• “It is not things in themselves that trouble us, but our opinions of things.”
• “Change your thoughts and you change your world."
• “I do not react to some absolute reality, but to my perception of this reality. It is this perception which for me is reality.”

• Conscious experience is all that matters
• The past is only important if it affects your thoughts and feelings now
• Even if “reality” exists, it doesn’t matter
• Note how different from other approaches
– Trait
– Genetic
– Psychodynamic

• The study of the mind is different than any other science
• The mind is aware!
– The mind is attempting to understand the mind

• Existentialism
– The cs mind has a sense of “existence”
• Phenomenological
– The “phenomenon” of experience
• Humanistic
– This phenomenon is uniquely human

• Free will
• Awareness
• Meaning
• Responsibilities of free will
• The object of study are human beings

• Previous approaches
• CS experience is personality
• The UCS mind does not matter
• The past does not matter
• Only times these do matter is if you let them
– Gordon Liddy example

• What does it feel like to exist?
• Umwelt
– Senses you feel as a biological organism
• Mitwelt
– Feelings related to social experiences
• Eigenwelt
– Feelings when you think of your own existence

• What would you have been like if you. . .
• Were born to an extremely wealth family?
• Were born to an extremely poor family?
• Were born in North Dakota in 1952?
• Were born in England in 1500?

• The circumstances into which you happened to be born
• What time period do you think it is most difficult to find a sense of meaning?

• Modern times
• Why are you here?
• What should you be doing?
• Angst
– Existential anxiety

• “Lucky mud”
• Free choice – must not “blow” your chance to find “meaning”
– Not a “true” meaning, but a personal “meaning”

• Come to terms with your existence
– Life is shot
– You will die
– You are in control of your choices – find meaning
• Still not a “happy” existence
– Life is shot
– Your will die
– Meaning is only an illusion

• Avoid Angst
• Stop worrying about the problems of existence

• Problems
• 1) Living a lie
– Might as well just be the “unlucky mud”
• 2) Still will not be happy
• 3) Still making a choice
– Chosen not to chose is a choice
– “Man is condemned to freedom”

“. . . the most wonderful miracle in the world took place. .”

• Inner reality more important than objective reality
• Inner experiences
• Conscious experiences
– Experiences that can be verbalized or imagined
• Unconscious experiences
– Experiences that cannot be verbalized or imagined

• Innate motive toward fulfillment of our potentials
• Evidence
– Rat and human studies
– Evolution
• “Innate goodness”

• Infants perceive their experiences as reality

• Uninhibited by the evaluations of others
• All behavior directed toward satisfying need for
SA
• Organismic Valuing Process
– SA is the criterion used to make judgments of worth

• As we get older. . . .
• Start to experience a need for positive regard
– Satisfying the needs for others satisfies this need

True self

Social self
Created through contact with others
True self

Social self
Prevents us from getting into touch with our true self
True self

Social self
Leads to “conditions of worth”
True self

• Social self hinders movement toward SA
• Not behaving like true self causes anxiety
• Anxiety causes defense mechanisms

• Avoid conditions of worth
• Unconditional positive regard
• Congruence between true self and experiences

• Open to experience
• Characterized by existential living
• Trust their organisms
• Are creative
• Live rich lives