Rollo May
Also known as Rollo Reece May
American existential psychologist (1909 to 1994); wrote Love and Will.
At a glance
Main ideas
Anxiety, The daimonic, Love and sex …
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The Meaning of Anxiety, Man's Search for Himself, Love and Will …
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Viktor Frankl, Erich Fromm and Love and Will
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- May was a psychologist and a major proponent of existential psychotherapy, alongside Viktor Frankl.
- He was associated with humanistic psychology and greatly influenced by his friend Paul Tillich.
- His books explored anxiety, love, will, power and creativity.
- Love and Will (1969) became his most popular book.
Why it matters
- He brought existentialist thought into American psychotherapy and wrote widely read books on anxiety and love.
Key facts
- Born
- 21 Apr 1909, Ada, Ohio1
- Died
- 22 Oct 1994, of congestive heart failure, aged 85; his last years were spent in Tiburon1
- Education
- BA in English, Oberlin College; BD, Union Theological Seminary; PhD in clinical psychology, Teachers College, Columbia (1949)1
- Early career
- Taught at Anatolia College in Greece for three years; studied with Alfred Adler; ordained a minister1
- Founded
- Saybrook Graduate School and Research Center, San Francisco, as a founder and faculty member1
Main ideas
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Anxiety1
"The apprehension cued off by a threat to some value which the individual holds essential to his existence as a self."
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The daimonic1
A natural force in human beings, not part of the superego.
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Love and sex1
Love and sex can be in conflict and are different things.
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Power1
Power holds the potential for both human good and evil.
Books to start with
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Connections
Links
Sources
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