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Annual conference 2024: “Being born whole together… Pedagogy of biophilia – basics and perspectives”
Being born whole together...Pedagogy of biophilia – basics and perspectives
Annual conference of the International Erich-Fromm-Society e.V.
from Friday evening, April 26 to Sunday noon, April 28, 2024
at the Bildungshaus Zeppelin & Steinberg, Zeppelinstr. 7, 38640 Goslar
The psychoanalyst, social psychologist and philosopher Erich Fromm (1900-1980) was concerned with the “to see the entire life process as a birth process at[zu]and not to regard any stage of life as final. Most people [jedoch] die before they are fully born.”
If we really want our”children to be not only successful, but also mentally healthy, then they must consider such norms and values as essential, which lead to mental health and not only to success”. (Fromm)
In contrast to the common understanding today, the Mental health is more than the absence of illness, education is more than adaptation and Education more than a competence-oriented, efficient education, in which children are taught more and more testable knowledge in an ever shorter time, which can then be closely measured, compared and assigned to a specific school-leaving qualification…
With his analytical social psychology, Fromm made it clear that the educational process is based on ‘social character‘ . Its function is to shape the will and actions of people in a society in such a way that they do what they are asked to do with a sense of freedom.
Only if the existing discrepancies between social and human needs can be perceived and reflected against the background of one’s own convictions, values and ideals will it be possible not to blindly submit to the ‘social desire’ for power, success, increased performance, profit maximization and consumption…
This is a crucial task of education and upbringing, even though it is a matter of “usually [um] a social institution [handelt], which certainly does not help people to liberate themselves and become independent. No social institution pursues this goal”, says Fromm.
At this conference, we want to ask ourselves from a critical-emancipatory perspective: What should a society, an educational institution be like? What preconditions, conditions, structures and opportunities would have to be in place for human intrinsic forces and a biophilic orientation to develop in relationship?
How can educational professionals support and be supported in this process of ‘collective humanization’?
We look forward to stimulating contributions, ‘real’ discussions and shared experiences.
Speakers and lecture topics:
Dr. Achim Heinze (primary school principal and author)
Lecture topic: Children first! Why our children need better schools
Prof. (retired) Dr. Eva Borst (educational scientist, University of Mainz)
Lecture topic: On the tenderness of children and the love of life
Prof. Ralf Lankau (graphic designer, philologist, doctorate in art education and author, Offenburg University of Applied Sciences);
Lecture topic: Digitalization, individualization, corona
Dr. Dr. Michael Kubsda (teacher, educationalist and philosopher, Alice Salomon Berufskolleg and University of Duisburg-Essen)
Lecture topic: The significance of Fromm’s social psychology for pedagogy
Dr. Matthias Rießland
(licensed Feldenkrais teacher and trainer, doctorate in (critical) educational science, University of Duisburg-Essen)
Lecture topic: ‘If I don’t know what I’m doing, I can’t do what I want’
Fromm’s concept of awareness and the pedagogy of M. Feldenkrais
Cand. Prom. Anke Raidt (Primary school teacher, active in teacher training, founded a ‘pedagogy of biophilia’ following Fromm in her theoretical-practical doctorate at the University of Duisburg-Essen)
Lecture topic: Pedagogy of biophilia: freeing each other and coming into the world – about asking and letting yourself be found
Dr. Rainer Funk (psychoanalyst, last assistant and executor of Erich Fromm’s estate), Dr. Helmut Wehr (retired, Heidelberg University of Education) and
Prof. em. Otto Lüdemann (HAW Hamburg)
Introductory discussion on Friday evening
Conference venue and costs
The venue for this conference is the Bildungshaus Zeppelin & Steinberg in 38640 Goslar, Zeppelinstr. 7.
The conference costs incl. Overnight stay and VP p. p.
– in a single room: 251 €
– in a double room: 221 €
– Participation costs without accommodation/board: on request
Members of the Fromm Society can receive a grant of up to €50 by informal application. Please send an e-mail to the office or call (see page 2 for contact details).
Registration for the conference: