HUMAN DISEMPOWERMENT and THE PROBLEM OF HUMAN
WICKEDNESS OR 'EVIL'
theme: A pervasive sense of powerlessness is the source of negative emotions and internal conflicts of neurotic development or 'neurosis'. The inability to control negative emotions - in the sense of 'balance' or 'master' - results in failure to adapt to the complexities of a changing social reality... leads to unbalanced or wicked behaviour i.e. 'evil'. As a question of human wickedness, the 'problem of evil' can only be understood in terms of human psychology. Evil is the result of denial or frustration of human needs, human capacities and human yearnings ...failure to realise human potential... a failure of education. Hence the importance of education for empowerment... for freedom as 'freedom to learn' and 'freedom to work' i.e. 'holistic education'.
"If life's tendency to grow, to be lived, is thwarted, the energy thus blocked undergoes a process of change and is transformed into life-destructive energy. Destructiveness is the outcome of unlived life. Those individual and social conditions which make for the blocking of life-furtheriing energy produce destructiveness which in turn is the source from which the various manifestations of evil spring." (Fromm Man For Himself p. 216)
"One of the most basic problems of theological and philosophical thought: is man basically evil and corrupt, or is he basically good and perfectable?" (Fromm The Heart of Man p.19)
Christian concept of basic corruption or 'evil'...
human nature as social in nature... what is evil and why does it persist? source of evil...
thwarted development produces irrational conscience...
evil as result of immature neurotic behaviour...
neurotic individual... development of rational conscience...
Christian concept of basic corruption or 'evil'
"The Old Testament does not take the position of man's fundamental corruption. Adam and Eve's 'disobedience' to God are not called sin; nowhere is a hint that this disobedience has corrupted man. On the contrary, the disobedience is the condition for man's self-awareness, for his capacity to choose, and thus in the last analysis this first act of disobedience was man's first step toward freedom. It seems that their disobedience was even within God's plan; for according to prophetic thought, man is able to make his own history because he was expelled from paradise. He is able to develop his own human powers and to attain new harmony with man and nature as a fully developed individual instead of the former relationship with God in which he was not an individual. The Messianic concept of the prophets certainly implies that man is not fundamentally corrupt and that he can be saved without any special act of God's grace...the Old Testament view is that man has both capacities - that of good and that of evil - and he must choose between good and evil, blessing and curse, life and death. Even God does not interfere in his choice; he helps by sending messengers - the prophets, to teach the norms which lead to the realization of goodness, to identify evil, and to warn and to protest. But this being done, man is left alone with his two 'strivings' that for good and that for evil - and the decision is his alone. The Christian development was different. In the course of the development of the Christian Church, Adam's disobedience was conceived as sinful. In fact a sin so severe, that it corrupted his nature and with it that of all his descendents, and thus man by his own effort could never rid himself of this corruption. Only God's own act of grace, the appearance of Christ, who, died for man, could extinguish man's corruption and offer salvation for those who accepted Christ." (Erich Fromm The Heart of Man p. 20)
Human nature is intrinsically social The human organism is a social organism and its nature is naturally social i.e. 'human nature'. The sociability of human nature is a function of the social brain. The proper development of the human brain depends on a social environment which provides for the psychological needs for growth or 'social needs' i.e. 'human needs'. Recognition of human needs is the basis for education for human growth and development towards the realisation of human potential... personality integration and realisation of the self in a process of 'mature growth' i.e. self-realisation or 'self-actualisation'. Self-actualisation forms the basis for complete psychological development and natural self-esteem. The feelings of natural self-esteem are functional in the development of 'moral consciousness' or 'conscience'. Maturity of conscience is characteristic of the psychological integration of personality and the wholeness of complete human development i.e. intellectual, psychological, emotional, spiritual development or 'moral development' ...psychological health or 'wellness'. Wellness is psychological wholeness... the basis for the complete cognition of social reality i.e. 'holistic perception'. Holistic perception of social reality is a precondition for the human capacity to relate to others and forms the basis for socially adaptive behaviour or 'adaptability'. Adaptability is the ability to adapt to changing social conditions and leads to is beneficial, creative and amicable relations between social groups. The failure to relate to others and to adapt successfully to changing social conditions results in behaviour which is socially 'unadaptive' - destructive or 'evil'... misunderstandings and unresolvable conflicts.
