Unit 3 Chapter 10: May Existential Psychology Flashcards
Who was the one the textbook used to explore existential psychology?
Rollo May
What are the 5 basic tenants of existentialism according to the textbook?
1) people’s essence is their power to continually redefine themselves through the choices they make
2) opposes the split between subject and object
3) People search for some meaning in their lives and ask the big questions
4) We are responsible for who we are and who we become
5) existentialism tries to be anti-theoretical. “Authentic experience takes precedence over artificial explanations”
What is the main sicknesses that people experience living in modern societies according to the existentialists and what are the three ways in which they manifest?
“Alienation is the illness of our time”
(1) separation from nature, (2) lack of meaningful interpersonal relations,
(3) alienation from one’s authentic self.
What are the three names of the three ways people experience being-in-the-world?
Umwelt- enviornment
Mitwelt- relations to others
Eigenwelt- relationship with our selves
What is non being, what other things does it include other than an awareness of death?
The awareness of the possibility of one’s not being, through death or loss of awareness
“we are afraid of nonbeing and so we shrivel up our being” (p. 202). We flee from making active choices; that is, we make choices without considering who we are and what we want.” (conformity)
When do people experience anxiety according to May?
“People experience anxiety when they become aware that their existence or some value identified with it might be destroyed”
What is the difference between neurotic and normal anxiety according to May?
Normal anxiety is proportionate to the threat while neurotic anxiety is not.
What three moments will create feelings of guilt according to May?
Guilt arises when people deny their potentialities, fail to accurately perceive the needs of fellow humans, or remain oblivious to their dependence on the natural world. (Poor relationship to either Umwelt,
Mitwelt, or Eigenwelt
Give an example of how intentionality bridges the gap between subject and object.
A man (subject) and a piece of paper (object) exist together based on the action the man takes with that paper. Object and subject are the same, but the man can fold the paper, take notes, or draw on it.
Care is the source of what two other human emotions/actions?
Love and will
For the mature person, both love and will mean a reaching out toward another person. Both involve care, both necessitate choice, both imply action, and both require responsibility.
What are the 4 forms of love according to May?
May (1969b) identified four kinds of love in Western tradition—sex, eros, philia, and agape.
Define sex as a form of love according to May
Although it has become cheapened in modern Western societies, “it still remains the power of procreation, the drive which perpetuates the race, the source at once of the human being’s most intense pleasure and his [or her] most pervasive anxiety”
Define Eros as a form of love according to May
Eros is a psychological desire that seeks procreation or creation through an enduring union with a loved one.
Define philia as a form of love according to May
an intimate nonsexual friendship between two people. “Philia does not require that we do anything for the beloved except accept him, be with him, and enjoy him. It is friendship in the simplest, most direct terms”
Define Agape as a form of love according to May
defined agape as “esteem for the other, the concern for the other’s welfare beyond any gain that one can get out of it; disinterested love, typically, the love of God for man”
What are the two kinds of freedom according to May?
Existential Freedom
Essential Freedom
Define existential and essential freedom
Existential- It is the freedom of action—the freedom of doing. Most middle-class adult Americans enjoy large page 361measures of existential freedom.
Essential- freedom of the conscious mind
What did May believe should be the purpose of psychotherapy?
Helping others expand their consciousness so that they can make more informed decisions. He did not believe it should be focused on reducing someone’s symptoms but freeing their minds and the symptom reduction shall follow.
Briefly, what is May’s understanding of myth?
Cultural myths are belief systems, both conscious and unconscious, that provide explanations for personal and social problems.
