Erich Seligmann Fromm (1900-1980) was born in Frankfurt, Germany, to an Orthodox family descended from rabbis. As a young man, he studied Talmud with several teachers, including Rabbi Salman Baruch Rabinkow, a member of the Chabad-Lubavitch Hasidic group. He studied law in his hometown and later moved to Heidelberg to study sociology, where he earned his doctorate in that field with a thesis on «Jewish Law.» He later entered the Berlin Psychoanalytic Institute, where he met his first wife, Frieda Reichmann. Once married, the couple abandoned Orthodox religious life. They divorced in 1931, and in May 1934, Fromm emigrated to the United States. In 1944, he married Henny Gurland, and in 1950, they moved to Mexico, where he taught at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and promoted the practice of psychoanalysis. In 1974, he emigrated to Switzerland, where he died in 1980.

For Fromm, the Bible, the Talmud, and the teachings of the Hasidic masters always occupied a central place in his understanding of humanity. He considered the story of Adam and Eve’s expulsion from Paradise after eating from the Tree of Knowledge to be extremely important, an action that Fromm viewed as a virtue rather than a sin. What was valuable for Fromm was that humanity had dared to disobey the orders of a higher authority, and now it was up to him to decide, using his reason, his intuition, and his sensitivity, what was good and what was evil. Fromm argued that, by doing so, Adam and Eve evolved and became true human beings. He argued that humanity was created to grow and develop.

Fromm adds: the central theme of the Bible is the constant struggle against idolatry, and today, the history of humanity is the history of idol worship, from primitive idols made of wood and clay to modern idols such as the state, the religious leader, the politician, and consumerism. Fromm continues: idols were once called Baal or Astarte; today they are called honor, flag, fame, and artist.

Fromm distinguishes two systems of ethics: authoritarian ethics, where principles emanate from an external authority, and humanist ethics, which comes from our own conscience. For Fromm, authoritarian ethics is tinged with idolatry. People act under the orders of an authority they believe possesses absolute truth. It is not a true ethic. When we act in obedience to the instructions of a religious leader or a populist politician, because we believe they know everything, instead of listening to our inner voice, we are worshipping an idol.

Fromm, in his book «And You Shall Be as Gods,» says that in the Bible, God himself is a God who evolved. At first, he is an absolute sovereign, who does whatever he wants with his creation, man, to the point of nearly destroying him (the Flood). Later, he makes a pact with humanity (with Noah) and voluntarily limits his power. Finally, when he reveals himself to Moses, he presents himself as a nameless and difficult-to-describe God, something completely opposite to the concept of an idol, which does have a name and attributes (the rain god).

Fromm said that «the Bible is an extraordinary book with norms and principles that have remained valid for thousands of years.» One of those principles is the fight against idolatry, where there has been progress, but the battle is not yet over.

By Marcos Gojman

Bibliography: Erich Fromm «And You Shall Be as Gods» and other sources.