Principles of Existential Theory
- It aims at developing a comprehensive concept of man and understanding of man in his total existential reality.
- Its focus is on consciousness, feelings, moods and experiences. What can be seen or experienced is real.
- Its chief method is phenomenological method.
- It does not believe in cause and effect relationships in human existence. Two events may have the same existential meaning but this does not signify that event A caused event B or vice-versa.
- Man is free and he alone is responsible for its existence.
- Maturation and understanding are operative principles in the analysis of behaviour.
- Its frequent themes are being in the world, modes of existence, freedom, responsibility, individual's scale of values and meaning of life, suffering, anxiety, death, etc.
Basic Concepts of the Theory
These are discussed as follows:Structure of Existence (Being in the world)
The structure of human existence is based on the concept of being in the world in which the individual's whole existence is and has to be can appear and become present and be present. Man and the world are not related nor do they interact with each other. The world in which the human beings have their existence comprise of physical environment, psychological environment and the person himself.Being beyond the world (Human Possibilities)
Human beings are in the world have a world and long to get beyond the world. By being beyond the world means actualizing and relating our possibilities to what we encounter. The human beings are free to realize the possibilities of their existence.Ground of Existence
The human beings find themselves in the world that is their ground constitutes their destiny. This ground places definite limits on what a person may become.World design
This indicates the overall pattern of mode of being in the world. A person's world design determines how he will react in specific situations and the types of traits and symptoms they will develop. The world design may be open or closed, disclosed or concealed, expanded or constricted.Modes of being in the world
There are many different modes of being in the world. Each mode is a way in which person understands, interprets and expresses itself. A person may have many modes of existence. Existentialists try to understand the totality of man's existence of himself in all his modes of existence. There are some inherent characteristics in every human existence. The inherent characteristics are called Existentials such as spatiality of human existence. The inherent characteristics are called Existentials such as spatiality of existence, temporarily of existence, babyhood, human existence in a shared world, mood.Dynamics of Existence
Since the existential theory rejects the concept of causality, dualism of mind and body and the separation of the person from his environment, the concept of dynamics is the usual one. An individual is neither influenced by the environment nor by the needs, instincts or drives. He has the freedom to choose and he alone is responsible for his own existence. What ever he does it is his choice. He himself determines what he will be and what he will do. If he is to choose wisely, he has to be aware of the possibilities of his existence. Some openness is necessary for the possibilities to disclose themselves. There is always the possibility of changing one's existence of disclosing and unfolding a whole new world. But can never transcend guilt, a fundamental characteristic of existence. Death is the absolute nothing-ness by which non-being can invade being. Moods determine the openness of an individual at a given moment. They are responsible for the disclosed meanings and motivations of the encountered things.Development of Existence
The individual's whole existence is a historical event with different modes of existence instead of stages. The dwelling in the world always means dwelling in the past, present and the future simultaneously.The most important existential developmental concept is that of becoming something new, of transcending itself. To become completely human is to fulfill all the possibilities of existence. Becoming implies direction and continuity but direction can change and continuity be broken. Becoming of a person and becoming of world are always related. This is because a person is in the world. He discloses the possibilities of his existence through the world and the world in turn is disclosed by the person who is in it. The existential theory was the first view point to concern itself with death and dying.
