The philosopher Erich Fromm was born at the beginning of the 20th century and witnessed all its major developments (Cherry). It not only brought technological progress and new ideologies, but also bitter fruits of wars never seen before by humanity. He contemplated the reasons behind aggression and violence which led him to study psychology and sociology (Cherry). Fromm's final work, “To Have or to Be” (1976), is the culmination of his commitment to finding and explaining the purpose of human life. He perceived our existence as driven by the mode of having or being and explained this idea using psychological findings combined with sociological evidence. For Fromm, the two modes of existence are inherent in our nature. The two conflicting efforts – the desire to possess and the desire to unite with others – are both present in us. Human beings possess some purely biological desires, but at the same time they have so-called “human nature conditions” caused by their advanced intellect and self-awareness. These conditions create certain needs that humans want to satisfy, such as the need to overcome feelings of loneliness. In the mode of having the feeling of satisfaction comes from an abrupt satisfaction of the desire to possess. However, this desire is not only for material things but also for things like power, money, and other people. The opposite of the having mode is the being mode, in which people satisfy their needs through sharing and loving each other. The having mode is destructive for both the individual and society, while the being mode is quite the opposite. For Fromm, most of the world, especially Western civilization, is driven by the mode of having. As a result, it is on the verge of a catastrophe. The book begins with a living...... middle of paper ......h such as food, drink, shelter and clothing, which cannot be given up due to our nature. It is interesting how Fromm presents his theory from the perspective of the two great world religions: Christianity and Judaism. Unfortunately it does not include an analysis of Islam – the second most widespread religion. Examination of the Quran and its comparison with the Bible and Talmud would have been a valuable addition to the book. Even more interesting is Fromm's innovative understanding of religion. He defines it as “any system of thought and action shared by a group that offers the individual a framework for orientation and an object of devotion” (Fromm 135). In this sense, every society in the world has had a religion. He says that modern society is characterized by a new religion: industrial religion. It developed because of the way modern society is rooted in the mode of having.