+
Chapter 12
Experience, Existence, the
Meaning of Life: Humanistic and
Positive Psychology
,+
Humanism
An area of philosophy that
emphasizes the personal
worth of the individual and
the importance of human
values
“The third force”
◦ Emphasizes the creative,
spontaneous, and active
nature of human beings
◦ Third after psychoanalysis
and behaviorism
,+
Humanism
• Focus on “higher” end of human
experience
• eg. creativity, human potential
• Introspective
• Values unique person
(idiographic)
• Non-deterministic: advocates
free-will
, + Phenomenology:
Awareness Is Everything
◼ At the center of humanity
◼ Phenomenology is psychologically more important
than the world itself
◼ one’s conscious experience of the world; everything
a person hears, feels, and thinks
◼ The central insight (of humanistic psychology):
according to some, awareness is all that matters;
reality exists, but it has to be perceived to matter
◼ Basis of free will: the realization that only one’s
present experience matters; if the past is gone, the
future is not here yet, so we can CHOOSE what to
3 think, feel, and do
Chapter 12
Experience, Existence, the
Meaning of Life: Humanistic and
Positive Psychology
,+
Humanism
An area of philosophy that
emphasizes the personal
worth of the individual and
the importance of human
values
“The third force”
◦ Emphasizes the creative,
spontaneous, and active
nature of human beings
◦ Third after psychoanalysis
and behaviorism
,+
Humanism
• Focus on “higher” end of human
experience
• eg. creativity, human potential
• Introspective
• Values unique person
(idiographic)
• Non-deterministic: advocates
free-will
, + Phenomenology:
Awareness Is Everything
◼ At the center of humanity
◼ Phenomenology is psychologically more important
than the world itself
◼ one’s conscious experience of the world; everything
a person hears, feels, and thinks
◼ The central insight (of humanistic psychology):
according to some, awareness is all that matters;
reality exists, but it has to be perceived to matter
◼ Basis of free will: the realization that only one’s
present experience matters; if the past is gone, the
future is not here yet, so we can CHOOSE what to
3 think, feel, and do
