Using the two sources ‘Universal Declaration of human rights’ and ‘Erich Fromm- Man for himself’ Cannot be a report or ana

UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by repre- sentatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on 10 December 1948 General Assembly Resolution 217 A (III) as a common standard of achievements for all peoples and all nations. It sets out, for the first time, fundamental human rights to be universally protected. PREAMBLE

Whereas recognition of the inherent dignity and of the equal and inalienable rights of all members of the human family is the foundation of freedom, jus- tice and peace in the world,

Whereas disregard and contempt for human rights have resulted in barbarous acts which have outraged the conscience of mankind, and the advent of a world in which human beings shall enjoy free- dom of speech and belief and freedom from fear and want has been proclaimed as the highest aspiration of the common people,

Whereas it is essential, if man is not to be com- pelled to have recourse, as a last resort, to rebellion against tyranny and oppression, that human rights should be protected by the rule of law,

Whereas it is essential to promote the develop- ment of friendly relations between nations,

Whereas the peoples of the United Nations have in the Charter reaffirmed their faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person and in the equal rights of men and women and have determined to promote social progress and better standards of life in larger freedom,

Whereas Member States have pledged themselves to achieve, in co-operation with the United Nations, the promotion of universal respect for and observance of human rights and fundamental freedoms,

Whereas a common understanding of these rights and freedoms is of the greatest importance for the full realization of this pledge,

Now, Therefore THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY proclaims THIS UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations, to the end that every individual and every organ of society, keeping this Declaration constantly in mind, shall strive by teaching and education to promote respect for these rights and freedoms and by progressive measures, national and international, to secure their universal and effective recognition and observance, both among the peoples of Member States themselves and among the peoples of territories under their ju- risdiction.

Article 1. All human beings are born free and equal in digni- ty and rights. They are endowed with reason and conscience and should act towards one another in a spirit of brotherhood. Article 2. Everyone is entitled to all the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration, without distinction of any kind, such as race, colour, sex, language, religion, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property, birth or other status. Furthermore, no dis- tinction shall be made on the basis of the political, jurisdictional or international status of the country or territory to which a person belongs, whether it be independent, trust, non-self-governing or under any other limitation of sovereignty. Article 3. Everyone has the right to life, liberty and security of person. Article 4. No one shall be held in slavery or servitude; slav- ery and the slave trade shall be prohibited in all their forms. Article 5. No one shall be subjected to torture or to cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment. Article 6. Everyone has the right to recognition everywhere as a person before the law. Article 7. All are equal before the law and are entitled with- out any discrimination to equal protection of the law. All are entitled to equal protection against any dis- crimination in violation of this Declaration and against any incitement to such discrimination. Article 8. Everyone has the right to an effective remedy by the competent national tribunals for acts violating the fundamental rights granted him by the constitution or

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

2

by law. Article 9. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary arrest, de- tention or exile. Article 10. Everyone is entitled in full equality to a fair and public hearing by an independent and impartial tri- bunal, in the determination of his rights and obliga- tions and of any criminal charge against him. Article 11. (1) Everyone charged with a penal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proved guilty according to law in a public trial at which he has had all the guarantees necessary for his defence.

(2) No one shall be held guilty of any penal of- fence on account of any act or omission which did not constitute a penal offence, under national or in- ternational law, at the time when it was committed. Nor shall a heavier penalty be imposed than the one that was applicable at the time the penal offence was committed. Article 12. No one shall be subjected to arbitrary interference with his privacy, family, home or correspondence, nor to attacks upon his honour and reputation. Eve- ryone has the right to the protection of the law against such interference or attacks. Article 13. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of movement and residence within the borders of each state. (2) Everyone has the right to leave any country, including his own, and to return to his country. Article 14. (1) Everyone has the right to seek and to enjoy in other countries asylum from persecution. (2) This right may not be invoked in the case of prosecutions genuinely arising from non-political crimes or from acts contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations. Article 15. (1) Everyone has the right to a nationality. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his na- tionality nor denied the right to change his nationali- ty. Article 16. (1) Men and women of full age, without any limita- tion due to race, nationality or religion, have the right to marry and to found a family. They are entitled to

