Das erkenntnisleitende Interesse fur Fromms Philosophie als Wissenschaft vom Menschen ist immer d... more Das erkenntnisleitende Interesse fur Fromms Philosophie als Wissenschaft vom Menschen ist immer der konkrete Mensch, nicht das Denken oder das Bewusstsein oder die Frage nach der Bedingung der Moglichkeit von Denken bzw. Bewusstsein. Spatestens seit Bekanntwerden mit der Psychoanalyse, die weder vom Denken noch Bewusstsein des Denkens aus fragt, sondern das Unbewusste in seiner Funktion erforscht, auch Bedingung der Moglichkeit von Denken und Bewusstsein zu sein, ergibt sich fur Fromm hinsichtlich seines eigenen Philosophierens ein erkenntnisleitendes Interesse, das nicht mehr abstrakt philosophisch ist. Nicht dass Fromm die Philosophie auf Psychoanalyse reduzieren will. Es geht ihm nicht darum, der Philosophie ihren Eigenwert streitig zu machen, doch muss sie sich eine Relativierung gefallen lassen. Was ein Mensch denkt und wie er denkt, was fur ihn Vernunft ist und welche Abstraktionsebene er wahlt, ob er sein philosophisches Heil im Nihilismus oder in der Metaphysik sucht - er philosophiert nicht, ohne vom Unbewussten so oder so bestimmt zu sein. Erich Fromm's concept of the scientific enterprise is characterized by the propounding of a special methodology. His concept of "science" is not in the least bit orientated to the natural or the social sciences. Rather it is based on reflections on the "situatedness" of human beings in the world (the conditio humana itself), reflections that rightly seen as constituting a philosophical anthropology. Moreover, Fromm does not proceed by generalizing and abstracting in either a deductively naturalistic fashion or in one that seeks its point of departure in the findings of the various sciences. Rather Fromm blends together insights derived from the various humanities and social sciences to arrive at his approach to the situatedness of human beings in the world. This he does by harmonizing the biological, social and psychical determinants so that their combined relevance for humanity becomes apprehensible, i.e. whether they are functional or dysfunctional. The rationality of the perceiving subject is always seen by Fromm as persisting in an interrelation with the activity-directed character of the subject. The upshot is that, by drawing on the character conception and its orientation, Fromm is not only able to reflect in his methodology the "interest" of the subject striving for objective knowledge, but he also manages to arrive at a conception of the scientific task that pegs it squarely to value judgements. This means that the science of man, understood as a genuinely human anthropology, is necessarily orientated to the humanistic ideal of love, productive rationality and productive activity. At the same time, Fromm attempts to draw on the science of man in order to demonstrate that humanism can be both humane and scientific at one and the same time.
Abstract Particularly due to technical innovations, we are witnessing an unbounding of reality th... more Abstract Particularly due to technical innovations, we are witnessing an unbounding of reality that is increasingly reflected in an inner striving to get rid of the limitations and boundaries of our own personality by reconstructing it anew. This pursuit of de-limitation, dissolution, and blurring of boundaries is seen as a central character trait of the ego-oriented social character. Such a fabrication of a limitless personality doubtless results in a weakening of such psychic abilities as experiencing one's self as a consistent and ambiguous entity, being emotionally attached to oneself and to others, feeling one's own strivings, affects, and emotions, and being guided by one's internalized norms and values. Finally, the impact of this character formation is discussed in regard to clinical and therapeutic issues.
Das erkenntnisleitende Interesse fur Fromms Philosophie als Wissenschaft vom Menschen ist immer d... more Das erkenntnisleitende Interesse fur Fromms Philosophie als Wissenschaft vom Menschen ist immer der konkrete Mensch, nicht das Denken oder das Bewusstsein oder die Frage nach der Bedingung der Moglichkeit von Denken bzw. Bewusstsein. Spatestens seit Bekanntwerden mit der Psychoanalyse, die weder vom Denken noch Bewusstsein des Denkens aus fragt, sondern das Unbewusste in seiner Funktion erforscht, auch Bedingung der Moglichkeit von Denken und Bewusstsein zu sein, ergibt sich fur Fromm hinsichtlich seines eigenen Philosophierens ein erkenntnisleitendes Interesse, das nicht mehr abstrakt philosophisch ist. Nicht dass Fromm die Philosophie auf Psychoanalyse reduzieren will. Es geht ihm nicht darum, der Philosophie ihren Eigenwert streitig zu machen, doch muss sie sich eine Relativierung gefallen lassen. Was ein Mensch denkt und wie er denkt, was fur ihn Vernunft ist und welche Abstraktionsebene er wahlt, ob er sein philosophisches Heil im Nihilismus oder in der Metaphysik sucht - er philosophiert nicht, ohne vom Unbewussten so oder so bestimmt zu sein. Erich Fromm's concept of the scientific enterprise is characterized by the propounding of a special methodology. His concept of "science" is not in the least bit orientated to the natural or the social sciences. Rather it is based on reflections on the "situatedness" of human beings in the world (the conditio humana itself), reflections that rightly seen as constituting a philosophical anthropology. Moreover, Fromm does not proceed by generalizing and abstracting in either a deductively naturalistic fashion or in one that seeks its point of departure in the findings of the various sciences. Rather Fromm blends together insights derived from the various humanities and social sciences to arrive at his approach to the situatedness of human beings in the world. This he does by harmonizing the biological, social and psychical determinants so that their combined relevance for humanity becomes apprehensible, i.e. whether they are functional or dysfunctional. The rationality of the perceiving subject is always seen by Fromm as persisting in an interrelation with the activity-directed character of the subject. The upshot is that, by drawing on the character conception and its orientation, Fromm is not only able to reflect in his methodology the "interest" of the subject striving for objective knowledge, but he also manages to arrive at a conception of the scientific task that pegs it squarely to value judgements. This means that the science of man, understood as a genuinely human anthropology, is necessarily orientated to the humanistic ideal of love, productive rationality and productive activity. At the same time, Fromm attempts to draw on the science of man in order to demonstrate that humanism can be both humane and scientific at one and the same time.
Abstract Particularly due to technical innovations, we are witnessing an unbounding of reality th... more Abstract Particularly due to technical innovations, we are witnessing an unbounding of reality that is increasingly reflected in an inner striving to get rid of the limitations and boundaries of our own personality by reconstructing it anew. This pursuit of de-limitation, dissolution, and blurring of boundaries is seen as a central character trait of the ego-oriented social character. Such a fabrication of a limitless personality doubtless results in a weakening of such psychic abilities as experiencing one's self as a consistent and ambiguous entity, being emotionally attached to oneself and to others, feeling one's own strivings, affects, and emotions, and being guided by one's internalized norms and values. Finally, the impact of this character formation is discussed in regard to clinical and therapeutic issues.
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