Erich Fromm, "The Art of Loving"

[Nihilist_Pig]

So, I read this today and I'm interested in your opinion on the book. A lot of the ideas presented are pretty good, but many of them, like the idea of "loving humanity as a whole" or his thoughts on what characterizes love, make no sense to me. What do you think?

[Dean]

So, I read this today and I'm interested in your opinion on the book. A lot of the ideas presented are pretty good, but many of them, like the idea of "loving humanity as a whole" or his thoughts on what characterizes love, make no sense to me. What do you think?

The notion of "loving humanity as a whole" is a reference to fundamental human characteristics as the subject of love. Because our psychological activity is defined in relation to our social conditions, individual acts are not the subject of moral judgment (that is to say whether or not you're a moral being deserving of such respect), but it is your existence as a human being that makes you deserving of love.

Since rational love understands these points, you can't really love one person unless you have the capability and interest to love any and all other human beings.