equal rights as to marriage, during marriage and at its dissolution. (2) Marriage shall be entered into only with the free and full consent of the intending spouses. (3) The family is the natural and fundamental group unit of society and is entitled to protection by society and the State. Article 17. (1) Everyone has the right to own property alone as well as in association with others. (2) No one shall be arbitrarily deprived of his property. Article 18. Everyone has the right to freedom of thought, con- science and religion; this right includes freedom to change his religion or belief, and freedom, either alone or in community with others and in public or private, to manifest his religion or belief in teaching, practice, worship and observance. Article 19. Everyone has the right to freedom of opinion and expression; this right includes freedom to hold opin- ions without interference and to seek, receive and impart information and ideas through any media and Article 20. (1) Everyone has the right to freedom of peaceful assembly and association. (2) No one may be compelled to belong to an asso- ciation. Article 21. (1) Everyone has the right to take part in the gov- ernment of his country, directly or through freely chosen representatives. (2) Everyone has the right of equal access to public service in his country. (3) The will of the people shall be the basis of the authority of government; this will shall be expressed in periodic and genuine elections which shall be by universal and equal suffrage and shall be held by se- cret vote or by equivalent free voting procedures. Article 22. Everyone, as a member of society, has the right to social security and is entitled to realization, through national effort and international co-operation and in accordance with the organization and resources of each State, of the economic, social and cultural rights indispensable for his dignity and the free develop- ment of his personality.

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

3

Article 23. (1) Everyone has the right to work, to free choice of employment, to just and favourable conditions of work and to protection against unemployment. (2) Everyone, without any discrimination, has the right to equal pay for equal work. (3) Everyone who works has the right to just and favourable remuneration ensuring for himself and his family an existence worthy of human dignity, and supplemented, if necessary, by other means of social protection. (4) Everyone has the right to form and to join trade unions for the protection of his interests. Article 24. Everyone has the right to rest and leisure, includ- ing reasonable limitation of working hours and peri- odic holidays with pay. Article 25. (1) Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family, including food, clothing, housing and medical care and necessary social services, and the right to security in the event of unemployment, sick- ness, disability, widowhood, old age or other lack of livelihood in circumstances beyond his control. (2) Motherhood and childhood are entitled to spe- cial care and assistance. All children, whether born in or out of wedlock, shall enjoy the same social protec- tion. Article 26. (1) Everyone has the right to education. Education shall be free, at least in the elementary and funda- mental stages. Elementary education shall be compul- sory. Technical and professional education shall be made generally available and higher education shall be equally accessible to all on the basis of merit. (2) Education shall be directed to the full develop- ment of the human personality and to the strengthen- ing of respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms. It shall promote understanding, tolerance and friendship among all nations, racial or religious groups, and shall further the activities of the United Nations for the maintenance of peace. (3) Parents have a prior right to choose the kind of education that shall be given to their children. Article 27. (1) Everyone has the right freely to participate in the cultural life of the community, to enjoy the arts and to share in scientific advancement and its bene- fits. (2) Everyone has the right to the protection of the moral and material interests resulting from any scien-

tific, literary or artistic production of which he is the author. Article 28. Everyone is entitled to a social and international order in which the rights and freedoms set forth in this Declaration can be fully realized. Article 29. (1) Everyone has duties to the community in which alone the free and full development of his personality is possible. (2) In the exercise of his rights and freedoms, eve- ryone shall be subject only to such limitations as are determined by law solely for the purpose of securing due recognition and respect for the rights and free- doms of others and of meeting the just requirements of morality, public order and the general welfare in a democratic society. (3) These rights and freedoms may in no case be exercised contrary to the purposes and principles of the United Nations. Article 30.

Nothing in this Declaration may be interpreted as implying for any State, group or person any right to engage in any activity or to perform any act aimed at the destruction of any of the rights and freedoms set forth herein.

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The International Library of Psychology

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MAN FOR HIMSELF

An Inquiry into the Psychology of Ethics

ERICH FROMM

Reprinted 1999, 2000, 2002 by Routledge

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© 1947 Erich Fromm

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now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without

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These reprints are taken from original copies of each book. In many cases the condition of these originals is not perfect. The publisher has gone to great lengths to ensure the quality of these reprints, but wishes to point out that certain characteristics of the original copies will, of necessity, be

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Be ye lamps unto yourselves. Be your own reliance. Hold to the truth within yourselves as to the only lamp.

