Feist−Feist: Theories of
Personality, Seventh
EditionIII. Humanistic/Existential
Theories- May: Existential
Psychology
© The McGraw−Hill^375
Companies, 2009Concept of Humanity
Like Erik Erikson (see Chapter 9), May offered a new way of looking at things. His
view of humanity is both broader and deeper than the views of most other person-
ality 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 alien-
ated from other people and from themselves, they surrender portions of their con-
sciousness. They become less aware of themselves 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 deter-
minism 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 rec-
ognize the evil as well as the good.
Choice also implies action. Without action, choice is merely a wish, an idle
desire. With action comes responsibility. Freedom and responsibility are always
commensurable. A person cannot have more freedom than responsibility, nor can
one be shackled with more responsibility than freedom. Healthy individuals wel-
come both freedom and responsibility, but they realize that choice is often painful,
anxiety-provoking, and difficult.
May believed that many people have surrendered some of their ability to
choose, but that capitulation itself, he insisted, is a choice. Ultimately, each of us
is responsible for the choices we make, and those choices define each of us as a
unique human being. May, therefore, must be rated high on the dimension of free
choice.
Is May’s theory optimisticor pessimistic?Although he sometimes painted a
rather gloomy picture of humanity, May was not pessimistic. He saw the present age
as merely a plateau in humanity’s quest for new symbols and new myths that will
engender the species with renewed spirit.
Although May recognized the potential impact of childhood experiences on
adult personality, he clearly favored teleologyover causality. Each of us has a par-
ticular goal or destiny that we must discover and challenge or else risk alienation
and neurosis.
May assumed a moderate stance on the issue of consciousversus unconscious
forces in personality development. By their nature, people have enormous capacity
for self-awareness, but often that capacity remains fallow. People sometimes lack
the courage to face their destiny or to recognize the evil that exists within their
culture as well as within themselves. Consciousness and choices are interrelated. As
people make more free choices, they gain more insight into who they are; that is,
they develop a greater sense of being. This sharpened sense of being, in turn, fa-
cilitates the ability to make further choices. An awareness of self and a capacity
for free choice are hallmarks of psychological health.
Chapter 12 May: Existential Psychology 369