Man for Himself: An Inquiry Into the Psychology of Ethics

"Man for Himself" might be a good book, but it is also, in some ways, a limited and dated one. It seems written in the shadow of twentieth-century totalitarianisms, and Fromm's confidence in Freudian ideas about the structure of the subconscious and in psychology's ability to produce real, testable

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knowledge about the human personality may seem misplaced to modern readers. Also, while it certainly can't be said that Fromm is a communist, his criticisms of the capitalist system left me wondering exactly what sort of economic system might meet his approval. His introduction of the "marketing" orientation as a new twentieth century personality type seems like a product of its time.

Despite all this, "Man for Himself" seems like an honest, and occasionally successful, attempt to accommodate psychological insights into older, philosophically-oriented models of human personality. At the same time, Fromm's focus on "productivity" reminds readers that our psychological makeup isn't just a question of the contents of some unseen subconscious but something directly connected with our living conditions and our life choices. His summing up of historical perspectives on various ethical topics are effective, and his contention that self-creation is a constant, ongoing, lifelong process is inspiring. I suspect that readers with a background in philosophy will consider "Man for Himself" as little more than old Aristotle in new bottles, but I'd prefer to think that the way these questions are framed is important, and the author's examination of these questions in a relatively modern context is useful. Fromm is, I think, preaching to a sort of choir: readers who feel that their religious beliefs are an inextricable part of themselves are unlikely to get anything out of this one. But readers who want a fresh perspective on human psychological and ethical structures, or want an introduction to humanistic ethics, could probably do much worse.

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