What Is Rollo May Theory Of Existentialism

Rollo May’s theory, existentialism is a philosophical theory or an approach that stresses the existence of a single person as a “free and responsible agent” figuring out their own growth through acts of the will. May’s theory and thoughts are best understood by reading about existentialism overall. He is very knowledgeable in his field but, he is “more interested in reconciling existential psychology with other approaches, especially Freud’s” (Boeree). May wanted to confront real problems and find a solution for them. Such as the anxieties one faces and how there is meaning to it and how it connects to one’s daily living. He wants his therapist to be able to see and understand the clients anxieties and to guide them into learning that they …show more content…
He “defines the self as the "I" as experienced by an individual. May's self-approach is existential: he conceives the self as a dynamic entity, alive with potentiality” (“Rollo May and Existentialism”). He believed that so many people were too afraid to face their destiny head on and ended up fleeing from it and when doing so they gave up much of themselves and their freedom. Whenever they brush off their freedom, May said, they will likely also neglect responsibility. Once this happens the person is lost and they do not know who they are and they often develop a sense of indifference and thinking they are an outsider. “The purpose of existential therapy is to confront the anxieties of daily living and create meaning from and connectedness to lived experiences” …show more content…
When one faces anxiety this allows for new experiences to occur and this is greatly help one with future problems or experiences with chaos. May greatly encouraged one to use will when looking within themselves and when facing certain circumstances. He said that there are internal experiences to everyone’s personality that could seem to be dangerous but, they can be both positive and negative; this is known as daimonic. There are natural capacities that could consume and take over the whole person and this results in obsession. When looking at daimonic, will is a key factor in response to one’s world. Will is what is behind the choices needed to be made when confronted with freedom. Freedom does not have the support from the will but, it gets its primary support from one’s destiny. With every choice one makes their destiny will keep confronting the individual’s willingness to do something else or to encounter