You do not currently have permission to view the full text for this document. Please sign in to an account with an active subscription or contact support.
WHAT I HAVE TO SAY IS BASED on my experience and interpretations of some years of contact with Fromm through seminars and supervision and a recent month-long conference in Mexico. I cannot help but tell you a little of this last experience since it was not only stimulating of new ideas, but was also inspiring of belief in the possibilities of analysts talking openly to one another about their personal conceptions of neurosis and therapy. Admittedly the stage for our three week case seminar was set in that rarified atmosphere of Cuernavaca with its breathtaking vista of mountains rolling out to infinity. To further enhance these ideal working conditions, the seven participants had, for 10 days, just shared an intensive experience in a conference on "Zen Buddhism and Psychoanalysis" which provoked us all to review many of the premises which underlie our work.
Fromm has written and talked about man's need for a
system of orientation (that) contains not only intellectual elements but elements of feeling and sensing which are expressed in the relationship to an object of devotion.2
Man has searched through various systems of philosophy and religion for greater meaning in his existence and position in life. Although the form and content of these systems vary with each culture and era of history, their universal existence indicates a "transcultural" need in man.
One of the most exciting ideas that grew out of our case discussion was Fromm's thesis that the neurotic seeks the solution for his life in