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| unselfish giving of one's self in a loving relationship. one loves but expects nothing in return |
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| separation from nature, other people, or oneself that results in feelings of loneliness, emptiness, or despair |
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| to be human is to experience this. it is the experience we have when our existence as an individual is threatened. to ponder one's inevitable death causes this, as does the threat to one's values. to grow, one's values must be threatened. therefore, it is an unavoidable component of normal, healthy life |
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| if people live their lives in accordance with values that are freely chosen, they are living this kind of life. if, however, people conform to values established by others, they have not exercised their personal freedom and therefore are not living this kind of life. |
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| is causally related to neurotic anxiety and guilt and the feelings of loneliness, ineffectiveness, self-alienation, and despair |
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| contention that through their active involvement with their life's circumstances, authentic people are constantly changing |
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| one must exist in the world and therefore act on it. values are meaningless unless they are manifested in behavior. the formulation of values, therefore, also commits people to a course of action. this is self-formulated, future-oriented, human values characterizes the authentic life |
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| an authentic life involves creating for oneself a structure of meaning that will guide one's thoughts and actions. such a life requires this because it means that often one's beliefs and actions may be contrary to those that are widely accepted |
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| potential for evil or harm that is part of human nature. it occurs when any natural function that in moderation is positive, dominates the individual- for example, when assertiveness becomes aggression or hostility or when eros causes one to dominate one's lover and thereby destroy his/her individuality |
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| study of the individual as being in the world. the emphasis is on the individual's existence at a certain time under certain circumstances. the conditions a person finds him/herself in can never be separated from the person him/herself. the two must be viewed as a whole. the individual as an object and as a subject can never be separated |
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| because humans are mortal, and because this is the ultimate state of nonbeing, awareness of this inevitability causes anxiety. this source of anxiety is part of human existence and cannot be avoided. the awareness of this, however, can add vitality to life by motivating a person to get as much out of life as possible in the limited time available |
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| according to may, the givens in one's life that are interpreted creatively and are thus provided meaning. for example, it is given that all humans will die, but whether this fact is a source of vitality or despair is a personal choice |
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| the intrapersonal world. an individual's self-awareness |
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| the meeting of two selves. seeing things as the other sees them and vice versa. an honest sharing of one's self with another person. for may, this is a necessary component of successful psychotherapy. the client must be understood as a total human being, not as a collection of test scores or repressed experiences or as an object that fits into some diagnostic category |
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| desire to form a union with or to feel at one with one's partner in love. through the sharing of two selves, both experiences new things and both expand their consciousness. with sex, the goal is satisfaction and termination; with THIS, the goal is to prolong the loving experience as long as possible. |
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| philosophy that studies the essence of human nature. the emphasis is on freedom, individuality, and phenomenological experience |
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| not the absence of negative conditions, but the potential to set future-oriented goals and then to act in accordance with them. this exists only as a potential and must be attained over time by increasing one's self-awareness. because this necessarily involves anxiety and responsibility, many people deny, minimize, or escape from this |
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| feeling we have when we realize we are not living up to our full potential |
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| capacity of humans to see themselves as objects to which things happen, and as subjects who act on their experiences and thereby give them meaning |
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| the fact that mental events are directed towards objects outside themselves. for example, perception always involves the perception of something. it is through THIS that a relationship between objective and subjective reality is formed |
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| true or authentic love involves a harmonious blending of sex, eros, philia, and agape |
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| world of human interactions |
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| results from not being able to deal adequately with normal anxiety |
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| if normal guilt is not recognized and dealt with constructively, it can overwhelm a person, causing him/her to block out the very experiences conducive to personal growth |
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| results from the revisions of one's value system and from the awareness of one's inevitable death. to grow as a person requires taking risks, which causes this |
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| feeling experienced when one recognizes the difference between what one is and what one could be. because we can always be more than we are, normal guilt is unavoidable |
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| the fact that as humans we are both objects of experience and the interpreters, transformers, and originators of experience |
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| may interpreted the conflict as a struggle between dependence and independence |
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| study of being. within existentialism, this analysis is directed at understanding the essence of humans in general and of individuals in particular |
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| study of conscious experience as it exists for the person without any attempt to reduce, divide, or compartmentalize it in any way |
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| experience of friendship or companionship with one's loved one even when sex and eros are not involved. simply liking to be with your loved one |
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| because we are free to choose our own existence, we are also entirely responsible for that existence. we can praise or blame no one but ourselves for whatever we become as people |
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| to be aware of one's existence as a being in the world who both has experiences and transforms them. to be conscious of the fact that one is both the object and subject of experience. |
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