234 Part II Psychodynamic Theories
either creating life or by destroying it. Although other animals can create life
through reproduction, only humans are aware of themselves as creators. Also,
humans can be creative in other ways. They can create art, religions, ideas, laws,
material production, and love.
To create means to be active and to care about that which we create. But we
can also transcend life by destroying it and thus rising above our slain victims. In
The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness, Fromm (1973) argued that humans are
the only species to use malignant aggression: that is, to kill for reasons other than
survival. Although malignant aggression is a dominant and powerful passion in
some individuals and cultures, it is not common to all humans. It apparently was
unknown to many prehistoric societies as well as some contemporary “primitive”
societies.Rootedness
A third existential need is for rootedness, or the need to establish roots or to feel
at home again in the world. When humans evolved as a separate species, they lost
their home in the natural world. At the same time, their capacity for thought
enabled them to realize that they were without a home, without roots. The conse-
quent feelings of isolation and helplessness became unbearable.
Rootedness, too, can be sought in either productive or nonproductive strate-
gies. With the productive strategy, people are weaned from the orbit of their mother
and become fully born; that is, they actively and creatively relate to the world and
become whole or integrated. This new tie to the natural world confers security and
reestablishes a sense of belongingness and rootedness. However, people may also
seek rootedness through the nonproductive strategy of fixation—a tenacious
reluctance to move beyond the protective security provided by one’s mother. Peo-
ple who strive for rootedness through fixation are “afraid to take the next step of
birth, to be weaned from the mother’s breast. [They]... have a deep craving to
be mothered, nursed, protected by a motherly figure; they are the externally depen-
dent ones, who are frightened and insecure when motherly protection is with-
drawn” (Fromm, 1955, p. 40).
Rootedness can also be seen phylogenetically in the evolution of the human
species. Fromm agreed with Freud that incestuous desires are universal, but he
disagreed with Freud’s belief that they are essentially sexual. According to Fromm
(1955, pp. 40–41), incestuous feelings are based in “the deep-seated craving to
remain in, or to return to, the all-enveloping womb, or to the all-nourishing breasts.”
Fromm was influenced by Johann Jakob Bachofen’s (1861/1967) ideas on early
matriarchal societies. Unlike Freud, who believed that early societies were patri-
archal, Bachofen held that the mother was the central figure in these ancient social
groups. It was she who provided roots for her children and motivated them either
to develop their individuality and reason or to become fixated and incapable of
psychological growth.
Fromm’s (1997) strong preference for Bachofen’s mother-centered theory of
the Oedipal situation over Freud’s father-centered conception is consistent with his
preference for older women. Fromm’s first wife, Frieda Fromm-Reichmann, was
more than 10 years older than Fromm, and his long-time lover, Karen Horney, was