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Although Fromm wrote little that was specifically about technique, Landis suggests that he insisted on a sound methodology and on the existence of a science of psychoanalysis. A special relationship, a "productive relatedness," is the cornerstone of the treatment. The analyst must experience what the patient experiences and even "become the patient" while at the same time remaining himself. The analyst's technique and philosophy are indivisible. Thus, in order to be a competent analyst one must be knowledgeable in both the natural and the social sciences. A number of practical issues are discussed. The establishment of an analytic atmosphere includes courtesy (not "sheer politeness"), honesty, and concentration. The couch is not used because it deprives the patient of the analyst's reactions and makes the patient feel more thwarted and helpless. Free association is seen as a potential reservoir of resistance. The analyst encourages patients to be utterly frank and can tell them to "cut out the nonsense!" when they are not. Shift from thinking to experiencing is highly valued, such that insight alone without immediate altered action is seen as a delay of responsibility. The transformation of character toward the "love of life" and away from the "attraction of death" is the ultimate goal of Fromm's psychoanalysis, and the ability to love, to be spontaneous, and to be free results from it. Finally, Landis points out that Fromm, more than any other psychoanalyst, believed that psychoanalytic theory must take into account the social, political, and economic forces in society and the family that create the pathological conditions of contemporary life.