PSYCHOLOGICAL PERSPECTIVE
OF THE SELF
EXISTENTIAL PERSPECTIVE
Module 4
TSU PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT
INTEGRITY, EXCELLENCE, PASSION, SERVICE
EXISTENTIAL
PERSPECTIVE
TSU PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT INTEGRITY, EXCELLENCE, PASSION, SERVICE
Studies how people come to terms
with the basic givens of human
existence ( Yalom , 1980)
➢ Freedom and Responsibility
➢ Death
➢ Isolation
EXISTENTIAL ➢ Meaninglessness
PERSPECTIVE
TSU PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT INTEGRITY, EXCELLENCE, PASSION, SERVICE
Focused on the belief that the essence of
humans is their existence
emphasizes about :
the anxiety that is inherent in human existence,
people's need for meaning in a meaningless
world, and
the importance for people to make their own
EXISTENTIAL choices according to their own authentic
desires.
PERSPECTIVE
TSU PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT INTEGRITY, EXCELLENCE, PASSION, SERVICE
ROLLO MAY
VIKTOR FRANKL
TSU PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT INTEGRITY, EXCELLENCE, PASSION, SERVICE
VIKTOR FRANKL
(1905 – 1997)
➢ psychiatrist and neurologist
➢ Author of the book, “Man’s
Search for Meaning”
➢ Founded the school of
LOGOTHERAPY
TSU PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT INTEGRITY, EXCELLENCE, PASSION, SERVICE
FRANKL’s
DISCOVERY
Life in the concentration camp taught Frankl that our main drive
or motivation in life is
• neither pleasure (Freud) nor power (Adler), but meaning!
• even in the most absurd, painful, and dispiriting of
circumstances, life can be given a meaning, and so too can
suffering
TSU PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT INTEGRITY, EXCELLENCE, PASSION, SERVICE
LOGOTHERAPY
• Aim is to carry out an existential analysis of the
person, and, in so doing, to help him uncover or
discover meaning for his life.
• Frankl believed that humans are motivated by
something called a "will to meaning," which equates
to a desire to find meaning in life.
TSU PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT INTEGRITY EXCELLENCE PASSION
SERVICE
METHODS OF
FINDING MEANING:
• by creating a work or doing a deed
• by experiencing something or encountering
someone; and
• by the attitude we take toward unavoidable
suffering"
BASIC ASSUMPTIONS OF
LOGOTHERAPY
1. BODY, MIND, AND SPIRIT 2. LIFE HAS MEANING IN
ALL CIRCUMSTANCES
The human being is an entity that This means that even when
consists of a body ( soma ), mind situations seem objectively
(psyche ), and spirit ( noos ). terrible, there is a higher level of
order that involves meaning
Frankl argued that we have a
body and mind, but the spirit is
what we are, or our essence.
3. HUMANS HAVE A WILL 4. FREEDOM TO FIND
TO MEANING MEANING
meaning is our primary Frankl argues that in all
motivation for living and acting, circumstances, individuals have
and allows us to endure pain and the freedom to access that will to
suffering find meaning.
5. MEANING OF THE 6. INDIVIDUALS ARE
MOMENT UNIQUE
decisions to be meaningful, Frankl believed that every
individuals must respond to the individual is unique and
demands of daily life in ways that irreplaceable.
match the values of society or
their own conscience .
Application of
Logotherapy Principle
Create Something
Develop relationships
Find purpose in pain
Understand that life is not fair
Freedom to find meaning
Focus on others
Accept the worst
AWESOME
WORDS
ROLLO REECE MAY
(1909 – 1994)
➢ A Pastor
➢ American Psychologist
➢ Was diagnosed with
Tuberculosis and spent 18
months in sanatorium
➢ Author of several books book:
o The Meaning of Anxiety
o Love and Will
o Power and Innocence
TSU PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT INTEGRITY, EXCELLENCE, PASSION, SERVICE
MAY’s EXISTENTIAL
PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY
TSU PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT INTEGRITY EXCELLENCE PASSION
SERVICE
MAY’s EXISTENTIAL
PSYCHOANALYTIC THEORY
• Existence and freedom were the central themes of Rollo
May’s analyses
• He considered that conflict is the very essence of life
POWERLESSNESS
➢ The central problem we face, according to May,
is a feeling of powerlessness in the face of
enormous problems
➢ This impotence leads to anxiety and repression ,
leading in turn to apathy , which a form of
protection
ANXIETY
He described the world we live in as an age of anxiety
Refers to “apprehension cued off by a threat to some
value that the individual holds essential to his or her
existence as a person”
Differentiated Anxiety vs. Fear
Two Kinds of Anxiety
Normal Anxiety
That “which is proportionate to the threat, does not involve
repression, and can be confronted constructively on the conscious
level” (May, 1967)
Neurotic Anxiety
“a reaction which is disproportionate to the threat, involves
repression and other forms of intrapsychic conflict, and is managed
by various kinds of blocking - off of activity and awareness” (May,
1967)
LOSS OF VALUES
➢ The source of human dilemma lies in the loss of the center of
values in our society
➢ Along with the loss of the dominant value of individualism, we
lost a sense of the worth and dignity of the human being
➢ The need today is to discover and affirm a new set of values
REDISCOVERING SELFHOOD
✓ May believed that consciousness of self is the unique mark of the
human person
✓ Self - consciousness must be done consciously through choice and
affirmation
✓ People need to rediscover their own feelings and desires
✓ Moving through 4 stages of consciousness
Stage of
Stage of Ordinary
Rebellion Consciousness
of the Self
Stage of
Stage of Creative
Innocence Consciousness
of the Self
Stages of
Consciousness
TSU PSYCHOLOGY DEPARTMENT INTEGRITY, EXCELLENCE, PASSION, SERVICE
INNOCENCE
• before consciousness of self is born;
• characteristic of an infant
REBELLION
the rebellious person wants freedom, but does
not yet have a good understanding of the
responsibility that goes with it.
ORDINARY
the normal adult ego learned responsibility,
but finds it too demanding, so seeks refuge in
conformity and traditional values.
CREATIVE
the authentic adult, the existential stage, self -
actualizing and transcending simple
egocentrism