The Art of Loving
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| The Art of Loving | |
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| Author(s) | Erich Fromm |
| Publisher | Harper & Row |
| Publication date | 1956 |
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The Art of Loving is a 1956 book by psychologist and social philosopher Erich Fromm,[1] which was published as part of the "World Perspectives Series"[2] edited by Ruth Nanda Anshen. In this work, Fromm recapitulated and complemented the theoretical principles of human nature found in Fromm's Escape from Freedom and Man for Himself – principles which were revisited in many of his other major works.
Fromm presents love as a skill that can be taught and developed. He rejects the idea of loving as something magical and mysterious that cannot be analyzed and explained, and is therefore skeptical about popular ideas such as "falling in love" or being helpless in the face of love. Because modern humans are alienated from each other and from nature, we seek refuge from our aloneness in romantic love and marriage (pp. 79–81). However, Fromm observes that real love "is not a sentiment which can be easily indulged in by anyone." It is only through developing one's total personality to the capacity of loving one's neighbor with "true humility, courage, faith and discipline" that one attains the capacity to experience real love. This should be considered a rare achievement (p. vii).
The Art of Loving argues that the active character of true love involves four basic elements: care, responsibility, respect, and knowledge (p. 24). Each of these is difficult to define and can differ markedly depending on the people involved and their circumstances. Seen in these terms, love is hard work, but it is also the most rewarding kind of work.
One of the book's concepts is self-love. According to Fromm, loving oneself is quite different from arrogance, conceit or egocentrism. Loving oneself means caring about oneself, taking responsibility for oneself, respecting oneself, and knowing oneself (e.g. being realistic and honest about one's strengths and weaknesses). In order to be able to truly love another person, one needs first to love oneself in this way.
Fromm is skeptical of exclusive love, which he calls égoïsme à deux – a relationship in which each person is entirely focused on the other, to the detriment of other people around them. In a healthy marriage, faithfulness applies to sex, but not to Fromm's concept of love, because love means a generally caring, responsible, respectful and honest attitude toward all other people.
The book includes explorations of the theories of brotherly love, motherly and fatherly love, erotic love, self-love, and the love of God (pp. 7–76), and an examination into love's disintegration in contemporary Western culture (pp. 77–98).
[edit] References
- ^ The Art of Loving (1956) by Erich Fromm. Harper & Row. ISBN 978-0060915940.
- ^ "World Perspectives Series List". World Perspectives Series. Library Thing. http://www.librarything.com/series/World%20Perspectives. Retrieved 12/1/2011.
