Fromm's dialectic of freedom and the praxis of being

Vicki Dagostino

Robert Lake

pp. 17-30

in: Seyed Javad Miri, Robert Lake, Tricia M. Kress (eds), Reclaiming the sane society, Rotterdam, SensePublishers, 2014

Abstract

Positive freedom, according to Fromm's definition, is the capacity for 'spontaneous relationship to man and nature, a relationship that connects the individual with the world without eliminating his individuality" (1941, p. 29). Negative freedom according to Fromm exists in dialectical relationship to this as "freedom from" (1941, p. 34) external restraints that limit the exercise of free will.

Cited authors

Fromm Erich