The Revision of Psychoanalysis

by Erich Fromm, Rainer Funk

It was Erich Fromm's conviction that psychoanalysis needs to retain Freud's essential insight into the unconscious while replacing his mechanistic-materialistic philosophy with a humanistic one. In this book, never before published in English, Fromm presents such a revision of psychoanalysis, one that is both humanistic and dialectical. The Revision of Psychoanalysis is Fromm's long-expected account of his own personal way of understanding and practicing psychoanalysis. Of special interest to today's readers are his continuing efforts to understand the meaning of sexuality, his critique of Herbert Marcuse's vision of psychoanalysis, and the implications of a Freudian analytical social psychology for the reform of social arrangements. The book is essential reading for psychologists and for social and political theorists in many disciplines. For psychoanalysts, it provides Fromm's most provocative and unique recommendations for the revision of psychoanalysis.

Genres: Psychology, Nonfiction

149 pages, Hardcover

First published September 1, 1992

About the author

Erich Fromm, Ph.D. (Sociology, University of Heidelberg, 1922) was a German-American social psychologist, psychoanalyst, sociologist, humanistic philosopher, and democratic socialist. He was a German Jew who fled the Nazi regime and settled in the United States. He was one of the founders of The William Alanson White Institute of Psychiatry, Psychoanalysis and Psychology in New York City and was associated with the Frankfurt School of critical theory.

Fromm explored the interaction between psychology and society, and held various professorships in psychology in the U.S. and Mexico in the mid-20th century.

Fromm's theory is a rather unique blend of Freud and Marx. Freud, of course, emphasized the unconscious, biological drives, repression, and so on. In other words, Freud postulated that our characters were determined by biology. Marx, on the other hand, saw people as determined by their society, and most especially by their economic systems.

Reviews

[emilee · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is the first book I’ve read of Fromm’s, and the first of this kind that I’ve ever read. Maybe other’s would argue there is a better place to start, but for me it was exceptional. I enjoyed this book to the fullest and learned an incredible amount about myself and other people. Easy 5 star