BUDDHA

True words always seem paradoxical but no other form of teaching can take its place.

Who then are the true philosophers? Those who are lovers of the vision of truth.

My people are destroyed by the lack of knowledge; because thou hast rejected knowledge I will also reject thee.

LAo-Tsn

PLATO

HosEA

If the way which, as I have shown, leads hither seems very difficult, it can nevertheless be found. It must indeed be difficult since it is so seldom discovered; for if salvation lay ready to hand and could be discovered without great labour, how could it be possible that it should be neglected almost by everybody? But aU noble things are as difficult as they are rare.

SPINOZA

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Foreword

This book is in many respects a continuation of Escape from Freedom, in which I attempted to analyze modern man's escape from himself and from his freedom; in this book I discuss the problem of ethics, of norms and values leading to the realization of man's self and of his paten· tialities. It is unavoidable that certain ideas expressed in Escape from Freedom are repeated in this book, and al· though I have tried as much as possible to shorten discus· sions which are overlapping, I could not omit them entirely. In the chapter on Human Nature and Character, I discuss topics of characterology which were not taken up in the former book and make only brief reference to the problems discussed there. The reader who wishes to have a complete picture of my characterology must read both books, al· though this is not necessary for the understanding of the present volume.

It may be surprising to many readers to find a psycho- analyst dealing with problems of ethics and, particularly, taking the position that psychology must not only debunk false ethical judgments but can, beyond that, be the basis for building objective and valid norms of conduct. This position is in contrast to the trend prevailing in modern psychology which emphasizes "adjustment" rather than "goodness" and is on the side of ethical relativism. My ex·

vii

viii FOREWORD

perience as a practicing psychoanalyst has confirmed my conviction that problems of ethics can not be omitted from the study of personality, either theoretically or therapeu- tically. The value judgments we make determine our ac- tions, and upon their validity rests our mental health and happiness. To consider evaluations only as so many ration- alizations of unconscious, irrational desires-although they can be that too-narrows down and distorts our picture of the total personality. Neurosis itself is, in the last analysis, a symptom of moral failure (although "adjustment" is by no means a symptom of moral achievement). In many in- stances a neurotic symptom is the specific expression of moral conflict, and the success of the therapeutic effort de- pends on the understanding and solution of the person's moral problem.

The divorcement of psychology from ethics is of a com- paratively recent date. The great humanistic ethical thinkers of the past, on whose works this book is based, were philos- ophers and psychologists; they believed that the under- standing of man's nature and the understanding of values and norms for his life were interdependent. Freud and his school, on the other hand, though making an invaluable contribution to the progress of ethical thought by the de- bunking of irrational value judgments, took a relativistic position with regard to values, a position which had a nega- tive effect not only upon the development of ethical theory but also upori the progress of psychology itself.

The most notable exception to this trend in psychoanal- ysis is C. G. Jung. He recognized that psychology and psy- chotherapy are bound up with the philosophical and moral problems of man. But while this recognition is exceedingly

FOREWORD ix important in itself, Jung's philosophical orientation led only to a reaction against Freud and not to a philosophically oriented psychology going beyond Freud. To Jung "the unconscious" and the myth have become new sources of revelation, supposed to be superior to rational thought just because of their nonrational origin. It was the strength of the monotheistic religions of the West as well as of the great religions of India and China to be concerned with the truth and to claim that theirs was the true faith. While this conviction often caused fanatical intolerance against other religions, at the same time it implanted into herents and opponents alike the respect for truth. In his eclectic admiration for any religion Jung has relinquished this search for the truth in his theory. Any system, if it is only nonration:)l, any myth or symbol, to him is of equal value. He is a relativist with regard to religion-the negative and not the opposite of rational relativism which he so ardently combats. This irrationalism, whether veiled in psychological, philosophical, racial, or political terms, is not progress but reaction. The failure of and nineteenth-century rationalism was not due to its belief in reason but to the narrowness of its concepts. Not less but more reason and an unabating search for the truth can correct errors of a rationalism-not a pseudo- religious obscurantism.

