It is naively assumed that the fact that the majority of people share certain ideas and feelings proves the validity of these ideas and feelings. Nothing could be further from the truth. Consensual validation as such has no bearing on reason or mental health.

). He observed that embracing our freedom of will was healthy whereas escaping freedom through the use of escape mechanisms was the root of psychological conflicts. Drawing from his knowledge of the Torah Fromm pointed to the story of Jonah who did not wish to save the residents of Nineveh from the consequences of their sin as demonstrative of his belief that the qualities of care and responsibility are generally absent from most human relationships.

Erich SeligmannFromm (March 23 1900 – March 18 1980) was a German social psychologist psychoanalyst sociologist humanistic philosopher and democratic socialist.