Human Needs
There are several fundamental human needs that distinguish humans from all other living beings and on which their mental health depends.
Self-awareness gives birth to the need for a sense of one’s own identity. Fromm defines identity as “the core of our personality that is unchanging and lasts throughout our lives, despite changing conditions and regardless of certain changes in thoughts and feelings.”1 In life, we have different roles: we are children, parents, employees, friends, neighbors… Behind all these roles is the “I” that plays these roles, the permanent and unchanging part of us, independent of external circumstances. The question follows: who am I? The need to know oneself is a fundamental human need recorded as early as the Temple of Apollo in Delphi: Gnothi Seauton – Know thyself. The answer to this question can only be found through one way: an active relationship with life, through life situations in which we test ourselves, gain experiences, learn, and grow. We evolve and grow as human beings, increasingly discovering our own permanent “Self.”
In life, we have various roles: we are children, parents, employees, friends, neighbors… Behind all of these roles is the “Self” that plays these roles, the permanent and unchanging part of us, independent of external circumstances.
In order to do that, we need to be free, and that is the true meaning of the human longing for freedom. Freedom is not an end in itself; it is a tool through which we achieve our goals and it implies accepting responsibility for our own decisions. Today, “we know more about what we want to be free from than what to do with freedom,” says Fromm. We have the freedom to decide for ourselves, but we don’t know what we would decide because, apart from the goals imposed by consumer society, humans do not have truly valuable goals and ideals and they run away from freedom. The freedom caused by internal passivity, limitations, fears, a sense of powerlessness, and avoidance of responsibility for one’s own life is worse than externally conditioned lack of freedom.
State… The opposite of the feeling of identity is conformity, the escape into the security of the crowd, the desire not to stand out from others and to be accepted. The individual “self” disappears here and is replaced by the identity of the group to which we belong, which is the prevailing way of attempting to satisfy the need for identity in contemporary society.
Many people are not even aware of their need to conform. They live under the illusion that they are following their own ideas and intentions, that they are individualists, that they have come to their views based on their own thinking, and it is just coincidental that their ideas are the same as the majority. The agreement of all serves as proof of the “rightness” of “their” ideas.
Only society encourages conformity, “dictatorship systems use intimidation and terror, while democratic countries use suggestion and propaganda.”
The other fundamental human need is the need for harmony and unity with other people and the world. It is the need for belonging and acceptance, but not at the expense of losing one’s identity, but by transcending one’s own interests in order to build common ground and understanding. it is an art that requires practice and cultivation. It is a conscious choice to constantly strive towards selflessness and empathy, to prioritize the well-being and growth of others. By doing so, we can transcend our own individuality and experience a deeper sense of connection and unity with the world around us. Love has the power to dissolve the walls that separate us, to bridge the gaps between ourselves and others. Only through the strength of love can we overcome the inherent sense of loneliness and separateness, while still retaining our own integrity. Love is not passive or stagnant, but an active force that propels us towards compassion, understanding, and genuine concern for the happiness and fulfillment of others. It is through this active power of love that we can truly nourish and enrich our own lives, as well as the lives of those around us. According to Fromm, love is not an emotion that happens to us. It is built, created, and requires knowledge and effort.
Since one does not understand that love is an activity, a strength of the soul, a person believes that they only need to find the right object and then everything will unfold on its own.
Love is not a relationship with a specific person: it is a standpoint, a character orientation that determines a person’s connectedness with the world as a whole, rather than with one “object” of love. If I truly love someone, I love all people, I love the world, I love life.
Instead of love, modern man satisfies the need for unity with others through what Fromm calls symbiotic fusion. The foundation of such a relationship is seeking and taking rather than giving. Everyone is focused on themselves and their needs, and as long as the other person satisfies those needs, the relationship will last.
The next fundamental human need is the need for a framework of beliefs, an orientation towards the world. This is the need for a meaningful picture of the world, for understanding the world and oneself, discovering obj The objective truths above subjective opinions. The objectivity of one’s worldview depends on the individual’s ability to free themselves from illusions, for which knowledge is needed.
Orientations towards the world can be irrational or rational, says Fromm. Irrational is the result of our subjective thinking, desires, our perception of reality. Rational is similar to love because “just as true love encompasses the whole world, rational orientation encompasses the whole world – not just one area, but a constant search for truth”.
Various religious systems and philosophical teachings offer answers to this need, but individuals must search for truth themselves and find confirmation in their own life experience.
A new society is only possible if a new human being develops – if there is a fundamental change in the character structure of modern humans.
And finally, the fundamental human need is what Fromm calls the need for productive orientation, an active relationship with the world. This is what There is a need for individuals to transcend passive state and become active participants in their own lives, thereby experiencing their own strength and power. Every human being can be productive because a productive orientation is not tied to practical results or measurable success in life, but to one’s inner sense of usefulness, worthiness, and purpose.
The essence of a productive orientation, much like love, lies in giving, because “in the act of giving itself, I experience my own firmness, my own wealth, my own strength. This experience of increased vitality and power fills me with joy.” The joy that accompanies a productive orientation “is not the ecstatic fire of the moment, but the ember that accompanies existence.”
These are the essential needs of every human being, the satisfaction of which is crucial for the mental health of society, as one cannot live contrary to their nature and remain healthy.
Can society change?
A new society is only possible if there is a development of a new human being, characterized by a fundamental change in their structure. of the modern human.
Referring to Buddha’s teachings on the four noble truths, Fromm presents four conditions without which a change in man and society is impossible:
Man tends to seek the causes of his misfortunes in everything outside himself, in other people, circumstances, destiny… Everything would be better if others changed, if the world were more just, if circumstances were different, and if there were at least a little bit of luck. But, as Fromm emphasized when talking about social character: “Each of us, through our behavior, attitudes, values, and example, influences society and shapes social character.”
What does it mean to change the current way of life? Fromm describes it by contrasting two fundamental orientations towards life: the orientation towards having and the orientation towards being. Choosing one of these two orientations determines the entirety of a person’s life, their aspirations, directions, and goals.
The orientation towards having is an orientation in which the essence of existence is seen as possession. is necessary for society to change. The focus on material possessions, social status, and the pursuit of money, fame, and power is characteristic of Western industrial society. The orientation towards being, on the other hand, emphasizes the importance of human needs and development. Only by shifting our life orientation from having to being can we humanize society. As Fromm states, we do not need new ideals or spiritual goals because great teachers of humanity have already provided us with all the essential ideas and directions for a healthy life. The problem lies in the fact that people do not live by these ideas.
Will anything change? Fromm suggests that there are only two types of people: indifferent and engaged. The main problem of human beings is that they have become indifferent towards themselves. As long as this remains the case, society will not change.
Whether or not there will be a change depends on one factor: how many excellent, educated, disciplined, and caring individuals will be attracted to the new challenge of the human spirit.
The united new species of humanity can only be achieved through the investment of energy and enthusiasm… It is impossible to build a submarine by reading J. Verne.
The need for a profound change in the individual and social character of modern society is not only an ethical, religious, or psychological demand, says Fromm. It is a condition for the survival of the culture and the civilizational values we have reached.
If we fail to keep the vision of mature life alive, then we will be truly faced with the probability that our entire cultural tradition will break. This tradition is not based on the transmission of specific types of knowledge, but on the transmission of certain types of human characteristics. If future generations no longer recognize these qualities, a five-thousand-year-old culture will disappear, even if its knowledge continues to exist. it continued to transmit and develop.
All the quotes are from the works: The Healthy Society, To Have or to Be, The Art of Loving, Man for Himself, Beyond the Chains of Illusion.