What makes men kill? How can we explain man's lust for cruelty and destruction? This work tries to provide the answers. From the author of 'The Crisis of Psychoanalysis'.
--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Book Description
Editorial Reviews
Review
"If any single work could bring mankind to its senses, this book might qualify for that miracle. . . . This book is the product of one of the most penetrating, most mature minds of our time."--Lewis Mumford
"In this perhaps most important of his pioneering theoretical works, the distinguished author writes with brilliant insight in attempting to break the deadlock in the struggle between the instinctivism of Konrad Lorenz . . . and behaviorist B.F. Skinner. He moves toward a provocative conclusion which involves a critical revision of Freud's theory of a "death instinct" in man. . . . Fromm's studies of Stalin and Himmler, and especially his penetrating psychobiography of Hitler, fascinatingy support his thesis."--Publisher's Weekly
"Rich and provocative . . . a major book from the pen of a major writer."--the Washington Post Book World
"Fromm is an original thinker. . . . His analysis of the causes of destructiveness is unique, and he has an enviable skill in the lucid presentation of intricate material."--Atlantic Monthly
"By far the best book I have ever read on the subject and by far the most absorbing."—Ashley Montagu
"A work of broad scope and prodigious scholarship . . . immensely instructive and stimulating."
--This text refers to the
Paperback
edition.
"In this perhaps most important of his pioneering theoretical works, the distinguished author writes with brilliant insight in attempting to break the deadlock in the struggle between the instinctivism of Konrad Lorenz . . . and behaviorist B.F. Skinner. He moves toward a provocative conclusion which involves a critical revision of Freud's theory of a "death instinct" in man. . . . Fromm's studies of Stalin and Himmler, and especially his penetrating psychobiography of Hitler, fascinatingy support his thesis."--Publisher's Weekly
"Rich and provocative . . . a major book from the pen of a major writer."--the Washington Post Book World
"Fromm is an original thinker. . . . His analysis of the causes of destructiveness is unique, and he has an enviable skill in the lucid presentation of intricate material."--Atlantic Monthly
"By far the best book I have ever read on the subject and by far the most absorbing."—Ashley Montagu
"A work of broad scope and prodigious scholarship . . . immensely instructive and stimulating."
About the Author
Erich Fromm was a German-born U.S. psychoanalyst and social philosopher who explored the interaction between psychology and society. His other major works include The Art of Loving, Escape from Freedom, and Man for Himself. He died in 1980.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
48 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
It's a destructive culture, not a destructive species,
By
This review is from: The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness (Paperback)
I encountered this book in 1988 or so, and it changed my life. It is I think Fromms best and most important book. This is the book that first let me know that the violence of the dominant culture is not biological in its origin. The book is centered around the question, obviously, of why humans commit atrocities. Fromm begins this book by exploring many of the theories, such as the notion that we are biologically overdetermined to be so violent. But he conclusively shows that cannot be the case. He then gives examples of nonviolent cultures, and explores why these cultures are the way they are. He then concludes with a powerful and detailed exploration of Hitler, showing how Hitler manifests the essence of this awful civilization that is killing the planet. A powerful book that helped form the foundations of my thinking.
22 of 27 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A MUST READ FOR PSYCH TYPES,
By A Customer
This review is from: The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness (Paperback)
The photo of Hitler unable to pull his eyes away from adecaying corpse is alone worth the price of admission. As this was aBook of the Month Club "featured selection" about 25 years ago, Pr. Fromm explores the dark side of humanity, from ego-centrism, to our twisted love of death. Hurtful at times, addressing basal issues most of us would rather deny, this is a truly life-changing volume. Fromm discusses our vanity and obsessions so objectively, we can actually wade through it without getting mad. A Freudian Delight!
