PSYC 3400 Chapter Notes - Chapter 12: Existential Crisis, Rollo May, Existentialism
30 Apr 2018
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Chapter 12: Person as Meaning Maker in Existential Theories
1.) Big Terms
a. Existentialists: Seek to derive meaning from all experiences
b. Existential angst: Anguished awareness, shared by all humans, that we are destined to
die
c. Existential crisis: Finding and fulfilling one’s purpose for existence in a universe
where destined to die humans are frequently alienated from themselves
d. Ontology: Philosophy concerned with ultimate reality and being
2.) Recurring Themes of Existentialism
a. Existence trumps essence. Humans are conscious self-aware subjects.
b. Anxiety and anguish are intrinsic to existence: Dread of nothingness
c. Absurdity abounds
d. The void of nothingness
e. Alienation and estrangement
f. Death- the ultimate nothingness
3.) Existential Psychology of Rollo May
a. What are the parts?
1. Subject vs object: Pivotal existential dichotomy
2. Consciousness of self: ability to stand outside of self as an observer
b. What makes a person go?
1. Intentionality: Imaginative participation in coming day’s possibilities
2. Willpower: Conscious portion of intentionality- moving towards one’s goals
3. Destiny: The givens in life- the cards we’re dealt
4. Existential forces: awareness, centeredness, consciousness, courage for self-
affirmation, participation with others, anxiety about nothingness
c. What makes a person grow?
1. Consciousness of self: 4 stages. Innocence, rebellion, ordinary self-consciousness
and creative self-consciousness
d. Useful/Testable
1. Self-consciousness, apathy, vitality and courage can all be studied
4.) Death-Defying Existentialism of Ernest Becker
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