Man was born free but is everywhere in chains. Discuss this phrase, Essay

Man was born free but is everywhere in chains. Discuss this phrase, with reference to key course concepts - Essay Example Human beings also enters into social bonds, develop civilization and this makes them lose liberty (Chaurasia 2001, p. 308) Fromm (2001, p. 18-29) observes that freedom is what characterizes human existence. It changes as man gains awareness as an independent and separate being. Mans’ social history has its beginning from the interaction with nature to awareness as a separate entity from the surrounding nature and other human beings. The individual continued to be closely tied to the social and the natural world. Man also felt the world surrounding him. The processes of the emergence of the individual from nature and social world reached its peak in the modern era in the centuries between the reformation and the present. Fromm likens this to the same process, which is found in the history of man. Before a child is born, it is one with the mother. The child becomes a separate entity from the biological mother after birth. This separation marks the beginning of individuation. The child remains with the mother for only a considerable period. Fromm states figuratively that a child lacks freedom before it is born. However, the tie with the mother provides security and a feeling of belonging to the child. This is what he refers to primary ties. These ties are organic and constitute part and parcel of human development. The ties imply lack of individuality, but they provide an individual with security and orientation. The primary ties connect the individual with the mother and society in general. Once an individual completes his first stage of individuation, he is faced with a new task. This task is to orient and establish himself in the world and look for security in other ways similar to those before the pre-individualistic existence. This makes freedom to assume a different meaning to the one he had before individuation (Fromm 2001, p. 18-29). Fromm explains this by the analysis of the development of an infant. He says the independence of the foetus from the infants ends at birth. However, the dependence does not end here. The mother takes care of the child. With time, the child begins to identify that the mother and other entities are separate. The child through its own initiatives experiences the world. This marks a crucial point in the development of individuation. The process of individuation is advanced by education. This process is marked by frustrations and prohibition, which change the role of the mother as a hostile and dangerous person. This antagonism between the mother and child helps in the development of the self. The different authorities the child interacts with constitute the child’s universe and submit to the child. This has a different quality from that which exists when an individual separate complete from these authorities (Fromm 2001, p. 18-29). The freedom of a child during childhood enables him to develop and express his identity. This gives him security and reassurance. The increasing separation from thes e authorities results into isolation, which creates intense anxiety and insecurity. The child may develop the inner strength or a new kind of solidarity and closeness with others. If the process of separation and individuation are matched with the growth of the