ROLLO REESE MAY inevitability of death and to realize that nonbeing is an

Existential Psychology inseparable part of being.

-April 21, 1909, in Ada, Ohio Existential psychology is concerned with the individual’s
- First son of the six children born to Earl Tittle May and Matie struggle to work through life’s experiences and to grow
Boughton May. toward becoming more fully human.

Background of Existentialism Anxiety

-Modern existential psychology has roots in the writings of -In The Meaning of Anxiety, May claimed that much of human
Søren Kierkegaard (1813–1855), Danish philosopher and behavior is motivated by an underlying sense of dread and
theologian. anxiety.
-People experience anxiety when they become aware that
What Is Existentialism? their existence or some value identified with it might be
Common elements: destroyed.
1. Existence takes precedence over essence. -May (1958a) defined anxiety as “the subjective state of the
Existence - to emerge or to become; process; associated with individual’s becoming aware that his [or her] existence can be
growth and change destroyed, that he can become ‘nothing’”
Essence - a static immutable substance; product; signifies - A threat to some important value.
stagnation and finality. TYPES:
2. Existentialism opposes the split between subject and
object. Normal Anxiety - which is proportionate to the threat, does
People are both subjective and objective and must search for not involve repression, and can be confronted constructively
truth by living active and authentic lives. on the conscious level” Neurotic Anxiety - a reaction which is
3. People search for some meaning to their lives. disproportionate to the threat, involves repression and other
They ask (though not always consciously) the important forms of intrapsychic conflict, and is managed by various
questions concerning their being: Who am I? Is life worth kinds of blocking-off of activity and awareness.
living? Does it have a meaning? How can I realize my
humanity? Guilt - arises when people deny their potentialities, fail to
4. Existentialists hold that ultimately each of us is accurately perceive the needs of fellow humans, or remain
responsible for who we are and what we become. oblivious to their dependence on the natural world (May,
We can choose to become what we can be or we can choose 1958a).
to avoid commitment and choice, but ultimately, it is our
choice. *both anxiety and guilt are ontological; that is, they refer to
5. Existentialists are basically antitheoretical. the nature of being and not to feelings arising from specific
To them, theories further dehumanize people and render situations or transgressions.
them as objects.
Forms of ontological guilt:
Basic Concepts 1. Separation guilt - People’s undiscerning reliance on
Being-in-the-World others for these and other needs (Umwelt) ; a result
of our separation from nature
Dasein - the basic unity of person and environment is 2. Stems from our inability to perceive accurately the
expressed in the German word, meaning to exist there. world of others (Mitwelt)
- means to exist in the world and is generally written 3. Associated with our denial of our own potentialities
as being-in-the-world. The hyphens in this term imply or with our failure to fulfill them. In other words, this
oneness of subject and object, of person and world. guilt is grounded in our relationship with self
(Eigenwelt).
Alienation is the illness of our time, and it manifests itself in Neurotic guilt, like neurotic anxiety, leads to nonproductive
three areas: or neurotic symptoms such as sexual impotence, depression,
1.) Separation from nature cruelty to others, or inability to make a choice.
2.) Lack of meaningful interpersonal relations
3.) Alienation from one’s authentic self Intentionality - The structure that gives meaning to
experience and allows people to make decisions about the
Thus, people experience three simultaneous modes in their future; bridges the gap between subject and object
being-in-the-world:
CARE, LOVE, AND WILL
Umwelt, or the environment around us; the world of objects
and things and would exist even if people had no awareness. Care - to care for someone means to recognize that person as
Mitwelt, or our relations with other people; we also live in a fellow human being, to identify with that person’s pain or
the world with people, that is, Mitwelt. We must relate to joy, guilt or pity. Care is an active process, the opposite of
people as people, not as things. apathy.
Eigenwelt, or our relationship with our self. To live in - “Care is a state in which something does matter”
Eigenwelt means to be aware of oneself as a human being
and to grasp who we are as we relate to the world of things Love- a “delight in the presence of the other person and an
and to the world of people. affirming of [that person’s] value and development as much
as one’s own”
Nonbeing - Without care there can be no love—only empty
-The dread of not being: that is, nonbeing or nothingness. sentimentality or transient sexual arousal.
-Can take the form of isolation and alienation. Will – “the capacity to organize one’s self so that movement
-We escape the dread of nonbeing at the expense of a in a certain direction or toward a certain goal may take
constricted existence. A healthier alternative is to face the place.”
 - Myths are the stories that unify a society; “they are essential
Forms of Love to the process of keeping our souls alive and bringing us new