Naturally, with complete development, human behavior is determined by wholistic perception of reality, understanding between social groups amd amicable relations. Man's 'animal nature' or human nature - is not evil. An individual's responsibility to himself is to develop his humanness. With incomplete human development, incomplete cognition and dichotomous perception of reality leads to misunderstandings and conflict, destruction, wars etc... explained by individuals who have power and no understanding. Much of human history involves power politics and power struggles of immature adults whose powers of influence are adult but whose motives and responses are infantile. "The most dangerous members of our society are those grownups whose powers of influence are adult but whose motives and responses are infantile." Disorder and violence are signs of emotional disturbance and suffering. They are not acts of the will. According to laws of nature, "will is a force which impels activities beneficial to life. The will can be broken in a moment. Its development is a slow process that evolves through a continuous activity in relationship with the environment."
'Evil' is identified with the wickedness of human behavior... The wickedness of human behavior is identified as 'evil'. What is the source of evil? Human behavior becomes evil only if the proper conditions for growth and development are lacking...evil human behavior results from the crippling effect of insecurity and low self-esteem...evil results from the failure to realize life...failure to achieve self-realization... Evil is the absence of good - the result of the failure to realize life. Man becomes evil only if the proper conditions for his growth and development are lacking.
What is evil? evil as 'human wickedness' Evil is real but it has no independent existence of its own. Evil is the same as the destruction which results from socially non-adaptive behaviour... 'human wickedness'. Evil is manifest in the forms of human behaviour which are morally wrong such as greed, malice, sadism, cruelty, violence, destructiveness, war and so on.
It is the socially unadaptive and destructive behaviour which constitutes human wickedness or 'evil'.
"...man is not necessarily evil but becomes evil only if the proper conditions for his growth and development are lacking. The evil has no independent existence of its own. It is the absence of good, the result of the failure to realize life." (Erich Fromm p.218)
Evil has no independent existence of its own... . Wicked human behaviour is the result of failure to achieve self-realization through proper growth and development i.e. the 'right education'.
The creative energy for growth is blocked and that same energy is transformed to destructive ends. The individual remains insecure with low self-esteem and attempts to compensate for this with feelings of sham dominance. The domineering attitudes which result are the source of wicked behaviour or 'evil'.
Those we consider 'evil' are really just dumb... retarded to some degree and not fully human... their development has been arested and they are not healthy specimens of the species. Their influence can be deadly if is combined with authoritarianism and dominance. (Hitler, Saddam etc.) They hold on to power because people don't think. Those who think are considered to be dangerous.
Evil is the absence of good - the result of the failure to realize life. Man becomes evil only if the proper conditions for his growth and development are lacking. The so-called 'evil' in human nature is the result of factors which stand in the way of growth - evasion fixation, regression, defensiveness ... Evil...evil is real... Destructiveness, sadism, cruelty, malice, etc. are violent reactions against frustration of the organism's intrinsic needs, emotions and capacities... there are people who respond with hatred in the presence of goodness and would destroy the good insofar as it is in their power to do so... not with conscious malice but blindly, lacking awareness of their own evil...and trying to avoid at all costs any awareness of their own evil...they hate the light and will do anything to extinguish it...they will destroy the light in their own children and in all other beings subject to their power...they hate the light because it reveals themselves to themselves...they hate goodness because it reveals their own badness...they will hate the light, the love, the goodness in order to avoid the pain of self-awareness ... evil people take any action in their power to preserve the integrity of their sick self ...the evil person will continue to be evil ...destroy others to preserve the integrity of his bad conscience... they will kill to escape the pain of spiritual growth... the integrity of the sick self is threatened by the the spiritual health of the good and loving people around them... ...'evil' is identified with the wickedness of human behavior...human behavior becomes evil only if the proper conditions for growth and development are lacking...evil human behavior results from the crippling effect of insecurity and low self-esteem...evil results from the failure to realize life...failure to achieve self-realization... The 'evil' of human nature results from the failure of the human being to achieve self-actualization, realization of human potential. The evil of human nature results from the failure to achieve 'humanness'.
