Psy 307. Humanistic, Existential & Transpersonal Psychology
Spring 2002

STUDY GUIDE #2

Existential Psychology

3 weeks
15% of Letter Grade

Learning Objectives:

To understand the existentialists' approach to interpreting the human condition, including the key terms used by existential psychologists and philosophers
To understand the historical relationship between existential philosophy and existential psychology
To understand the historical role of Rollo May as the principal American interpreter of European existentialism in the humanistic (Third Force) movement
To understand the basic approach of existential psychotherapy

Readings:

Rollo May. The Discovery of Being (Part II & Chapters 9 & 12)
In Psy 307 Reader #1:
Jean-Paul Sartre. Existentialism
Jean-Paul Sartre. The Wall (short story)
Ernest Becker. The Psychoanalyst Kierkegaard
J. F. T. Bugental. Excerpt from The Search for Authenticity & Biographical Sketch
Also view the film My Dinner With André (Louis Malle)

Key Concepts:

Existentialism
Ontology
Thrownness
Existential Abandonment
"Existence Precedes Essence"

Unreflected Consciousness/
Reflected Consciousness
Good Faith/Bad Faith
Being-in-the-world
Dasein
Existential Freedom

Existential Guilt
Existential Anxiety
Spontaneity
Philistinism
The Healthy Person

Some useful question about constructionism and existentialism:

- If knowledge is a social construct, where does our "innate" knowledge, like when we are children, come from?
-If knowledge is all dependant on social context of the time then does absolute knowledge or truth exist?
-What does it mean to exist in an existence with no absolutes?
-In the context of learning, is it the communication of an experiment which is critical to it's truth or the results of the experiment itself?

--Nancy Hill and Kelly Vanderhoof

Writing Assignments:

Individual assignment:
What is the existential psychological predicament of contemporary humanity in a globalizing world? Cite readings and contemporary events using APA reference style.
Group assignment:
View the video My Dinner With André. Based on the video and your own existential perspective, what does it mean to be human in your own life today? Bring an outline for the group writing assignment to class as indicated in the Calendar.

Psy 307. Humanistic, Existential & Transpersonal Psychology Spring 2002