which unite him…

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“Perhaps most trivial talk is a need to talk about oneself; hence, the never-ending subject of health and sickness, children, travel, successes, what one…

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