Fromm's Social Character Theory And Its Enlightenment To Cultivation Of Talents

American scholar Erich Fromm(1900--1980), descendants of Germany, was one of the Western Marxist Theorists, and also an important members of the new psychoanalysis school. His research covered such fields involved as psychology, ethics and sociology, among which his Social Character Theory was especially noticeable.Fromm's Social Character Theory was established on the double foundations of analyzing both the interpersonal relationships and the relationships of people and the material world. In terms of assimilation, i.e. the linking degree of relationships between people and thing, he explained different kinds of Social Character-- Productive Social Character and Nonproductive Social Character. From the angle of socialization, i.e. the linking degree of interpersonal relationships, he analyzed different specialties of Social Character— the Symbiosis Relationship, the Estranged Relationship, the Friendly Relationship. By analyzing Social Character, which is the key status in the character structure, Fromm criticized the capitalist society, proposed a way leading to the sane society by the cultivation of sound personality, which could be achieved by the training of productive social character.Fromm's Social Character Theory was established through three routes: Psychological route, Sociology route and Philosophy route. To begin with analyzing the dichotomy of the human survival, Fromm has built up the mansion of his Social Character Theory, through inheriting and transforming Freud's character theory, mixing Marxism theory about the nature of man, a decisive role that social economy plays. Although his theory has some weak points, he has overcome Freud's inclination of analyzing human being biologically, paying much attention to the inter-reaction between social cultural factors and Social Character.