Chapter 11 May: Existential Psychology 339Forms of Freedom
May (1981) recognized two forms of freedom—freedom of doing and freedom of
being. The first he called existential freedom; the latter, essential freedom.
Existential Freedom
Existential freedom should not be identified with existential philosophy. It is the
freedom of action—the freedom of doing. Most middle-class adult Americans
enjoy large measures of existential freedom. They are free to travel across state
lines, to choose their associates, to vote for their representatives in government,
and so on. On a more trivial scale, they are free to push their shopping carts
through a supermarket and select from among thousands of items. Existential free-
dom, then, is the freedom to act on the choices that one makes.
Essential Freedom
Freedom to act, to move around does not ensure essential freedom: that is, freedom
of being. In fact, existential freedom often makes essential freedom more difficult. For
example, prisoners and inmates in concentration camps often speak enthusiastically of
their “inner freedom,” despite experiencing very limited existential freedom. Thus,
physical confinement or the denial of liberty seems to allow people to face their destiny
and to gain their freedom of being. In 1981, May (1981, p. 60) asked: “Do we get to
essential freedom only when our everyday existence is interrupted?” May’s own answer
was “no.” One need not be imprisoned to attain essential freedom, that is, freedom of
being. Destiny itself is our prison—our concentration camp that allows us to be less
concerned with freedom of doing and more concerned with essential freedom.
Does not the engaging of our destiny—which is the design of our life—hedge
us about with the confinement, the sobriety, indeed, often the cruelty, which
forces us to look beyond the limits of day-to-day action? Is not the inescapable
fact of death... the concentration camp of us all? Is not the fact that life is a
joy and a bondage at the same time enough to drive us to consider the deeper
aspect of being? (May, 1981, p. 61)What Is Destiny?
May (1981) defined destiny as “the design of the universe speaking through the
design of each one of us” (p. 90). Our ultimate destiny is death, but on a lesser
scale our destiny includes other biological properties such as intelligence, gender,
size and strength, and genetic predisposition toward certain illnesses. In addition,
psychological and cultural factors contribute to our destiny.
Destiny does not mean preordained or foredoomed. It is our destination, our
terminus, our goal. Within the boundaries of our destiny, we have the power to
choose, and this power allows us to confront and challenge our destiny. It does
not, however, permit any change we wish. We cannot be successful at any job,
conquer any illness, enjoy a fulfilling relationship with any person. We cannot
erase our destiny, “but we can choose how we shall respond, how we shall live
out our talents which confront us” (May, 1981, p. 89).