The Art of Loving (Classics of Personal Development)

This book is just fantastic. Can't recommend it enough

I nicely written book with engaging style and a good pace in its narration. Fromm uses object relations theory and social psychology to investigate the nature of love and loving, with insights into varieties of love and loving, such as parental love, love of god, love of fellows, romantic love, self love or self regard. I found it very interesting how he portrayed the varieties of love, society does tend to elevate some sorts above others and it can foster expectations of love that are unrealistic or downright unhealthy. With luck, if clarity of this kind where more popular then there would be less murder-suicides by jilted lovers, obsessive behaviour and stalking or even parents failing to treat their children as paramount. There have been criticisms of Fromm that he is too rationalist or pours cold water upon the idea of soul seering or earth shattering love affairs, classing such ideas as neurotic, I really think that that is a very superficial and unworthy reading of this book. A great companion to Conditions of Love: The Philosophy of Intimacy , a more philosophical musing on love or Falling in Love another good psychological investigation of the topic. Edit December 2008: NB buy the PS edition, the PS section is almost as good as Erich Fromm: His Life and Work - A Pictorial Biography , it incorporates so much about the author, his ideas and how they developed, that for a fan (and the power of this book is such that it could make you an instant fan of Fromm) it could rival the main presentation. Its also a great place to decide what to read next.

A truly inspiring and thought-provoking book I thoroughly enjoyed. Over the years, many have wondered what the thing called love is. This books presents the reader with a 'back to basics' approach. It captures the theory of love, and the reasons why we want to love/be loved in a profound way. The understanding of the building blocks of the subject of love should equip the reader to fully understand the correct way to love.

I was a little worried the content of this book would be beyond me (having no background or formal education in any of the core subjects such as philosophy, religion and psychoanalysis) but it turned out to be a riveting read. At times a little heavy and requiring a re-read of some paragraphs it nonetheless avoids any jargon and seems to do a good job of justifying all of the points made. It is at heart more a book about what love can considered to be rather than a manual on how to love better. The latter being given only a short section at the back and concentrating on techniques not unlike meditation (mostly along the theme of living the life that is now, being open in spirit and being honest with yourself, who you should learn to love first). The descriptions of various types of love and what can and does go wrong in childhood are fascinating. I am sure most of us see some of our own lives described. It also touches on sexual deviance as a result of lack of love or avoiding love, plus the impact of both modern society and religion on our capacity to love. I'd particularly credit the author on the chapter on religious love which covers so much ground in such a short space without becoming overly technical. This definitely isn't a quick fix self help book on how to love better - but as a deep, meaningful and comprehensive journey into what love actually is, a superb read.

Great book. Classic. Tell us what the love is!

I like how you don't get a definite answer. While there are many ideas with profound ramifications about one's existence you will undoubtedly find in this book, the bit that really made me ponder on the subject is how Erich disects the history, the archetypes, the misunderstandings and the application of love. You will find references to the bible and references to capitalism, and these optics are welded to define context for how "love" strolled through centuries and carried humanity forward. Before deciding to read this book I urge you to write down your own understanding on the topic. Then read the book and read back your old understanding as you might be surprised or even feel in a certain way. Last but not least, the author breaks down the mastery of the art of love, where "practicing discipline, concentration and patience throughout every phase of life" is a prerequisite. I disagree with this part, i think these prerequisites are actually amplifiers, but not sine qua nons for mastering the art. But that's exactly the reason i give this book 5 stars, because it challenged my ego and I've ended up learning not only about the "art of love" but maybe even more about the "art of being". After all, isn't love a by-product of being alive?

Great 3/4 of the book, then hits this "religion" section which does not seem coherent with the rest of the book, made the remaining sections of the book difficult to read. Could just skip the chapter on religion and read the rest, rest of it is well written and does have insights on self love

Everyone should read this book.. the cure..

I have purchased this book many times only to handed out as a gift when I wanted to keep it for myself. It is helped me over the last 10 years more than I can explain in a paragraph. The importance of this book is timeless and very urgent today, it is strongly recommended reading for all people seeking to do good in the world.

tarif edildiği gibi geldi

世界の、そして全人類の最高の遺産の名著。 和訳の方は、愛は技術となっていますが、マルチリンガルの私としては愛は技術という解釈は納得いかず、愛はアートとしてそのまま原書で理解する方をオススメしたいです。 初めて読んだのは私が17才の時先輩から勧められ、以来、この価値観で育ちました。最初に読んでからまもなく50年経ちますが、幸せな生き方を植え付けて貰いました。世紀を跨いで読み継がれないといけない世界の名著。

I recommend read this slowly, thinking in what you learned and putting it in practice if you can. Also is really interesting to discuss it with people.

This book surpassed my expectations. Although it was written about sixty years ago, Fromm's notion of love and its relation with the society at the time is still totally applicable to our times. Unfortunately it is still rare to see real love today, in each of its forms.