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Sunday, March 06, 2011

"The Art of Loving" by Erich Fromm

"The basic need to fuse with another person so as to transcend the prison of one's separateness is closely related to another specifically human desire, that to know the "secret of man". While life in its merely biological aspects is a miracle and a secret, man in his human aspect is a miracle and a secret, man in his human aspects is an unfathomable secret to himself--and to his fellow man. We know ourselves, and yet even with all the efforts we may make, we do not know ourselves. We know our fellow man, and yet we do not know him, because we are not a thing, and our fellow man is not a thing. The further we reach into the depth of our being, or someone else's being, the more the goal of knowledge eludes us.Yet we cannot help desiring to penetrate into the secret of man's soul, into the innermost nucleus which is "he"."

Not sure I need to add anything to this brilliant passage, but I will....It is fascinating to me that although we can never truly and fully know, we cannot help desiring, and striving toward it. After all, what is life if not a compelling journey of self discovery and of discovery of those around us?

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