fei75766_ch08_242-270.indd 257  02/06/20 12:02 PM
Chapter 8    Fromm: Humanistic Psychoanalysis257
Necrophilia
Theterm“necrophilia” means loveofdeath andusually refers toasexual perversion in
which aperson desires sexual contact withacorpse. However, Fromm (1964, 1973) 
usednecrophilia inamore generalized sense todenote anyattraction todeath. Necro -
philia isanalternative character orientation tobiophilia. People naturally lovelife,but
when social conditions stunt biophilia, theymayadopt anecrophilic orientation.
Necrophilic personalities hatehumanity; theyareracists, warmongers, andbul-
lies;theylovebloodshed, destruction, terror, andtorture; andtheydelight indestroy -
inglife.They arestrong advocates oflawandorder; lovetotalkabout sickness, death, 
andburials; andtheyarefascinated bydirt,decay, corpses, andfeces. They prefer 
night todayandlovetooperate indarkness andshadow.
Necrophilous people donotsimply behave inadestructive manner; rather, 
theirdestructive behavior isareflection oftheirbasic character. Allpeople behave 
aggressively anddestructively attimes, buttheentire lifestyle ofthenecrophilous 
person revolves around death, destruction, disease, anddecay.
Malignant Narcissism
Justasallpeople display some necrophilic behavior, sotoodoallhavesome narcis -
sistic tendencies. Healthy people manifest abenign form ofnarcissism, thatis,an
interest intheirownbody. However, initsmalignant form, narcissism impedes the
perception ofreality sothateverything belonging toanarcissistic person ishighly 
valued andeverything belonging toanother isdevalued.
Narcissistic individuals arepreoccupied withthemselves, butthisconcern is
notlimited toadmiring themselves inamirror. Preoccupation withone’s body often 
leads tohypochondriasis, oranobsessive attention toone’s health. Fromm (1964) 
alsodiscussed moral hypochondriasis, orapreoccupation withguiltabout previous 
transgressions. People whoarefixated onthemselves arelikely tointernalize experi -
ences andtodwell onbothphysical health andmoral virtues.
Narcissistic people possess what Horney (seeChapter 6)called “neurotic 
claims.” They achieve security byholding ontothedistorted belief thattheirextraor -
dinary personal qualities givethem superiority overeveryone else.Because what they
have—looks, physique, wealth—is sowonderful, theybelieve thattheyneed notdo 
anything toprove theirvalue. Their sense ofworth depends ontheirnarcissistic self-
image andnotontheirachievements. When theirefforts arecriticized byothers, 
theyreact withanger andrage, frequently striking outagainst theircritics, trying to
destroy them. Ifthecriticism isoverwhelming, theymaybeunable todestroy it,and
sotheyturntheirrageinward. Theresult isdepression, afeeling ofworthlessness. 
Although depression, intense guilt, andhypochondriasis mayappear tobeanything 
butself-glorification, Fromm believed thateachofthese could besymptomatic of
deep underlying narcissism.
Incestuous Symbiosis
Athird pathological orientation isincestuous symbiosis, oranextreme dependence 
onthemother ormother surrogate. Incestuous symbiosis isanexaggerated form of
themore common andmore benign mother fixation. Menwithamother fixation need Final PDF to printer