-A new way of thinking emerges from a reverse perspective-
point
Freedom is two sides of the same coin: liberation from bondage and solitude.
Even fixed ways of thinking can lead to new discoveries when viewed from the opposite perspective.
Erich Fromm
1900-1980, German researcher in social psychology, psychoanalysis, and philosophy.
This book is a cry against madness by the author, Fromm, who fled the Nazis and became a naturalized American citizen. It examines freedom within the contexts of family, religion, and society, and explores how the concept of freedom has changed over time.
Individuals who become independent from parents, religion, and society gain freedom. However, this also means losing the foundation for a stable life and meaning in life. Humans, seeking to escape from freedom that has become a burden, move in two directions.
One side moved towards utopian ideals in pursuit of the complete realization of even greater freedom. The other side sought subservience to new ideologies and authorities. Fromm analyzes that this latter side led to Nazism.
Those who fought for freedom, once they achieved it, often sought submission to authority and power. Fromm asks us why humans, while seeking freedom, simultaneously want to relinquish it. He concludes that even if we think we live in a free society, we are not liberated from labor or politics.
One possible answer to this question of freedom may lie in Professor Koichiro Kokubun's "The Ethics of Leisure and Boredom," which I will post next. People dislike vast amounts of idle and boring time because they have to think in order to use that time effectively. Thinking involves suffering. That's why people try to spend their time in a way that doesn't require thinking. Professor Kokubun argues that modern philosophy must find the answer to this problem.
The moment when one book connects with another is so enjoyable, isn't it? It's the real thrill.
Thank you for reading. Goodbye for now. Take care :)
First reading completed on June 9, 2011
Author: Erich Fromm Translator: Rokuro Hidaka Paperback: 337 pages Publisher: Tokyo Sogensha
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