The source of evil... where does evil come from and why does it persist? Traditional psychology which emphasizes the pathologies, neuroses and psychoses provides abundant evidence that human acts of wickedness are symptoms of emotional disturbance and suffering resulting from the frustration of the natural development of the human conscience.
Developed conscience is source of empowerment required for adaptation to changing conditions i.e. 'adaptability'. Human adaptability is compromised with sense of powerlessness - the source of negative emotions leading to 'sham dominance'... 'will to power'... characteristics of neurotic growth or 'neurosis'.
"The overemphasis of traditional psychology on the pathologies, neuroses, psychoses etc. has provided abundant evidence that men's bad and evil behavior results from frustration in his efforts toward self-actualization." Erich Fromm Values, Psychology, and Human Existence in Maslow A.H. (ed) New Knowledge in Human Values. New York: Harper, 1959)
The actualisation of a potentiality depends on the presence of certain conditions...the concept of potentiality has no meaning except in connection with the specific conditions required for actualisation. If the proper conditions are present, the 'primary' potentiality is actualized ('good') and if the present conditions are in contrast to those required by the primary potentiality, then the 'secondary' potentiality is realized. The primary potentiality is manifested under normal conditions. The 'secondary' potentiality is manifested under abnormal, pathogenic conditions... man is not necessarily evil but becomes evil only if the proper conditions for his growth and development are lacking. The human organism has a 'natural personality' which is not 'evil'...basically good... feelings of 'natural dominance' or 'self-esteem' lead to beneficial and creative behavior. Feelings of 'compensatory dominance' become 'overcompensatory' when they are derived from the crippling effect of insecurity and low self-esteem.The feelings of 'sham dominance' lead to domineering attitudes which result in wicked human behavior...manifestations of 'evil'...
Evil results from the human failure to realize human potentiali
'Evil' human behavior is a function of immature, neurotic behavior. The problems of immaturity and neurosis are directly related to undeveloped conscience and immorality. Evil behavior results from the failure to achieve maturity, integration of the whole personality, 'wholeness', self-actualization, realization of human potential, the failure to become 'human', to achieve 'humanness'. Incomplete psychological development means incomplete development of the conscience. Instead of the natural wholistic perception of reality of complete cognition, the dichotomous perception of reality (perception of dichotomies) 'incomplete cognition' of immaturity and neurosis... results in evil behavior.
The 'evil' of human nature results from the failure of the human being to achieve self-actualization - realization of human potential - the failure to achieve 'humanness'... manifestations of 'evil'...
the individual who denies to awareness ...represses... large areas of his experience... then his creative formings become pathological... socially evil. .. 'Evil' behavior is the manifestation of psychopathology (psychological ill health, psychosis). Thwarted psychological development: The problem of 'evil' and 'evil' behavior is the manifestation of psychopathology... attractiveness of psychopathology ...power for the immature and insecure, the incompletely developed...The neurotic personality depends on political power of control over others...
."To the extent that the individual is denying to awareness (repressing) large areas of his experience, then his creative formings may be pathological, or socially evil or both. the problem of what stands in the way of growth...problem of 'evil'. . what is the cause of evil human behavior? ..what is the source of evil? ...'evil' is identified with the wickedness of human behavior...human behavior becomes evil only if the proper conditions for growth and development are lacking....derived from the crippling effect of insecurity and low self-esteem.... evil results from the failure to realize life... Hatred and fear result from emotional immaturity and psychological ill health.... disciplinary measures are injurious to growth ....result of discipline is the thwarting of natural human development which requires favorable conditions...
The overemphasis of traditional psychology on the pathologies, neuroses, psychoses etc. has provided abundant evidence that men's bad and evil behavior results from frustration in his efforts toward self-actualization. ...incomplete psychological development results in incomplete development of the human conscience.. neurosis...neurotic behavior is immoral ...neurosis represents a moral problem. The failure to achieve maturity - integration of the whole personality is a moral failure. Frustration of human growth as source of human neurosis and human wickedness. Evil has no independent existence of its own. What is the source of evil?
ty. Evil is derived from the social disorder of disordered societies. Human behaviour becomes evil only if the proper conditions for growth and development are lacking... evil human behaviour results from the crippling effect of insecurity and low self-esteem... evil results from the failure to realize life...failure to achieve self-realization...
