352 Part III Humanistic/Existential Theories
Key Terms and Concepts
∙ (^) A basic tenet of existentialism is that existence precedes essence,
meaning that what people do is more important than what they are.
∙ (^) A second assumption is that people are both subjective and objective:
that is, they are thinking as well as acting beings.
∙ (^) People are motivated to search for answers to important questions
regarding the meaning of life.
∙ (^) People have an equal degree of both freedom and responsibility.
∙ (^) The unity of people and their phenomenological world is expressed by
the term Dasein, or being-in-the-world.
∙ (^) Three modes of being-in-the-world are Umwelt, one’s relationship with
the world of things; Mitwelt, one’s relationship with the world of people;
and Eigenwelt, one’s relationship with oneself.
∙ (^) Nonbeing, or nothingness, is an awareness of the possibility of one’s not
being, through death or loss of awareness.
∙ (^) People experience anxiety when they are aware of the possibility of their
nonbeing as well as when they are aware that they are free to choose.
∙ (^) Normal anxiety is experienced by everyone and is proportionate to the
threat.
∙ (^) Neurotic anxiety is disproportionate to the threat, involves repression,
and is handled in a self-defeating manner.
∙ (^) People experience guilt as a result of their (1) separation from the
natural world, (2) inability to judge the needs of others, and (3) denial
of their own potentials.
∙ (^) Intentionality is the underlying structure that gives meaning to
experience and allows people to make decisions about the future.
∙ (^) Love means taking delight in the presence of the other person and
affirming that person’s value as much as one’s own.
∙ (^) Sex, a basic form of love, is a biological function that seeks satisfaction
through the release of sexual tension.
∙ (^) Eros, a higher form of love, seeks an enduring union with a loved one.
∙ (^) Philia is the form of love that seeks a nonsexual friendship with another
person.
∙ (^) Agape, the highest form of love, is altruistic and seeks nothing from the
other person.
∙ (^) Freedom is gained through confrontation with one’s destiny and through
an understanding that death or nonbeing is a possibility at any moment.
∙ (^) Existential freedom is freedom of action, freedom to move about, to
pursue tangible goals.
∙ (^) Essential freedom is freedom of being, freedom to think, to plan, to hope.
∙ Cultural myths are belief systems, both conscious and unconscious, that
provide explanations for personal and social problems.