Erich Fromm — Quote from The Art of Loving
“Love is an activity, not a passive affect; it is a standing in, not a falling for. In the most general way, the active character of love can be described by stating that love is primarily giving, not receiving.”
The Art of Loving (1956)
Concepts: love, agency, authenticity
Resonant Quotes
- “Love does not claim possession, but gives freedom.” — Rabindranath Tagore, Stray Birds Tagore's insight that love gives freedom rather than claiming possession perfectly exemplifies Fromm's understanding ...
- “One can give nothing whatever without giving oneself — that is to say, riskin...” — James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time Baldwin's insight that giving requires risking oneself perfectly captures the active, vulnerable nature of Fromm's co...
- “Commitment is an act, not a word.” — Jean-Paul Sartre, What Is Literature? Sartre's existentialist emphasis on commitment as embodied action perfectly echoes Fromm's rejection of love as passi...
- “Love is a battle, love is a war; love is a growing up.” — James Baldwin, The Fire Next Time Baldwin's characterization of love as battle and growth directly reinforces Fromm's conception of love as active work...
- “To love means to open ourselves to the negative as well as the positive — to ...” — Rollo May, Love and Will Both existential psychologists reconceptualize love as an active engagement with reality rather than a passive emotio...
- “For one human being to love another: that is perhaps the most difficult of al...” — Rainer Maria Rilke, Letters to a Young Poet Fromm's emphasis on love as difficult, active work directly illuminates why Rilke considers it our most challenging t...
- “In the depth of winter, I finally learned that within me there lay an invinci...” — Albert Camus, Return to Tipasa Both quotes celebrate the active, generative power within human beings—Camus's inner summer represents the same kind ...
- “When we face pain in relationships our first response is often to sever bonds...” — bell hooks, All About Love Fromm's call for love as active commitment directly challenges hooks' observation about our tendency to flee relation...