10 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Human Nature Defined - For Those Daring Enough to Look,
This review is from: The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness (Paperback)
Whichever path through this masterpiece you take, you will need to keep reminding yourself that you entered the land of the brave and you need to go through things that may be too recognizable to accept without resistance. But when you do, it will make you a better person. Then, you may need to be brave enough to forget the part of what you read if you start recognizing too many rationalizations in your everyday walk and talk of life. This work has amazing composition that allows you to read it in different ways. You can skip the whole Part I, if you don't have time and you know that Fromm knows what is he attacking and why, and you can skip big case studies, if you don't have time and don't particularly care for the brains of Stalin and Hitler :-). And still you will get the whole and earth-shattering definition of the human nature and how and why a human can get hurt so easily and can hurt others so easily. Or, you can start with big case studies, if that is what motivates you to read, and in order to read through them you will have to read the rest, probably with your own pattern of chapters. Or, you can start from the page one, to see how deeply wrong currently popular behavioral theory is and take it from there in a linear fashion.
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First Sentence:
I will forgo presenting here a history of instinct theory as the reader can find it in many textbooks. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
vital impotence, malignant incestuousness, necrophilous person, necrophilous character, anal libido, malignant aggression, adaptive aggression, hoarding character, cybernetic man, instinctive equipment, innate destructiveness, sadomasochistic character, organic drives, group narcissism, instinctive determination, defensive aggression, great constructors, militant enthusiasm, sadistic character, exploitative control, tragic alternative, anal character, death instinct, libido theory, innate aggressiveness Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, World War, United States, Chicago Press, Mein Kampf, Eva Braun, Heinrich Himmler, Table Talks, Adolf Hitler, Alois Hitler, New Haven, Oxford Univ, Columbia Univ, Yale Univ, Harvard Univ, New Introductory Lectures, Rockefeller Univ, Standard Edition, Study Program, Academy of Arts, Basic Books, Geli Raubal, Gombe Stream Reserve, Great Britain, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
I will forgo presenting here a history of instinct theory as the reader can find it in many textbooks. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
vital impotence, malignant incestuousness, necrophilous person, necrophilous character, anal libido, malignant aggression, adaptive aggression, hoarding character, cybernetic man, instinctive equipment, innate destructiveness, sadomasochistic character, organic drives, group narcissism, instinctive determination, defensive aggression, great constructors, militant enthusiasm, sadistic character, exploitative control, tragic alternative, anal character, death instinct, libido theory, innate aggressiveness Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
New York, World War, United States, Chicago Press, Mein Kampf, Eva Braun, Heinrich Himmler, Table Talks, Adolf Hitler, Alois Hitler, New Haven, Oxford Univ, Columbia Univ, Yale Univ, Harvard Univ, New Introductory Lectures, Rockefeller Univ, Standard Edition, Study Program, Academy of Arts, Basic Books, Geli Raubal, Gombe Stream Reserve, Great Britain, Harcourt Brace Jovanovich New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 100
books:
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100
books
cite this book:
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- Mein Kampf by Adolf Hitler on 11 pages
- Beyond the Pleasure Principle (Norton Library) by Sigmund Freud on 8 pages
- Civilization and Its Discontents by Sigmund Freud on 8 pages
- On Aggression (Harvest Book, Hb 291) by Konrad Lorenz on 8 pages
- Outline of Psychoanalysis (Penguin Modern Classics) by Sigmund Freud on 5 pages
See all 100 books this book cites
- Erich Fromm and the Quest for Solidarity by Lawrence Wilde on 16 pages
- Hope's Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet by Frances Moore Lappe on 6 pages
- Augustine to Freud: What Theologians & Psychologists Tell Us about Human Nature--And Why It Matters by Kenneth Boa on 4 pages
- RC Series Bundle: Wickedness (Routledge Classics) by Dr Mary Midgley on 4 pages
- Mass Hate: The Global Rise of Genocide and Terror (Revised and Updated) by Neil Kressel in Back Matter (1), Back Matter (2), and Back Matter (3)
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