10. May

Rollo May

• Existential Psychology: The focus of Rollo May's work.

Early Life and Education

• Birth: Born on April 21, 1909, in Ada, Ohio; first son among six children.

• Family Background: Not particularly close to his parents due to frequent arguments and eventual separation.

• Education:

  • Began at Michigan State University, actively involved in the school newspaper.

  • Initially enrolled in psychology class, later switched to English literature.

  • Controversy: Expelled for a controversial article in the university's newspaper, subsequently moved to Ohio.

  • Post-Bachelor’s Experience: Moved to Greece, where he developed a fondness for art amidst lethargy and loneliness.

  • Attended a seminar by Alfred Adler, which influenced his views on psychology.

  • Returned to the U.S. after three years and attended seminary while battling tuberculosis.

Existential Experience and Philosophy

• Hospitalization and Philosophy:

  • During his hospitalization due to tuberculosis, May engaged deeply with existential philosophical works.

  • Learned that healing is an active process requiring participation from the sick individual.

  • Influenced profoundly by Kierkegaard’s writings, leading to significant self-discovery.

  • Completed his doctorate with the dissertation titled "The Meaning of Anxiety."

• Core Ideas:

  • Focus on the individual's conscious confrontation with anxiety rather than avoidance.

  • Confrontation allows for personal growth or stagnation based on choices made regarding feelings and experiences.

  • Emphasized that recognizing and confronting death anxiety leads to more authentic and creative living.

Career and Major Works

• Publications:

  • Authored several influential works, including:

    • The Art of Counseling

    • The Springs of Creative Living

    • Existential Psychotherapy

    • Man’s Search for Himself

  • Existential Psychology: Defines individuals as dynamic beings existing in a social context, focused on personal experience.

  • Concerned with understanding personal capacities in relation to societal and cultural influences.

Philosophical Foundations

• Kierkegaard’s Influence:

  • Foundations in Danish philosopher Søren Kierkegaard’s work.

  • Emphasizes a balance between subjectivity and objectivity, freedom and responsibility.

• Existence and Essence:

  • Existence is viewed as an ongoing state of becoming rather than a static essence.

  • Individuals are responsible for their own meanings and existence.

  • Existentialists often oppose theoretical frameworks that reduce individual humanity.

Being-in-the-World

• Phenomenological Approach:

  • Recognizes the unity of the individual and their environment, termed Dasein (being-in-the-world).

  • Alienation arises from disconnections in three realms:

    • Umwelt: Separation from nature.

    • Mitwelt: Lack of meaningful interpersonal relationships.

    • Eigenwelt: Alienation from one’s authentic self.

  • Healthy engagement involves integrating these realms simultaneously.

Nonbeing and Confronting Death

• Nonbeing: Death is the primary avenue of nonbeing, accentuating life’s vitality.

• Fear of Death: Leads to avoidance behaviors, resulting in despair.

• Confrontation of Nonbeing: Encouraged to embrace death as part of existence rather than escape from it.

Anxiety and Its Role

• Motivation: Anxiety can drive or inhibit human behavior based on one’s awareness of existence and value at risk.

• Types of Anxiety:

  • Normal Anxiety: Proportional to threats and can be confronted constructively.

  • Neurotic Anxiety: Disproportionate, involves repression, leads to blocks in awareness and conflict.

Guilt and Responsibility

• Sources of Guilt: Arises from neglecting potential, disconnecting from nature and others, and evading self-awareness.

• Types of Guilt:

  • Separation guilt (Umwelt), interpersonal guilt (Mitwelt), and self-denial guilt (Eigenwelt).

• Productive vs. Neurotic Guilt: Healthy guilt can promote recognition and improvement, while neurotic guilt results in dysfunction.

Intentionality and Care

• Intentionality: The structure that guides decision-making, allowing for acts based on chosen goals.

• Care: Recognizing the value of others; foundational for love and healthy relationships.

• Will: The capacity to actualize care towards direction and goals.

Suffering and Separation of Love and Will

• Conceptual Issues: Misalignments between love and will lead to suffering.

• Integration: The goal is to reconcile love and will through responsibility and care for others.

Concepts of Love

• Different Forms of Love:

  • Eros: Desire for union and procreation.

  • Philia: Deep friendship requiring time and care.

  • Agape: Altruistic love without conditions.

• Healthy Relationships: Integrate erotic desire, friendship, and altruism into fulfilling relationships.

Freedom and Destiny

• Nature of Freedom:

  • Existential Freedom: Action-based freedom.

  • Essential Freedom: Related to the essence of being, often hindered by existential concerns.

• Understanding Destiny: Destiny is intertwined with freedom; individuals can choose their responses within predetermined constraints.

Myths and Their Role

• Myths: Provide frameworks for understanding personal and societal issues, akin to Jung's collective unconscious.

• Positive Functions: Myths can illuminate suppressed aspects of experience, propose new insights, or potential paths forward.

• Consequences of Denial: Denying myth and destiny leads to feelings of purposelessness and psychopathological behavior.

Personal Growth and Psychotherapy

• Function of Psychotherapy: Should foster human experience, expand consciousness, facilitate choice-making, and enhance personal freedom.

• Therapeutic Relationship: Essential for patient growth, emphasizing authentic engagement and existential confrontation.

Final Thoughts

• Existential Challenges: Encourage individuals to embrace freedom and choice, live authentically, and confront their destinies.

• Integration of Concepts: The importance of understanding personal identity, relationships, and systemic influences on individual experience.