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Part III    Humanistic/Existential Theories372
these terms. Thisimprecise terminology hascontributed tothelackofresearch on
May’s ideas.
Thefinalcriterion ofauseful theory isparsimony, andonthisstandard, May’s 
psychology receives amoderate rating. Hiswritings attimes werecumbersome and
awkward, buttohiscredit, hedealt withcomplex issues anddidnotattempt toover-
simplify human personality.
 Concept of Humanity
Like Erik Erikson (see Chapter 7), May offered a new way of looking at 
things. His view of humanity is both broader and deeper than the views of 
most other personality theorists. He saw people as complex beings, capable 
of both tremendous good and immense evil.
According to May, people have become estranged from the natural 
world, from other people, and most of all, from themselves. As people 
become more alienated from other people and from themselves, they sur -
render portions of their consciousness. They become less aware of them -
selves as a subject, that is, the person who is aware of the experiencing 
self. As the subjective self becomes obscured, people lose some of their 
capacity to make choices. This progression, however, is not inevitable. May 
believed that people, within the confines of their destiny, have the ability to 
make free choices. Each choice pushes back the boundaries of determinism 
and permits new choices. People generally have much more potential for 
freedom than they realize. However, free choice does not come without 
anxiety. Choice demands the courage to confront one’s destiny, to look 
within and to recognize the evil as well as the good.
Choice also implies action. Without action, choice is merely a wish, an 
idle desire. With action comes responsibility. Freedom and responsibility are 
always commensurable. A person cannot have more freedom than respon -
sibility, nor can one be shackled with more responsibility than freedom. 
Healthy individuals welcome both freedom and responsibility, but they real -
ize that choice is often painful, anxiety-provoking, and difficult.
May believed that many people have surrendered some of their ability 
to choose, but that capitulation itself, he insisted, is a choice. Ultimately, 
each of us is responsible for the choices we make, and those choices define 
each of us as a unique human being. May, therefore, must be rated high on 
the dimension of free choice.
Is May’s theory optimistic  or pessimistic?  Although he sometimes 
painted a rather gloomy picture of humanity, May was not pessimistic. He 
saw the present age as merely a plateau in humanity’s quest for new symbols 
and new myths that will engender the species with renewed spirit.
Although May recognized the potential impact of childhood experiences 
on adult personality, he clearly favored teleology  over causality. Each of us Final PDF to printer