fei75766_ch11_345-376.indd 352  02/06/20 12:38 PM
Part III    Humanistic/Existential Theories352
societies. Alienation istheillness ofourtime, anditmanifests itself inthree areas: 
(1)separation from nature, (2)lackofmeaningful interpersonal relations, and
(3)alienation from one’s authentic self.Thus, people experience three simulta -
neous modes intheir being-in-the-world: Umwelt ,ortheenvironment around us;
Mitwelt, orourrelations withother people; andEigenwelt, orourrelationship with
ourself.
Umwelt istheworld ofobjects andthings andwould existevenifpeople had
noawareness. Itistheworld ofnature andnatural lawandincludes biological drives, 
suchashunger andsleep, andsuchnatural phenomena asbirth anddeath. Wecannot 
escape Umwelt; wemust learn toliveintheworld around usandtoadjust tochanges 
within thisworld. Freud’s theory, withitsemphasis onbiology andinstincts, deals 
mostly withUmwelt.
ButwedonotliveonlyinUmwelt. Wealsoliveintheworld withpeople, that
is,Mitwelt. Wemust relate topeople aspeople, notasthings. Ifwetreatpeople as
objects, thenweareliving solely inUmwelt. Thedifference between Umwelt and
Mitwelt canbeseenbycontrasting sexwithlove.Ifaperson usesanother asaninstru -
ment forsexual gratification, thenthatperson isliving inUmwelt, atleastinhisor
herrelationship tothatother person. However, lovedemands thatonemake acom-
mitment totheother person. Love means respect fortheother person’s being-in-the-
world, anunconditional acceptance ofthatperson. Notevery Mitwelt relationship, 
however, necessitates love.Theessential criterion isthattheDasein oftheother per-
sonisrespected. Thetheory ofRogers, withitsemphasis oninterpersonal relations, 
deals mostly withMitwelt.
Eigenwelt refers toone’s relationship withoneself. Itisaworld notusually 
explored bypersonality theorists. ToliveinEigenwelt means tobeaware ofoneself 
asahuman being andtograsp whoweareaswerelate totheworld ofthings andto
theworld ofpeople. What doesthissunset mean tome?How isthisother person a
partofmylife?What characteristics ofmine allow metolovethisperson? How do
Iperceive thisexperience?
Healthy people liveinUmwelt, Mitwelt, andEigenwelt simultaneously (see
Figure 11.1). They adapt tothenatural world, relate toothers ashumans, andhavea
keenawareness ofwhat allthese experiences mean tothem (May, 1958).
Nonbeing
Being-in-the-world necessitates anawareness ofselfasaliving, emerging being. This
awareness, inturn, leads tothedread ofnotbeing: thatis,nonbeing ornothingness. 
May(1958) wrote that
tograsp what itmeans toexist, oneneeds tograsp thefactthathemight notexist, 
thathetreads atevery moment onthesharp edgeofpossible annihilation andcan
never escape thefactthatdeath willarrive atsome unknown moment inthefuture. 
(pp.47–48)
Death isnottheonlyavenue ofnonbeing, butitisthemost obvious one.Life
becomes more vital, more meaningful when weconfront thepossibility ofourdeath. 
Nearly 40years before hisowndeath, May(1958) spoke ofdeath as“theonefactof
mylifewhich isnotrelative butabsolute, andmyawareness ofthisgives myexistence 
andwhat Idoeachhouranabsolute quality” (p.49).Final PDF to printer