Psychology can not be divorced from philosophy and ethics nor from sociology and economics. The fact that I have emphasized in this book the philosophical problems of psychology does not mean that I have come to believe that the socio-economic factors are less important: this one- sided ernphasi'> is due entirely to considerations of presenta-

X FOREWORD

tion, and I hope to publish another volume on social psy· chology centered around the interaction of psychic and socio-economic factors.

It might seem that the psychoanalyst, who is in the posi- tion of observing the tenacity and stubbornness of irrational strivings, would take a pessimistic view with regard to man's ability to govern himself and to free himself from the bond- age of irrational passions. I must confess that during my ana- lytic work I have become increasingly impressed by the opposite phenomenon: by the strength of the strivings for happiness and health, which are part of the natural equip- ment of man. "Curing" means removing the obstacles which prevent them from becoming effective. Indeed, there is less reason to be puzzled by the fact that there are so many neurotic people than by the phenomenon that most people are relatively healthy in spite of the many adverse influences they are exposed to.

One word of warning seems to be indicated. Many people today expect that books on psychology wilJ give them prescriptions on how to attain "happmess" or "peace of mind." This book does not contain any such advice. It is a theoretical attempt to clarify the problem of ethics and psychology; its aim is to make the reader question himself rather than to pacify him.

I cannot adequately express my indebtedness to those friends, colleagues, and students whose stimulation and sug- gestions helped me in writing the present volume. How-

I wish to acknowledge specifically my gratitude to those who have contributed directly to the completion of this volume. Especially Mr. Patrick Mullahy's assistance has been invaluable; he and Or. Alfred Seidemann have made a number of stimulating suggestions and criticisms in con

FOREWORD xi

nection with the philosophical issues raised in the book. I am very much indebted to Professor David Riesman for many constructive suggestions and to Mr. Donald Slesinger who has improved the readability of the manuscript siderably. Most of all I am indebted to my wife, who helped with the revision of the manuscript and who made many significant suggestions with regard to the organization and the content of the book; particularly the concept of the positive and negative aspects of the nonproductive tion owes much to her suggestions.

I wish to thank the editors of Psychiatry and of the American Sociological Review for permission to make use in the present volume of my articles "Selfishness and

"Faith as a Character Trait," and "The vidual and Social Origins of Neurosis."

Furthermore, I wish to thank the following publishers for the privilege of using extensive passages from their Iications: Board of Christian Education, the Westminster Press, Philadelphia, excerpts from Institutes of the Chris- tian Religion by John Calvin, trans. by John Allen; Random House, New York, excerpts from the Modem Library tion of Eleven Plays of Henrik Ibsen; Alfred A. Knopf, New York, excerpts from The Trial by F. Kafka, trans. by E. I. Muir; Charles Scribner's Sons, New York, excerpts from Spinoza Selections, edited by John Wild; the Oxford versity Press, New York, excerpts from Aristotle's Ethics, trans. by W. D. Ross; Henry Holt Co., New York, excerpts from Principles of Psychology by W. James; Century Co., New York, excerpts from The Principles of Ethics, Vol. I, by H. Spencer.

E. F.

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Contents

FoREWORD

PAGE vii

CHAPTER I. THE PROBLEM 3

II. HuMANISTIC ETHICS: THE APPLIED SciENCE OF THE ART OF LIVING 8 1. Humanistic vs. Authoritarian Ethics 8 2. Subjectivistic vs. Objectivistic Ethics 14 3· T11e Science of Man ::z.o 4· The Tradition of Humanistic Ethics 25 5· Ethics and Psychoanalysis 30

III. HUMAN NATURE AND CHARACTER 38

1. T11e Human Situation 38 a. Man's Biological Weakness 39 b. The Existential and the Historical Dichot-

omies in Man 40 2. Personality 50

a. Temperament 51 b. Character 54

( 1 ) The Dynamic Concept of Character 54 (2) Types of Character: The Nonproduc-

tive Orientations 62 (a) The Receptive Orientation 62

xiii

xiv CONTENTS CHAPTER

IV.

v.

