Carl Rogers Essay Research Paper The French
Carl Rogers Essay, Research Paper
The Gallic existential philosophy motion during the early and mid 20th century influenced many countries outside of the philosophical universe. Among those effected was originating humanistic psychological science. Carl Rogers played a chief function in this new concentration. Rogers psychological parts consisted chiefly of his pattern of client-centered therapy and his thought of the ego and self-actualization. Both of these theories have strong existential philosopher connexions. Rollo May s The Origins and Significance of the Existential Movement in Psychology besides presents interesting relationships between Rogers and outstanding existential philosophers. Rogers, while non an existential philosopher philosopher, incorporated existential philosopher subjects and thoughts into his parts to the humanistic psychological science motion.
To understand Carl Rogers thoughts, it is of import to first briefly analyze his life history. Rogers was born in 1902 in Chicago. His household life was that of a rigorous, spiritual family that held the household unit to the extreme importance. Rogers made few friends turning up and in college did non roll much from his spiritual foundations. Originally be aftering on a life as a curate, Rogers did non turn to psychological surveies until he started working with abused kids at the Rochestor Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children. Here Rogers formed the footing of many his thoughts sing client-centered therapy and the ego ( Thorne 6 ) . Rogers would go on analyzing these thoughts throughout his calling.
In analyzing Rogers topographic point in existentialist history, it is interesting to observe how Rogers himself viewed it. Rogers considered himself an existential philosopher by nature. In an interview with Richard Evans, Rogers commented on a talk that he one time gave, titled: How to be an Existentialist without truly seeking ( 69 ) . He believed that alternatively of seeking to believe like an existential philosopher, he discovered many chief existential philosophy thoughts through his research with patients and their pursuit for self-actualization. In regard to American versus European existential philosophy, Rogers felt that he related more to the positivism of the American motion, but still connected with Europeans like Soren Kierkegard and Martin Buber ( Evans, 69 ) .
Rogers thoughts on existential philosophy are obvious in the work that he did and the parts he made to the humanistic psychological science motion. As one of the precursors in this motion, Rogers contributed many thoughts and theories. One of the most influential was client-centered therapy, which is really one of the oldest signifiers of humanistic therapies. In client-centered therapy the healer listens to the client, the word client is used in topographic point of patient, in order to derive an exact and perceptive apprehension of the client s experiences. From this apprehension, the healer helps turn the attending of the client on to the experience of the minute. One of the chief subjects in existential philosophy is the construct of a minute as many existential philosophers experience minutes where they are acutely self-conscious. William James Varieties on Religious Experience, a aggregation of elaborate histories of spiritual minutes, shows how the existential philosopher experiences distressingly informative minutes and frequently is at a loss for how to get by with the penetration that remains after the minute has passed. In client-centered therapy, the healer would acknowledge the client has acquired this anxiousness and would assist steer the client to an apprehension of it. Rogers felt that during client-centered therapy, it is indispensable for the healer to be echt at all times, and to offer unconditioned positive respect. The construct of genuineness underlies all subjects relevant to existentialism. Existentialists feel that being echt to oneself is of the extreme importance. Jean Paul Sarte s construct of good versus bad religion symbolizes this. He explained: when 1 does non take the duty to take what one desires, or when one lives his life simply moving out the function of what one is supposed as, so one is in bad religion. Therefore, one s deficiency of genuineness causes one to be in bad religion. Rogers values genuineness so greatly that he extends its importance by stating that even the healer must be echt in order for the client to hold insight into himself. Client-centered therapy relies on the ability of the echt healer, through hearing, to help the client to self-acceptance.
Rogers construct of the ego besides contains existentialist subjects. Rogers defines the ego as including all of the single s perceptual experiences of his being, of his experience, and of the manner in which those perceptual experiences are related to other pe
rceptions and objects in his environment and the whole exterior universe ( Evans 16 ) . The existentialist positions are obvious in this definition of the ego. All existentialists focus on the importance of the ego bing and being cognizant of this being, or in relation to Rogers definition, the perceptual experience of the ego. Rogers besides contended that adult male is invariably seeking to realize himself. Self-actualization includes adult male acknowledging the different, continually altering parts of himself and seeking to associate them to one another. When the being focuses non on realizing the ego, but alternatively on the inactive facets of the ego, so maladjustment occurs ( Evans 16 ) . Not unlike Rogers thought of the deficiency of genuineness, his thought of maladjustment is besides comparable to Sarte s construct of bad religion. The common illustration of the server, who acts merely as server and fails to see himself in any other facets, describes a adult male who is both in maladjustment and in bad religion. Rogers thoughts of the ego and self-actualization contain existentialist subjects.
In Rollo May s The Origins and Significance of the Existential Movement in Psychology connexions between Rogers work and outstanding existential philosophers present themselves. In one case, May states, The experiential analysis motion is a protest against the inclination to see the patient in signifiers tailored to our ain prepossessions or to do him over into the image of our ain preferences ( 8 ) . Rogers client-centered therapy straight relates to this statement. In his signifier of therapy, the healer s chief function is listening to the client and directing the client to happen his ain solutions for his anxiousness. This function of the healer removes the inclination for the healer to model the client into the healer s ideal or preference. May goes on to depict existential philosophy as an attitude of a invariably altering adult male and therefore a adult male who everlastingly exists in a possible crisis. This thought besides correlates to Rogers. His construct of the ego is that of a combination of all facets of adult male that constantly alteration in nature. The self-actualized adult male does non brood on one facet of being but considers them all. The same crisis has possible to happen when adult male stops self-actualization and preoccupies himself with fixed fortunes of his being. In his debut, May quotes the German existential philosopher Nietzche in stating: Follow non me, but you ( 30 ) . The function of the healer in Rogers client-centered therapy follows this advice by simply steering the client to happen his ain alternatively of giving him direct replies. Another of Nietzche s thoughts, the critical demand for adult male to populate to his ain potency, relates to Rogers. Harmonizing to Rogers all work forces desire to and strive to keep and heighten themselves. Among all the similarities between May s thoughts and illustrations to Rogers, exist a few contrasting constructs. For illustration, May states: technique emphasized by itself in the long tally lickings even technique ( 10 ) . Rogers client-centered therapy, while an alone psychological procedure, still remains a technique that Rogers believed would assist clients by non rendering a adult male whose self-actualization has been stumped by the usage of a typical psychological system. With a few exclusions, May give penetration into the relationship between existential philosophy and Rogers psychological thoughts.
Rogers thoughts and parts to the humanistic psychological motion contain many existentialist thoughts. Client-centered therapy is a procedure that relies on the healer to steer to client to understanding his minutes by being echt and unconditionally positive. Both the construct of a minute and the importance of being echt reflect experiential subjects. Rogers definition of the ego and self-actualization besides contain experiential thoughts. In May s article comparings are presented that relate Rogers and psychological motions to existential philosophy and specific existential philosophers. Rogers contributed much to the humanist psychologists and besides to clients, or people, seeking for self-actualization. A major portion of these parts contain thoughts and subjects straight related to the doctrine of existential philosophy
Bibliography
Evans, Richard I. Carl Rogers the Man and His Ideas. New York: E.P. Dunton, 1975.
May, Rollo. The Origins of the Existential Movement in Psychology. from
R. May, E. Angle, and H.F. Ellenberg, eds. , Being: A New Dimension in Psychiatry and Psychology. New York: Simon and Schuster
Thorne, Brian. Carl Rogers. London: Sage Publications Ltd, 1992.
Wolman, Benjamin B. , erectile dysfunction. Handbook of General Psychology. Englewood Cliffs:
Prentice-Hall, Inc. 1973.