"The actualization of a potentiality depends on the presence of certain conditions...the concept of potentiality has no meaning except in connection with the specific conditions required for actualization... ( If the proper conditions are present, the 'primary' potentiality is actualized ('good' and if the present conditions are in contrast to those required by the primary potentiality, then the 'secondary' potentiality is realized. (the socalled 'evil' aspect of human nature) The primary potentiality is manifested under normal conditions. The 'secondary' potentiality is manifested under abnormal, pathogenic conditions." (Erich Fromm p. 217)
Wicked acts are willful acts of the irrational conscience.... a characteristic of frustrated growth... immature neurotic growth or 'neurosis'.
"To the extent that the individual is denying to awareness (repressing) large areas of his experience, then his creative formings may be pathological, or socially evil or both. To the degree that the individual is open to all aspects of his experience, and has available to his awareness all the varied sensings and perceivings which are going on within his organism, then the novel products of his interaction with his environment will tend to be constructive both for himself and others.... Repressing an impulse means removing it from awareness but it does not mean removing it from existence. Freud has shown that the repressed impulse continues to operate and to exercise a profound influence upon the person although the person is not aware of it. The effect of the repressed impulse on the person is not even necessarily smaller than if it were conscious; the main difference is that it is not acted upon overtly but in disguise, so that the person acting is spared the knowledge of what he is doing." (Rogers, C. On Becoming a Person Cambridge, MA: Riverside Press 1961. 352)
TOLERATION noun, TO TOLERATE verb (from Latin 'toleratus' pp. of tolerare, to bear, sustain) To tolerate means 'to not interfere with'; allow; permit; recognize and resopect other people's beliefs without sharing them. According to Voltaire, "Toleration is the right of mankind. Since we are all of us weak and make mistakes we should forgive one another's foolish actions. This is the first law of nature. Anyone who persecutes someone else because he does not agree with him is a monster....we should forgive each other our errors. Quarreling is the greatest evil of mankind and toleration is the only remedy forit. Everyone agrees with this in theory. Why do they not practise toleration. The answer is because they make self-interest their god. They believe their power rests on the ignorance and stupidity of others."
"The problem of psychic health and neurosis is inseparably linked up with that of ethics. It may be said that every neurosis represents a moral problem. The failure to achieve maturity and integration of the whole personality is a moral failure." (Fromm Man For Himself page 224)
Thwarted development produces irrational conscience. Development of the conscience is thwarted when harmful factors stand in the way of growth. In the absence of the security of unconditional love, the individual learns to dread the environment and perceives it be a threat to growth. They develop immature emotional reactions of insecurity - fear and hatred. These irrational feelings dominate the individual's behaviour while large areas of experience are repressed. The result is emotional immaturity and low self-esteem which has a crippling effect on further psychological growth. If psychological development is arrested the individual is motivated by the deficiency of basic psychological needs i.e. deficiency or 'deficit motivation'. Deficit motivation results in neurotic growth or 'neurosis'. The immaturity of neurosis is directly related to the immorality of undeveloped conscience and is thus inseparably linked with lack of ethics or 'evil'. The source of neurosis is the same as the source of evil. Both neurosis and evil are products of the immaturity and spiritual poverty which results from thwarted psychological development and the frustration of spiritual growth. The incomplete development of neurotic growth leads to unethical behaviour and human wickedness. For this reason, every neurosis represents a moral problem.
Human behaviour which is evil is neurotic behaviour and as neurotic behaviour originates in the undeveloped and irrational human conscience.
