The Nature of the Human Being

The nature of the human being is characterized by the struggle between freedom and destiny. In his book titled Freedom and Destiny, Rollo May discusses the dialectical relationship between the two concepts. Basically, he argues that freedom and destiny are opposing concepts that need each other for either to exist. However, their opposition is what causes the fundamental dilemma that characterizes the human being: who are we and who are we supposed to be? This paper discusses the theories of three psychologists who have addressed this question. For purposes of coherence, the first under discussion is Erich Fromm who argues that human existence is characterized by fundamental contradictions that originate from man's attempt to overcome feelings of isolation. The second is Rollo May, discussed above. And the third is Karen Horney, who argues for the moral responsibility that may cause the development of neuroses during the search for one's destiny.

In his study titled The Anatomy of Human Destructiveness, Erich Fromm maintains that most thinkers since the Greek philosophers believed it to be self-evident that there existed something called "human nature," something that constituted the essence of man (1973, p. 219). He notes that there were various views about what precisely such human nature was, but he observes that there was general agreement that such an essence existed. That is, that there was something

Related Essays

Civilization and Human Nature .... in individuals who would otherwise remain free in a state of nature where the .... little free will or control over the self from a perspective of the human being. .... (1731 7 )

Spiritual Leaders on Human Rights .... parentage were removed from the human being, at which .... complete and detailed catalogue of human rights and .... References to God and nature were eliminated, making .... (721 3 )

Human Nature .... and behavior, constitute a transformation into another being. Marcel Mauss argues that the concept that the human race has formed of human nature is a function .... (1316 5 )

The Nature of Buddhism .... they could not possibly have come into being (Smith 172 .... order, dominating and imposing his will on nature. Buddhists see human life as interdependent with nature .... (2880 12 )

A Philosophy of Human Culture .... would be difficult to imagine a human being reading this .... nature which transcends even the rational nature of man .... Cassirer finds that the human enterprise is not .... (1589 6 )

ge. Whatever the given, however, man's creativity in defining his condition emerges when he confronts these limits. We cannot cancel our destiny and we cannot erase it or substitute something else in its place (May, 1981, p. 89). Rather, we must choose how we will respond to it; how we shall live out our talents which confront us. Destiny is a term that describes our condition prior to sociological and moral judgments; "[i]t is the design of the universe speaking through the design of one of us" (May, 1981, pp. 89-90). May quotes Ortega y Gasset's definition of our destiny as our "vital design" (1981, p. 93). He argues that this definition puts the accent on destiny as destination, or the significant direction or conflict of directions each one of us sense within himself. This is where May begins to approach Fromm's argument that the nature of human beings is characterized by conflict. Ortega states that "[o]ur will is free to realize or not to realize this vital design which we ultimately are, but we cannot . . . change it, abbreviate it, or substitute anything for it" (May, 1981, p. 93). "Life," continues Ortega, "means the inexorable necessity of realizing the design for an existence which each one of us is . . . Th

Category: Psychology - T