330 Part III Humanistic/Existential Theories
no sense of Dasein, no unity of self and world. As people strive to gain power
over nature, they lose touch with their relationship to the natural world. As they
come to rely on the products of the industrial revolution, they become more alien-
ated from the stars, the soil, and the sea. Alienation from the world includes being
out of touch with one’s own body as well. Recall that Rollo May began his recov-
ery from tuberculosis only after realizing that it was he who had the illness.
This feeling of isolation and alienation of self from the world is suffered not
only by pathologically disturbed individuals but also by most individuals in mod-
ern societies. Alienation is the illness of our time, and it manifests itself in three
areas: (1) separation from nature, (2) lack of meaningful interpersonal relations,
and (3) alienation from one’s authentic self. Thus, people experience three simul-
taneous modes in their being-in-the-world: Umwelt, or the environment around us;
Mitwelt, or our relations with other people; and Eigenwelt, or our relationship with
our self.
Umwelt is the world of objects and things and would exist even if people
had no awareness. It is the world of nature and natural law and includes biological
drives, such as hunger and sleep, and such natural phenomena as birth and death.
We cannot escape Umwelt; we must learn to live in the world around us and to
adjust to changes within this world. Freud’s theory, with its emphasis on biology
and instincts, deals mostly with Umwelt.
But we do not live only in Umwelt. We also live in the world with
people, that is, Mitwelt. We must relate to people as people, not as things. If
we treat people as objects, then we are living solely in Umwelt. The difference
between Umwelt and Mitwelt can be seen by contrasting sex with love. If a
person uses another as an instrument for sexual gratification, then that person
is living in Umwelt, at least in his or her relationship to that other person.
However, love demands that one make a commitment to the other person. Love
means respect for the other person’s being-in-the-world, an unconditional
acceptance of that person. Not every Mitwelt relationship, however, necessi-
tates love. The essential criterion is that the Dasein of the other person is
respected. The theory of Rogers, with its emphasis on interpersonal relations,
deals mostly with Mitwelt.
Eigenwelt refers to one’s relationship with oneself. It is a world not usually
explored by personality theorists. To live in Eigenwelt means to be aware of one-
self as a human being and to grasp who we are as we relate to the world of things
and to the world of people. What does this sunset mean to me? How is this other
person a part of my life? What characteristics of mine allow me to love this person?
How do I perceive this experience?
Healthy people live in Umwelt, Mitwelt, and Eigenwelt simultaneously (see
Figure 11.1). They adapt to the natural world, relate to others as humans, and have
a keen awareness of what all these experiences mean to them (May, 1958a).Nonbeing
Being-in-the-world necessitates an awareness of self as a living, emerging being.
This awareness, in turn, leads to the dread of not being: that is, nonbeing or noth-
ingness. May (1958a) wrote that