Fromm Study Day on November 14, 2026, from 10:00 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Haus Am Dom, Domplatz 3, 60311 Frankfurt am Main
The International Erich Fromm Society and the Haus am Dom in Frankfurt am Main invite you to a conference on Erich Fromm’s book *To Have or To Be* to mark the fiftieth anniversary of its publication. “To Have or To Be” was published in 1976 and has since sold more than ten million copies worldwide in 26 languages to date. Through the alternative of “To Have or To Be,” Fromm addresses a fundamental problem of human life: If a person orients their life toward “having,” they passively rely on ideas, values, things, ideologies, people, and objects that they can acquire externally and thereby turn into possessions. They identify with these possessions and allow their lives to be determined by external forces. A person oriented toward “Being,” on the other hand, seeks to develop their own mental and physical strengths and abilities in the course of their life and to determine their thoughts, feelings, and actions from within themselves in order to lead a good life. “To Have or To Be” is about nothing less than the art of living.
In the 21st century, it is becoming increasingly easy for people to rely on external forces that regulate and determine their lives from the outside: the pursuit of profit and power, government bureaucracy, digital technology, mass media, and mass consumption offer ways of life as industrial commodities. This makes it all the more important to draw on Fromm’s work, its significance, and its relevance to the 21st century.
“By the terms ‘being’ or ‘having,’ I do not mean specific characteristics of a subject, as expressed in statements such as ‘I have a car,’ ‘I am white,’ or ‘I am happy.’ I am referring to two fundamental modes of existence, two different types of character structure, the dominance of which determines the totality of what a person thinks, feels, and does. … In the mode of existence of ‘having,’ the relationship to the world is one of taking possession and owning—a relationship in which I want to make everyone and everything, including myself, my property. [The] mode of existence of ‘being’ … signifies vitality and an authentic connection to the world.” (Erich Fromm: To Have or To Be, 1976a, pp. 290, 291)
Venue:
Haus am Dom, Domplatz 3, 60311 Frankfurt am Main
Partnership:
Haus am Dom – Rabanus Maurus Catholic Academy, Frankfurt am Main
International Erich Fromm Society, e.V.
Conference fee:
—regular price €29, reduced price €19; surcharge for lunch on site: €10
Registration:
Register via the website of the International Erich Fromm Society
Program
Saturday, November 7, 2026
10:00 Welcome and Introduction
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Hardeck
10.15 Who Am I Without a Cell Phone, Social Media, and Chatbots?
On the Timeliness of the “To Have or To Be” Dilemma
Dr. Rainer Funk
11:15 Coffee break
11.45 Fromm’s Exemplarism: Reflections on the Philosophical Method of “
” in *To Have or To Be*
Cedric Braun, M.A.
12:45 p.m. Lunch break (lunch available at the conference center or off-site on your own)
14.00 To Have or To Be? Or What Is the Good Life? A Comparison of Erich Fromm’s *
* and Abraham Maslow’s Work
Benjamin Schramm, M.A.
15.00 To Have or To Play? A New Understanding of Erich Fromm’s Ideal in Knowledge, Character
, and Culture Dr. Nils Bischof
4:00 p.m. Coffee break/cake
4:30 p.m. The Significance and Relevance of *To Have or To Be* in the 21st Century: Panel Discussion with the Speakers (Moderator: T.B.A.)
5:30 p.m. End of the conference
Speakers
Prof. Dr. Jürgen Hardeck: Religious scholar and philosopher, Chairman of the Board of the International Erich Fromm Society e.V.
Dr. Rainer Funk: Psychoanalyst, Erich Fromm’s last assistant and estate administrator, board member of the Erich Fromm Foundation and director of the Erich Fromm Institute, adjunct professor at the International Psychoanalytic University Berlin, co-director of the Erich Fromm Study Center (IPU Berlin)
Cedric Braun, M.A.: Ph.D. candidate in philosophy and teaching assistant at the University of St. Gallen; research interests in the fields of social philosophy and ethics, with a historical focus on John Dewey and Erich Fromm; Fulbright Scholar and Fellow at the Research Institute for Philosophy in Hanover
Benjamin Schramm, M.A.: Ph.D. candidate in Educational Science; Bachelor’s degree in Social Work; Master’s degree in Educational Science; member of the Extended Executive Board of the International Erich Fromm Society
Dr. Nils Bischof: Studied philosophy at the universities of Leipzig, Erfurt, and Würzburg; member of the Extended Executive Board of the International Erich Fromm Society; co-editor of the *Fromm Forum* yearbook
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