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Part III    Humanistic/Existential Theories274
criticized bothpsychoanalysis andbehaviorism fortheir limited views ofhumanity 
andtheir inadequate understanding ofthepsychologically healthy person. Maslow 
believed thathumans haveahigher nature thaneither psychoanalysis orbehavior -
ismwould suggest ,andhespent thelatter years ofhislifetrying todiscover the
nature ofpsychologically healthy individuals.
Biography of Abraham H. Maslow
Abraham Harold (Abe) Maslow had,perhaps, themost lonely andmiserable childhood 
ofanyperson discussed inthisbook. Born inManhattan, NewYork, onApril 1,1908, 
Maslow spent hisunhappy childhood inBrooklyn. Maslow wastheoldest ofseven chil-
drenborntoSamuel Maslow andRose Schilosky Maslow. Maslow’s childhood lifewas
filled withintense feelings ofshyness, inferiority, anddepression.
Maslow wasnotespecially close toeither parent s,buthetolerated hisoften-
absent father, aRussian-Jewish immigrant whomade aliving preparing barrels. 
Toward hismother, however, Maslow felthatred anddeep-seated animosity, notonly
during hischildhood, butuntilthedayshediedjustacouple ofyears before Maslow’s 
owndeath. Despite several years ofpsychoanalysis, henever overcame theintense 
hatred ofhismother andrefused toattend herfuneral, despite pleas from hissiblings, 
whodidnotshare hishateful feelings fortheirmother. Ayearbefore hisowndeath, 
Maslow (1979 )entered thisreflection inhisdiary:
What Ihadreacted against andtotally hated andrejected wasnotonlyher
physical appearance, butalsohervalues andworld view, herstinginess, hertotal
selfishness, herlackofloveforanyone elseintheworld, evenherownhusband 
andchildren ...herassumption thatanyone waswrong whodisagreed withher,
herlackofconcern forhergrandchildren, herlackoffriends, hersloppiness and
dirtiness, herlackoffamily feeling forherownparents andsiblings. ...I’vealways 
wondered where myUtopianism, ethical stress, humanism, stress onkindness, love,
friendship, andalltherestcame from. Iknew certainly ofthedirect consequences 
ofhaving nomother-love. Butthewhole thrust ofmylife-philosophy andallmy
research andtheorizing alsohasitsroots inahatred forandrevulsion against 
everything shestood for.(p.958)
Edward Hoffman (1988) reported astorythatvividly describes Rose Maslow’s cru-
elty.Oneday,young Maslow found twoabandoned kittens intheneighborhood. Moved 
withpity,hebrought thekittens home, putthem inthebasement, andfedthem milk
fromadish.When hismother sawthekittens, shebecame furious and,astheyoung boy
watched, shesmashed thekittens’ heads against thebasement walls untiltheyweredead.  
Maslow’s mother wasalsoaveryreligious woman whooften threatened young 
Maslow withpunishment from God. Asayoung boy,Maslow decided totesthismoth -
er’sthreats byintentionally misbehaving. When nodivine retribution befell him,herea-
soned thathismother’s warnings werenotscientifically sound. From suchexperiences, 
Maslow learned tohateandmistrust religion andtobecome acommitted atheist. 
Despite hisatheistic views, hefeltthesting ofanti-Semitism notonlyinchild -
hood butalsoduring hisadult years. Possibly asadefense against theanti-Semitic 
attitudes ofhisclassmates, heturned tobooks andscholarly pursuits. Heloved to
read, buttoreach thesafety ofthepublic library, hehadtoavoid theanti-Semitic Final PDF to printer