The neurotic individual avoids spiritual growth The neurotic individual is unable to experience the complete or 'wholistic' cognition for correct evaluation of the social reality and engages in ego-centered mental processing which creates a distortion in perception and dichotomizes reality. The dichotomous perception of reality leads to the perception of social problems in terms of good/bad, true/false judgements - the characteristic 'incomplete cognition' of social adaptation which depends on attitudes of over-defensiveness. For the immature and insecure neurotic mind spiritual growth is painful. The individual will attempt to avoid at all costs the pain of self-awareness and will take any action in their power to do so. In their efforts to preserve unawareness while enhancing their ability to adapt to changing social conditions, they will develop pathological defensive strategies of evasion, fixation and regression. Creative energies will be channelled into pathological attitudes of domination - 'compensatory dominance' - in order to compensate for the lack of self-esteem and to preserve the integrity of the undeveloped conscience. With the continued repression of experience, the feelings of compensatory dominance become exaggerated or 'overcompensatory'. Feelings of overcompensatory dominance lead to the pretentious and arrogant attitudes of a 'sham dominance'. It is the sham dominance of the ego-centered neurotic mind which is responsible for the wickedness of human behaviour or 'evil'. The overdefensive individual becomes obsessional, controlling and self-controlling, resorting to power politics of control which violate and destroy the rights of other human beings. The normal qualities of enthusiasm, impulsiveness, whimsicality, and unpredictability are perceived as the lack of control and attempts will be made to destroy these qualities whenever possible.
The neurotic individual feels threatened by the love and the goodness in others around them... they will even try to destroy the light in their own children - not with conscious malice but blindly.
"We must also face squarely the problem of what stands in the way of growth - evasion fixation, regression, defensiveness - the attractiveness of psychopathology i.e. and the so-called problem of 'evil'." (Erich Fromm)
Development of the rational conscience Development of the conscience is a product of moral or 'spiritual' growth. The fully developed conscience or the 'free will' impels the organism towards attitudes and behaviours which are beneficial to life. Spiritual growth is a slow process of construction - according to laws of nature - which takes place during continuous concentrated activity in a close relationship with the environment. The development of the conscience and the spiritual values of human goodness requires favorable conditions of emotional security communicated through the affection and trust of unconditional love. Emotional security is the prerequisite for interest in the environment or 'curiosity', the natural drive for motivation of spiritual growth through learning. Spiritual growth depends on learning in a social environment of freedom - freedom to learn, freedom to concentrate on work and freedom of self-expression and inquiry.
If these conditions are lacking and intrinsic psychological and spiritual needs are denied, then the will of the conscience is broken and development arrested.
"The actualization of a potentiality depends on the presence of certain conditions... the concept of potentiality has no meaning except in connection with the specific conditions required for actualization. If the proper conditions are present, the 'primary' potentiality is actualized ('good') and if the present conditions are in contrast to those required by the primary potentiality, then the 'secondary' potentiality is realized. The primary potentiality is manifested under normal conditions. The 'secondary' potentiality is manifested under abnormal, pathogenic conditions... man is not necessarily evil but becomes evil only if the proper conditions for his growth and development are lacking. The human organism has a 'natural personality' which is not 'evil'...feelings of 'natural dominance' or 'self-esteem' lead to beneficial and creative behavior. Feelings of 'compensatory dominance' become 'overcompensatory'. The feelings of sham dominance lead to domineering attitudes which result in wicked human behavior...manifestations of 'evil'...
Implications for education Many neurotic conflicts are ultimately determined by educational policy of parenting and schooling within the context of social and cultural conditions. Disordered societies which deny an education providing the conditions which are favorable for spiritual growth create conditions for the neurotic growth of children into disordered adults. They become socially evil as a result of the frustration of their efforts for normal growth. Normal growth is hampered when the basis for the education which is offered is discipline and punishment. Punishment of children develops irrrational emotions of fear and hatred leading to neurotic growth and the prevention of learning from experience and so contributes to the failure of social development. The resulting inability for social adaptation leads to pathological reactions of frustration and destructiveness. Human acts of destruction and evil are the product of continued frustration of the intrinsic human need for spiritual growth.
Normal spiritual growth and the avoidance of evil depends on an education which provides for complete human development and the realization of human potential i.e. 'self-actualisation'
Social evils are products of incomplete human development i.e. intellectual, psychological, emotional development and development of conscience. metaneeds... Basic human nature i.e. the 'intrinsic conscience' is made up of inborn capacities and preferences, psychological needs and yearnings of spiritual needs or 'metaneeds'.
But development of the conscience and human goodness requires favorable conditions in the context of psychological security which is communicated through unconditional love.