What is human nature--is there such a thing?

Fromm describes the essence of man as not being a given quality or substance but as being a "contradiction inherent in human existence".

What can wo/man do to cope with the fright that accompanies consciousness of existence? How can wo/man find the harmony necessary to free her or him self from the torture of aloneness; thereby permitting her to find a unity with nature?

The answer Fromm seeks is not only a theoretical one, but one in which humans can live with in their thought and action--in their whole being. Any answer is better than no answer or no question. More is to be learned in error than in apathy and ignorance. All possible answers must "help man to overcome the sense of separateness and to gain a sense of union, of ones, of belonging."

Fromm is not supplying us with the definition of the essence of man but he is saying that "what constitutes the essence is the question and the need for an answer; the various forms of human existence are not the essence, but they are the answers to the conflict which, in itself, is the essence."

Conflict is the essential characteristic of humanness.



Regression to our animal form of instinctual behavior happens when we replace our lost animal instincts with our own fully developed symbolic instincts; we can then program our self to uncritically follow these culturally formed instincts without further consideration. We can then do like the elephant parade; we hold the tail of the one in front of us with our trunk and march in file without any other thoughts to disturb our tranquility.

Quotes from "The Heart of Man" by Erich Fromm

Questions for discussion

Is there such a thing as human nature? Can something exist without an essence?

Are humans just animals with insignificant differences from other animals? If so what are these differences? Are they significant or are they basically a distinction without a difference? What does it mean to be a distinction without a difference?

Can a person deny his or her difference and just be an animal, unconscious of a difference?