1956 Quote by Erich Fromm

“Most people are not even aware of their need to conform. They live under the illusion that they follow their own ideas and inclinations, that they are individualists, that they have arrived at their opinions as the result of their own thinking—and that it just happens that their ideas are the same…” quote by Erich Fromm — Download Open image

““Most people are not even aware of their need to conform. They live under the illusion that they follow their own ideas and inclinations, that they are individualists, that they have arrived at their opinions as the result of their own thinking—and that it just happens that their ideas are the same as those of the majority.””

Erich Fromm

★ ★ ★ ★ ★ 3.0 out of 5 (4 ratings)

1956 Conformity Individualism

More by Erich Fromm

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

Erich Fromm

Image

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

Erich Fromm

Image

Freedom does not mean license.

Erich Fromm

Image

“It is hardly necessary to stress the fact that the ability to love as an act of giving depends on the character development of the person. It presupposes the attainment of a predominantly productive orientation; in this orientation the person has overcome dependency, narcissistic omnipotence, the wish to exploit others, or to hoard, and has acquired faith in his own…

Erich Fromm

The pace of science forces the pace of technique. Theoretical physics forces atomic energy on us; the successful production of the fission bomb forces upon us the manufacture of the hydrogen bomb. We do not choose our problems, we do not choose our products; we are pushed, we are forced -- by what? By a system which has no purpose…

Erich Fromm

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

Erich Fromm

Image

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, empty… Well-being means, finally, to drop one's Ego, to give up greed, to cease chasing after preservation and the aggrandizement of the Ego, to be and to experience one's self in the act of being, not…

Erich Fromm

“The wealth of data to be found in social and political life. The belief that people do not want to make sacrifices is notoriously wrong. When Churchill announced at the beginning of the Second World War that what he had to demand from the British was blood, sweat, and tears, he did not deter them, but on the contrary, he…

Erich Fromm

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

Erich Fromm

Image

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

Erich Fromm

Image

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

Erich Fromm

Image

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

Erich Fromm

Image

Explore all 558 Erich Fromm quotes

More 1956 quotes

“Mrs. May winced. She thought the word Jesus should be kept inside the church building like other words inside the bedroom.”

Flannery O'Connor

Image

“Love is not primarily a relationship to a specific person; it is an attitude, an orientation of character which determines the relatedness of a person to the world as a whole, not toward one “object” of love. If a person loves only one other person and is indifferent to the rest of his fellow men, his love is not love…

Erich Fromm

“We prattle about free will, but we're nothing but response . . . mechanical reaction in prescribed grooves.”

Alfred Bester

Image

“What does one person give to another? He gives of himself, of the most precious he has, he gives of his life. This does not necessarily mean that he sacrifices his life for the other—but that he gives him of that which is alive in him; he gives him of his joy, of his interest, of his understanding, of his…

Erich Fromm

“Cellar Christians!" Foyle exclaimed. He and Robin peered through the window. Thirty worshipers of assorted faiths were celebrating the New Year with a combined and highly illegal service. The twenty-fourth century had not yet abolished God, but it had abolished organized religion. "No wonder the house is man-trapped," Foyle said. "Filthy practices like that. Look, they've got a priest and…

Alfred Bester

“ Hitler reacted primarily in a sadistic fashion toward people, but masochistically toward fate, history, the “higher power” of nature.”

Erich Fromm

Image

“You pigs, you. You rut like pigs, is all. You got the most in you, and you use the least. You hear me, you? Got a million in you and spend pennies. Got a genius in you and think crazies. Got a heart in you and feel empties. All a you. Every you...' [...] Take a war to make you…

Alfred Bester

“Wesley, the younger child, had had rheumatic fever when he was seven and Mrs. May thought this was what had caused him to be an intellectual.”

Flannery O'Connor

“Make it a human war,' she said fiercely. 'You're the first not to be deceived by my looks. Oh God! The boredom of the…

Alfred Bester

Image

“Love is possible only if two persons communicate with each other from the center of their existence, hence if each one of them experiences himself from the center of his existence. Only in this “central experience” is human reality, only here is aliveness, only here is the basis for love. Love, experienced thus, is a constant challenge; it is not…

Erich Fromm

“No," Foyle roared. "Let them hear this. Let them hear everything." "You're insane, man. You've handed a loaded gun to children." "Stop treating them like children and they'll stop behaving like children. Who the hell are you to play monitor?" "What are you talking about?" "Stop treating them like children. Explain the loaded gun to them. Bring it all out…

Alfred Bester