The Art of Loving is a book written by psychologist and social philosopher Erich Fromm (1900–80).[1] In this work, Fromm recapitulated and complemented the theoretical principles of human nature found in Fromm's Escape from Freedom and Man for Himself – principles which were revisited in many of his other major works.

Fromm presents love as a skill that can be taught and developed. He rejects the idea of loving as something magical and mysterious that cannot be analyzed and explained, and is therefore skeptical about popular ideas such as "falling in love" or being helpless in the face of love. Because modern humans are alienated from each other and from nature, we seek refuge from our aloneness in romantic love and marriage (pp. 79–81). However, Fromm observes that real love "is not a sentiment which can be easily indulged in by anyone." It is only through developing one's total personality to the capacity of loving one's neighbor with "true humility, courage, faith and discipline" that one attains the capacity to experience real love. This should be considered a rare achievement (p. vii).

(Wikipedia)