(b) The Exploitative Orientation (c) The Hoarding Orientation (d) The Marketing Orientation The Productive Orientation (a) General Characteristics (b) Productive Love and Thinking Orientations in the Process of Social- ization

( 5) Blends of Various Orientations

PRoBLEMS OF HuMANISTIC ETHics 1. Selfishness, Self-Love, and Self-J nterest

Conscience, Man's Recall to Himself a. Authoritarian Conscience b. Humanistic Conscience

3· Pleasure and Happiness a. Pleasure as a Criterion of Value b. Types of Pleasure c. The Problem of Means and Ends

4· Faith as a Character Trait S· The Moral Powers in Man

a. Man, Good or Evil? b. Repression vs. Productiveness c. Character and Moral Judgment

6. Absolute vs. Relative, Universal vs. Socially Immanent Ethics

THE MoRAL PRoBLEM OF ToDAY

INDEX

PAGE 64 65 67 82 82. 96

107 112

n8 119 141 1 43 158 172 172 183 191 197 210 210 226 231

237

:t45

251

MAN FOR HIMSELF

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CHAPTER I

The Problem

Surely, I said, knowledge is the food of the soul; and we must take care, my friend, that the Sophist does not deceive us when he praises what he sells, like the dealers wholesale or retail who sell the food of the body; for they praise indiscriminately all their goods, without knowing what are really beneficial or hurtful: neither do their customers know, with the exception of any trainer or physician who may happen to buy of them. In like manner those who carry about the wares of knowledge, and make the round of the cities, and sell or retail them to any customer who is in want of them, praise them all alike; though I should not wonder, 0 my friend, if many of them were really ignorant of their effect upon the soul; and their customers equally ignorant, unless he who buys of them happens to be a physician of the soul. If, therefore, you have understanding of what is good and evil you may safely buy knowledge of Protagoras or any one; but if not, then, 0 my friend, pause, and do not hazard your dearest interests at a game of chance. For there is far greater peril in buying knowledge than in buying meat and drink. . • .

-Plato, Protagoras

A spirit of pride and optimism has distinguished Western culture in the last few centuries: pride in reason as man's instrument for his understanding and mastery of nature; optimism in the fulfillment of the fondest hopes of man-

3

4 THE PROBLEM kind, the achievement of the greatest happiness for the gre::ttest number.

Man's pride has been justified. By virtue of his reason he has built a material world the reality of which surpasses even the dreams and visions of fairy tales and utopias. He har- nesses physical energies which will enable the human race to secure the material conditions necessary for a dignified and productive existence, and although many of his goals have not yet been attained there is hardly any doubt that they are within reach and that the problem of production-which was the problem of the past-is, in principle, solved. Now, for the first time in his history, man can perceive that the idea of the unity of the human race and the conquest of nature for the sake of man is no longer a dream but a realis- tic possibility. Is he not justified in being proud and in hav- ing confidence in himself and in the future of mankind?

Yet modern man feels uneasy and more and more be- wildered. He works and strives, but he is dimly aware of a sense of futility with regard to his activities. While his power over matter grows, he feels powerless in his individual life and in society. While creating new and Letter means for mastering nature, he has become enmeshed in a net- work of those means and has lost the vision of the end which alone gives them significance-man himself. While becoming the master of nature, he has become the slave of the machine which his own hands built. With all his knowl- edge about matter, he is ignorant with regard to the most important and fundamental questions of human existence: what man is, how he ought to live, and how the tremendous energies witl-tin man can be released and used productively.

The contemporary human crisis has led to a retreat from the hopes and ideas of the Enlightenment under the auspices

THE PROBLEM 5 of which our political and economic progress had begun. The very idea of progress is called a childish illusion, and "realism," a new word for the utter lack of faith in man, is preached instead. The idea of the dignity and power of man, which gave man the strength and courage for the mendous accomplishments of the last few centuries, is challenged by the suggestion that we have to revert to the acceptance of man's ultimate powerlessness and icance. This idea threatens to destroy the very roots from which our culture grew.

The ideas of the Enlightenment taught man that he could trust his own reason as a guide to establishing valid ethical norms and that he could rely on himself, needing neither revelation nor the authority of the church in order to know good and evil. The motto of the Enlightenment, "dare to know," implying "trust your knowledge," became the incentive for the efforts and achievements of modern man. The growing doubt of human autonomy and reason has created a state of moral confusion where man is left without the guidance of either revelation or reason. The result is the acceptance of a relativistic position which proposes that value judgments and ethical norms are elusively matters of taste or arbitrary preference and that no objectively valid statement can be made in this realm. But since man can not live without values and norms, this relativism makes him an easy prey for irrational va

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