Existential Psychology

  This article is written based on Julian Young, “Death and Authenticity”, in Jeff Malpas and Robert C. Solomon, Death and Philosophy , Routledge, 1998, pp, 112-19 You can also read through the Persian format of the article Existential philosophers propose that individuals experience two distinct modes of existence: “ I-Self ” and “ Man-Self .” Essentially, civilized individuals often become separate from their true selves, continually denying their inner reality. This denial occurs through the adoption of external influences that mask internal truths. These external influences, referred to as "Man-Self," encompass factors like culture, upbringing, education, politics, and religion. From childhood to the end of life, these influences are internalized by individuals and then manifest in various social contexts. ...

  Around the globe, there is a significant occurrence of both natural and human-induced calamities. Natural disasters, ranging from earthquakes to floods and droughts, result in the loss of roughly 40,000 to 50,000 lives annually ( Ritchie & Rosado, 2022 ). Furthermore, throughout history, significant pandemics have claimed numerous lives. Pandemics have plagued humanity for ages, repeatedly subjecting populations to outbreaks of diseases such as Influenza, Cholera, Bubonic plague, HIV, and Ebola, leading to widespread fatalities and devastation ( Dattani, 2023 ). Conversely, over 37 million individuals have lost their lives in armed conflicts since 1800. This toll would be significantly greater if it accounted for civilian casualties directly caused by warfare, the escalated rates of hunger and disease resulting from these conflicts, and the fatalities in smaller-scale conflicts not officially categorized as wars. Moreov...

  In recent years, existential researchers have introduced an increasing number of concepts. Among these is "existential distress." Although this concept dates back to 2000 and has been discussed by existential psychologists, it was not until 2017 that Lo et al. began developing a scale to measure it. Existential distress is broadly used to describe various psychological disorders. More specifically, it occurs when an individual finds the meaning and value of life unclear, leading to feelings of loneliness and low self-worth. Accordingly, the scale developed by Lo et al. (2017) consists of three subscales—feeling lonely, worthless, and finding life meaningless—which collectively measure existential distress through 10 items. This scale has been widely applied to individuals with terminal illnesses, and the concept of "existential distress" has been frequently di...

  From the outset of existential philosophy, a fundamental question has been posed: What does existence mean? Philosophers such as Kierkegaard, Schopenhauer, Nietzsche, and Heidegger have provided substantial answers to this query. However, another question arises: how can these profound ideas and extensive writings about existence be organized into a coherent format? In the realm of existential psychology, two interrelated yet distinct categories have been identified. May (1958) , drawing on earlier philosophical texts, outlined the first category in a relatively comprehensive manner. This category, known as being-in-the-world , encompasses three primary dimensions—being-with-self, being-with-others, and being-with-environment - though it has four aspects, which will be detailed later - According to this framework, our existence is shaped by our relationships with th...