350 Part III Humanistic/Existential Theories
followed Gordon Allport’s dictum, “Do not forget what you have decided to neglect”
(Allport, 1968, p. 23). May did not forget that he excluded discourses on develop-
mental stages, basic motivational forces, and other factors that tend to segment the
human experience. May’s philosophical writings have reached deep into the far
recesses of the human experience and have explored aspects of humanity not examined
by other personality theorists. His popularity has been due in part to his ability to
touch individual readers, to connect with their humanity. Although his ideas may affect
people in ways that other theorists do not, his use of certain concepts was at times
inconsistent and confusing. Moreover, he decided to neglect several important topics
in human personality: for example, development, cognition, learning, and motivation.
As a practical guide to action, May’s theory is quite weak. Although he pos-
sessed a keen understanding of human personality, May gathered his views more
from philosophical than from scientific sources. In fact, he had no objection to being
called a philosopher and frequently referred to himself as a philosopher-therapist.
On the criterion of internal consistency, May’s existential psychology again
falls short. He offered a variety of definitions for such concepts as anxiety, guilt,
intentionality, will, and destiny. Unfortunately, he never presented operational
definitions of these terms. This imprecise terminology has contributed to the lack
of research on May’s ideas.
The final criterion of a useful theory is parsimony, and on this standard,
May’s psychology receives a moderate rating. His writings at times were cumber-
some and awkward, but to his credit, he dealt with complex issues and did not
attempt to oversimplify human personality.Concept of Humanity
Like Erik Erikson (see Chapter 7), May offered a new way of looking at
things. His view of humanity is both broader and deeper than the views of
most other personality theorists. He saw people as complex beings, capable
of both tremendous good and immense evil.
According to May, people have become estranged from the natural
world, from other people, and most of all, from themselves. As people
become more alienated from other people and from themselves, they sur-
render portions of their consciousness. They become less aware of them-
selves as a subject, that is, the person who is aware of the experiencing
self. As the subjective self becomes obscured, people lose some of their
capacity to make choices. This progression, however, is not inevitable. May
believed that people, within the confines of their destiny, have the ability to
make free choices. Each choice pushes back the boundaries of determinism
and permits new choices. People generally have much more potential for
freedom than they realize. However, free choice does not come without
anxiety. Choice demands the courage to confront one’s destiny, to look
within and to recognize the evil as well as the good.