著者

若山 和樹

出版者

国際基督教大学比較文化研究会 / ICU Society for the Study of Comparative Culture

雑誌

ICU比較文化 (ISSN:03895475)

巻号頁・発行日

no.46, pp.91-128, 2014-03

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This study focuses on the German-American Christian existential philosopherand theologian Paul Tillich and the American existential psychologist andpsychotherapist, Rollo May, who is a pupil of Tillich. The purpose is to describethe relationship between Tillich's ontology and the development of May's theoryof therapy, and to show one aspect of Tillich's influence in America.Chapter Ⅰ (Tillich and May's Question) illustrates that Tillich and Mayestablished the concept of existential anxiety and identified existential neurosis.May claimed Tillich's famous book, The Courage to Be was written as an answer toMay's first influenced book, The Meaning of Anxiety, as both dealt with the sameconcepts of anxiety and neurosis. May and Tillich distinguish between anxietyand fear, define anxiety as the state in which a being is aware of its possiblenonbeing, classify types of anxiety, and emphasize the existential anxiety thatis inherent in human finitude. They insist human beings use the existentialanxiety constructive for their personal growth, if they are able to face it head-on.However, avoiding existential anxiety can lead to a special illness that is calledexistential neurosis. This illness is not only an object of medical healing, but also"preiset help" that supplies an ontological understanding of human existence.In The Courage to Be, Tillich writes on the subject of courage in order to showa constructive method to overcoming existential anxiety. Tillich concept's ofcourage is united with his ontology, which focus on the idea of "God is beingitself."Chapter Ⅱ (Tillich's Answer) argues May inherited Tillich's theologicalontology. Tillich argues that existence is the state of estrangement, which meansbeings have been separated from their essence ever since the Creation, thereforethey suffer from anxiety. This results in a state of despair, but paradoxically, thisexperience also reveals the power of being-itself. Tillich calls this experience"absolute faith." The courage to be, which overcomes the radical threat of nonbeing,is rooted in this experience of the power of being-itself, in which existenceand essence are reunited. Tillich calls such being "The New Being," which createsitself for self-actualization, of the telos of Creation. May accepts Tillich's theories,and he claims the concept of "I-am experience," which applies Tillich's idea tothe way of dealing with actual existential neurosis.However, as such extreme situations are not often found, May needed tomodify Tillich's method more practically. Chapter Ⅲ (Beyond Tillich) shows theoutline of May's original theory of existential psychotherapy. After Tillich'sdeath, May developed his own theory by focusing on the concept of thedaimonic, which is the ambiguous power of being in an ordinary situation, atthe center of his existential psychotherapy's theory. May defines the daimonicas a natural function that can be either creative or destructive. If the daimonicis integrated into the personality, it results in creativity, which is the purpose ofMay's psychotherapy. May insists that recognizing the daimonic, or a pseudoinnocentattitude, results in a modern neurosis or violence. Such narcissismshould be broken down by inviting the daimonic upon oneself. Thus, the powerof the daimonic is used through "the courage to create" for self-actualization.