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This book is the culmination of a 20-year (plus)
project which synthesizes the work of renowned social philosopher and humanistic psychoanalyst, neo-Freudian, Dr. Erich Fromm
and the best of Aristotle's Nicomachean Ethics (highlighted by the Golden Means doctrine). In consummating this dynamic
merger, we draw heavily upon Sigmund Freud's tripartite division of the human psyche (ego, id and superego) which forms
the 3 main axes of the Ethical Universe. This underlying structure dictates a spherical representation of infinite blends
of possible character traits presented in an all encompassing 3-dimensional array.
Extreme character
syndromes emblazon the surface of the sphere which seem to veritably pulsate with all the possible evil positions represented
there. By contrast, Aristotle's Practical Wisdom (plus all his moral virtues), Freud's Genital Character and Fromm's
Productive Orientation electrifies the synergistic, creative center of the sphere. Friedrich Nietzsche's moral philosophy
as well as Saint Thomas Aquinas provided excellent tests for our hypothesis.
A secular ethical
system of this kind has been the holy grail of philosophers as far back as the ancient Greeks. Socrates, Plato, Aristotle
and many enlightenment thinkers certainly thought such a system was highly desirable and possible through the application
of human reason. This does not mean, however, that humanistic ethics (or even Deism) and organized religion necessarily have
to be antagonistic - Erich Fromm's affinity with Thomas Aquinas and the Christian theologian Paul Tillich abundantly demonstrates
this inclusive characteristic.
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