1. Sex is a biological function that can be satisfied meaning in a difficult and often meaningless world.
through sexual intercourse or some other release of -Oedipus story is a powerful myth in our culture because it
sexual tension. contains elements of existential crises common to everyone.
- “it still remains the power of procreation, the drive These crises include:
which perpetuates the race, the source at once of (1) Birth
the human being’s most intense pleasure and his [or (2) Separation or exile from parents and home,
her] most pervasive anxiety” (3) Sexual union with one parent and hostility toward the
2. Eros is a psychological desire that seeks procreation other
or creation through an enduring union with a loved (4) The assertion of independence and the search for identity
one. (5) Death
- Eros is making love; sex is manipulating organs.
- Eros “takes wings from human imagination and is Psychopathology
forever transcending all techniques, giving the laugh -May saw psychopathology as lack of communication—the
to all the ‘how to’ books by gaily swinging into orbit inability to know others and to share oneself with them.
above our mechanical rules” -Symptoms may be temporary, as when stress produces a
3. Philia, that is, an intimate nonsexual friendship headache, or they may be relatively permanent, as when
between two people. Philia cannot be rushed; it early childhood experiences produce apathy and emptiness.
takes time to grow, to develop, to sink its roots.
4. Agape “esteem for the other, the concern for the Psychotherapy
other’s welfare beyond any gain that one can get out - He suggested that psychotherapy should make people more
of it; disinterested love, typically, the love of God for human: that is, help them expand their consciousness so that
man” they will be in a better position to make choices (M. H. Hall,
- Agape is altruistic love. It is a kind of spiritual love 1967). These choices, then, lead to the simultaneous growth
that carries with it the risk of playing God. of freedom and responsibility.
- May believed that the purpose of psychotherapy is to set
FREEDOM AND DESTINY people free
What is Freedom? -They must establish a one-to-one relationship (Mitwelt) that
- “freedom is the individual’s capacity to know that he is the enables patients to become more aware of them and to live
determined one” (p. 175). more fully in their own world (Eigenwelt). This approach may
- The word “determined” in this definition is synonymous mean challenging patients to confront their destiny, to
with what May (1981) would later call destiny. experience despair, anxiety, and guilt. But it also means
- Freedom is the possibility of changing, although we may not establishing an I-thou encounter in which both therapist and
know what those changes might be. Freedom “entails being patient are viewed as subjects rather than objects.
able to harbor different possibilities in one’s mind even
though it is not clear at the moment which way one must act” Related Research
- Often leads to increases in anxiety, but it is normal anxiety, -Mortality Salience and Denial of Our Animal Nature
the kind that healthy people welcome and are able to -Fitness as a Defense Against Mortality Awareness
manage.
Critique of May
Forms of Freedom Existentialism in general and May’s psychology in particular
1. Existential freedom should not be identified with have been criticized as being anti-intellectual and
existential philosophy. It is the freedom of action— antitheoretical.
the freedom of doing. 1. Have May’s ideas generated scientific research? May did
2. Essential freedom, freedom of being. Freedom to not formulate his views in a theoretical structure, and a
act, to move around does not ensure essential paucity of hypotheses is suggested by his writings. On this
freedom. In fact, existential freedom often makes first criterion of a useful theory, therefore, May’s existential
essential freedom more difficult. psychology receives a very low score.
What Is Destiny? 2. Can May’s ideas be verified or falsified? Existential
-May (1981) defined destiny as “the design of the universe psychology in general and May’s theory in particular must be
speaking through the design of each one of us” rated very low on this criterion.
-Destiny does not mean preordained or foredoomed. It is our 3. Does May’s philosophically oriented psychology help
destination, our terminus, our goal. organize what is currently known about human nature? May
would receive an average rating.
“The paradox is that freedom owes its vitality to destiny, and 4. As a practical guide to action, May’s theory is quite weak.
destiny owes its significance to freedom” 5. On the criterion of internal consistency, May’s existential
*Freedom and destiny are thus inexorably intertwined; one psychology again falls short. He offered a variety of
cannot exist without the other. Freedom without destiny is definitions for such concepts as anxiety, guilt, intentionality,
unruly license. will, and destiny. Unfortunately, he never presented
operational definitions of these terms.
The Power of Myth 6. The final criterion of a useful theory is parsimony, and on
May was concerned with the powerful effects of myths on this standard, May’s psychology receives a moderate rating.
individuals and cultures—a concern that culminated in his
book The Cry for Myth (1991).
- Myths are not falsehoods; rather, they are conscious and
unconscious belief systems that provide explanations for
personal and social problems.