232 Part II Psychodynamic Theories
Fromm (1947) believed that humans, unlike other animals, have been “torn
away” from their prehistoric union with nature. They have no powerful instincts to
adapt to a changing world; instead, they have acquired the facility to reason—a
condition Fromm called the human dilemma. People experience this basic dilemma
because they have become separate from nature and yet have the capacity to be
aware of themselves as isolated beings. The human ability to reason, therefore, is
both a blessing and a curse. On one hand, it permits people to survive, but on the
other, it forces them to attempt to solve basic insoluble dichotomies. Fromm referred
to these as “existential dichotomies” because they are rooted in people’s very exis-
tence. Humans cannot do away with these existential dichotomies; they can only
react to these dichotomies relative to their culture and their individual personalities.
The first and most fundamental dichotomy is that between life and death. Self-
awareness and reason tell us that we will die, but we try to negate this dichotomy
by postulating life after death, an attempt that does not alter the fact that our lives
end with death.
A second existential dichotomy is that humans are capable of conceptualizing
the goal of complete self-realization, but we also are aware that life is too short to
reach that goal. “Only if the life span of the individual were identical with that of
mankind could he participate in the human development which occurs in the his-
torical process” (Fromm, 1947, p. 42). Some people try to solve this dichotomy
by assuming that their own historical period is the crowning achievement of
humanity, while others postulate a continuation of development after death.
The third existential dichotomy is that people are ultimately alone, yet we
cannot tolerate isolation. They are aware of themselves as separate individuals, and
at the same time, they believe that their happiness depends on uniting with their
fellow human beings. Although people cannot completely solve the problem of
aloneness versus union, they must make an attempt or run the risk of insanity.Human Needs
As animals, humans are motivated by such physiological needs as hunger, sex, and
safety; but they can never resolve their human dilemma by satisfying these animal
needs. Only the distinctive human needs can move people toward a reunion with
the natural world. These existential needs have emerged during the evolution of
human culture, growing out of their attempts to find an answer to their existence
and to avoid becoming insane. Indeed, Fromm (1955) contended that one important
difference between mentally healthy individuals and neurotic or insane ones is that
healthy people find answers to their existence—answers that more completely cor-
respond to their total human needs. In other words, healthy individuals are better
able to find ways of reuniting to the world by productively solving the human
needs of relatedness, transcendence, rootedness, a sense of identity, and a frame
of orientation.Relatedness
The first human, or existential, need is relatedness, the drive for union with another
person or other persons. Fromm postulated three basic ways in which a person may