Existential Psy - May Flashcards
Existentialism
- existence - to emerge or become
- takes over essence
- existence - suggests process, essence - product
Existentialism:
- search for meaning
Basic concepts:
- being in the world
- non-being
Being in the world (DASEIN)
- understanding the world from our own perspective
- alienation and anxiety of people not feeling part of themselves and their world
Dimensions of existence
- the physical dimension (umwelt)
(the natural world around us, our physical body, health, illness, security, vulnerability etc) - the social dimension (mitwelt)
(the ppl around us, rels, problems that may arise if we treat ppl as objects) - the personal dimension (eigenwelt)
(The inner self, personal responsibility, learning)
Non-being
- acknowledgment we are alive and that we will die
- death - state of non-being
- if we don’t accept the fact that we will die, then we will experience non-being
- excessive conformity, not using our minds, being hostile to others
- aw avoid making choices or make non-sensical ones
- we are passive
Anxiety
- experience anxiety when we realise that our existence is not eternal
- anxiety - recognition of non-being or our values are threatened
- freedom and anxiety are linked
- enjoyable, constructive or destructive
- motivates or paralysis us
Normal anxiety
- to dev and progress in life we need normal anxiety
- doesn’t involve repression and can be dealt with consciously
Neurotic anxiety
- out of proportion to the threat
- we try to cope by blocking it off, repress
- values are transformed into dogma
- blocks growth
Guilt
- anxiety comes when we are faced with the problem to fulfil their potential
Umwelt
- as we progress more in technology, we become more detached from nature - this leads to a form of ontological guilt
Mitwelt
- guilt is stemmed from our inability to see the world as others experience it
Eigenwelt
- our denial of our own potentialities or the failure to fulfil them
- similar to the Jonah complex
Like anxiety, ontological guilt can have both a neg or pos effect on pers. when we refuse to accept ontological guilt, it becomes neurotic or morbid.
Intentionality
- gives meaning to experience and allows people to make decisions about the future
- internal guide that helps us make decisions
- without it, we would be stuck - unable to choose or decide
- can be unconscious
Care, love & will
- when caring for someone, we must recognise when they are distressed, suffering etc
- caring - Active, not passive. Care is the opposite of apathy.
- care and love - related but not the same
Union of love and will
- according to May - confusion between sex and love
- will has become associated with determination or will-power. When will is seen as will-power - self-serving and lacking passion, there is no care; just manipulation
- biological reasons why will and love are separated
Forms of love - Sex & Eros
May identified 4 forms of love in western traditions - sex, eros, philia, agape
Sex - biological function satisfied through intercourse or other release. Even though sex has lost its original value, it still remains the power of procreation.
Sex was not a topic to be discussed in ancient times, now we’re very open on the topic. Before, sex was fraught with guilt and anxiety. Today, lack of sex brings on guilt and anxiety.
Eros (the salvation of sex) - the difference between sex and eros is that sex is a physiological need that seeks gratification through release, whilst eros is a psychological desire that seeks procreation or creation through an enduring union with a loved one.
Eros - making love, establishing lasting union. Sex - manipulating organs, for pleasure reasons.
Forms of Love - Philia & Agape
Philia - eros is built of philia.
It is an intimate non-sexual friendship between 2. Take time to grow. Ex: slow evolving love between siblings or friends. Philia is what makes eros possible.
Agape - Philia needs agape. Agape: undeserved, unconditional love, altruistic love.
Healthy adult rels have a blend of all 4 forms of love. Sexual satisfaction (sex), desire for an enduring union (eros), genuine friendship (philia) and an unselfish concern for the welfare of others (agape)
Freedom and destiny
- to experience and have all 4 forms of love, a person needs to affirm the other but also have self-assertion - meaning that one is free but also has to face destiny.
Healthy people - take on board their freedom but accepting their destiny.
Freedom
- when we face and accept our destiny
- we can change but might not know what to change or how to change it
- considering our choices and options and being open to accepting them
May came up with 2 forms of freedom:
- freedom of doing (existential freedom) - freedom to act (choosing what to wear, eat, study etc). This type of freedom allows us to act on choices we have made.
- freedom of being (essential freedom) - physical confinement or denial of liberty seems to allow people to face their destiny. Destiny itself is our prison. Limitations can give us space to acknowledge and come to terms with destiny.
Destiny
- death
- biology, genes, gender, psychology, culture
- within the limits of our destiny, we can make choices and the power to confront our destiny
- choosing how to respond to our destiny
- we need awareness and courage to face our destiny
The power of myth
- May (1991) - interest in how myths affect people and cultures
- myths - provide a meaning especially when things are challenging to understand. They’re stories that join ppl in a society. They gives us identity and help us clear facts to give us important msgs.
