Eric Fromm’s Biophilia explained

Humans share a deep love for different things in existence. A lover of learning is called a philomath, that of books a bibliophile, and a lover of rain, a pluviophile. But what about love for life itself? Erich Fromm has a term for it: Biophilia.

Biophilia is the psychological orientation of being attracted to the process of life and growth in all spheres. It manifests as the “wish to further growth, whether in a person, a plant, an idea, or a social group”.

The ‘growth’ is furthered through acts of creation, wonder and seeing something new over conforming to the old. When embodied in the self, a biophilous person moulds and influences by love and reason instead of force or mechanics.

For example, biophilia in parenting would manifest via affectionate contact during infancy, absence of threats as the child grows, and teaching morality through example instead of preaching.

The opposite of biophilia is Necrophilia i.e., love for death/destruction. It is that which is anti-love, anti-growth and anti-creativity. Collectively it manifests in our desire to turn the organic into the inorganic.

For instance, treating people like they are things or numbers (as was done to Jews in concentration camps or is done to animals in factory farms). The extreme pathological form would be worshipping a Stalin or a Hitler.

 One of the goals of well-being would be to embody greater biophilia in one’s life and develop what Fromm calls a “Biophilous conscience”.

For the “Biophilous conscience”, good and evil are respectively defined by what serves life and what serves destruction. Morality is inspired by strengthening one’s capacity to love and create.

Biophilic conscience isn’t the ‘superego’ as defined by Freud, or high moral ground taken out of obedience to traditions. Instead of avoiding ‘doing the wrong’, a biophilous person chooses to do right i.e., create and love for its own sake.

Bottom line: for Biophilia to develop, one needs to be around people who relish life with all its nuances and complexities. It is an indispensable orientation needed to grow morally, emotionally, and spiritually.