AN EXAMINATION OF ROLLO MAY’S THEORY OF MAN IN THE WORLD

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Man in the world is characterized by fear, anxiety, and despair, when faced with the unknown, the freedom to choose, the responsibility aligned with it, the fear of being and not being at the same time, and the kind of life the human-person should live in-spite of these fears has been the quest of philosophers and psychologists since the beginning of time. Rollo May tries to analyze, describe and solve the problem of anxiety and despair in man and he believes that for one to be able to live an authentic life, one must take courage and move forward to create. This work has done an examination of May’s theory of man in the world which is the analysis of anxiety and despair, and in conclusion maintains that man must be able to search for himself and have the courage to move forward in-spite of despair.       

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

 The search for meaning has been the quest of man since the beginning of time. Man strive to understand the meaning of world they are in. Rollo May as an existential psychologist and philosopher, tries to improve the life of his patients and make them understand the meaning of life through the use of existential psychotherapy, which is the use of personal life situations and experiences in the treatment of mental illness. It is based on a regular personal interaction to help a person overcome his or her problems. Thus it asks the following questions:

i. How could an authentic existence be attained?

ii.  How could man live in the society and in relation to people around him?

iii.  Is man really free to live the way he wants? These and many other questions puzzled man and in trying to solve or find answers to them, man plunges into fear, anxiety, alienation, and loneliness. These questions will form the focus of this work, which will basically be an examination of man in the world with reference to one particular philosopher and psychologist, Rollo May.