Glossary of Psychological & Existential Terms
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Absurd: The conflict between human tendencies to seek inherent meaning in life and the silent, indifferent universe.
Angst: A deep, existential anxiety or dread arising from the freedom and responsibility of making choices.
Alienation: The feeling of being isolated from or out of sync with the world, oneself, or others.
Authenticity: Living in accordance with one’s true self, values, and beliefs rather than conforming to external expectations.
Bad Faith: A concept where individuals deceive themselves to avoid confronting uncomfortable truths about their freedom and responsibility.
Being-for-Others: Sartre’s term for the aspect of self that is shaped by the perception of others.
Being-in-Itself: Sartre’s concept referring to the essence of objects, which simply exist without consciousness or potentiality.
Being-towards-Death: Heidegger’s term for living with the awareness of one’s mortality, which gives life urgency and meaning.
Being-in-the-World: Heidegger’s concept of the way humans exist in relation to the world, emphasizing our embeddedness in it.
Boredom: The existential feeling of emptiness or lack of meaning when confronted with the freedom to choose.
Care (Sorge): Heidegger’s term for the fundamental way of being, which involves concern for our own existence.
Consciousness: Awareness of oneself and the world, central to existential thought as it relates to freedom and responsibility.
Courage to Be: Rollo May’s idea of confronting existential anxiety by affirming oneself despite the uncertainties of life.
Death Anxiety: The fear and awareness of death, which can motivate a more meaningful existence.
Despair: The feeling of hopelessness arising from the inability to achieve or maintain one's desired state of being.
Determinism: The belief that all events, including human actions, are determined by causes external to the will.
Dread: Similar to angst, a profound fear of the unknown or the freedom to make significant choices.
Ego: The self as experienced by the individual, often considered in relation to the world and others.
Empowerment: Gaining strength and confidence in controlling one's life and claiming one's rights.
Encounter: The meeting of two beings, each revealing aspects of their own existence to the other.
Engagement: A deep involvement or commitment to something.
Epistemic Freedom: The freedom related to the search for truth and understanding in a world without inherent meaning.
Essence: The intrinsic nature or indispensable quality of something.
Eternal Return: Nietzsche’s concept of living as if each moment would recur infinitely, emphasizes the weight of each choice.
Existential Crisis: A moment when an individual questions the very foundations of their life, purpose, and meaning.
Existential Guilt: The feeling of guilt from not living up to one's potential or failing to take responsibility for one's freedom.
Existentialism: A philosophical movement that emphasizes individual freedom, choice, and responsibility in a meaningless world.
Facticity: The aspects of existence that are given and unchangeable, such as birth, death, and the past.
Faith: In existential terms, often related to a leap of faith or commitment to a belief or course of action in the face of uncertainty.
Freedom: The ability to choose and act, central to existential thought, but coupled with the burden of responsibility.
Ground of Being: Tillich’s term for the fundamental reality or essence from which all beings arise.
Heideggerian: Relating to the philosophy of Martin Heidegger, focusing on being, time, and human existence.
Hope: The existential optimism or belief in possibilities despite uncertainty and adversity.
Human Condition: The characteristics, events, and situations that compose the essentials of human existence.
I Am Experience: Rollo May's concept of the moment of profound self-awareness and recognition of one's own existence.
Immanence: The existential focus on the here and now, the reality of life as lived in the present moment.
Inauthenticity: Living in a way that is not true to oneself, often conforming to external pressures or roles.
Intentionality: The quality of consciousness that it is always about or directed towards something.
Interconnectedness: The recognition that all beings are linked and that our existence is relational.
Isolation: The feeling of being alone, either physically or existentially, often tied to existential anxiety.
Meaning: The significance or purpose that individuals ascribe to their lives, central to existential concerns.
Midlife Crisis: A period of deep questioning and reassessment of one’s life typically occurring in middle age.
Mortality: The awareness of death, a central theme in existentialism as it gives urgency and meaning to life.
Nausea: Sartre’s term for the existential realization of the absurdity and contingency of existence.
Nothingness: The absence of essence, meaning, or value, often encountered in existential thought.
Ontological Anxiety: Anxiety about the nature of being, existence, and the potential meaninglessness of life.
Ontological Security: A sense of stability and continuity in one’s self-identity and place in the world.
Other: In existential thought, the recognition of other people as separate beings with their own consciousness and freedom.
Overman (Übermensch): Nietzsche’s concept of a person who has transcended conventional morality to create their own values.
Phenomenology: The philosophical study of structures of consciousness as experienced from the first-person perspective.
Play: In existentialism, play represents a creative and spontaneous engagement with life, often linked to authenticity.
Possibility: The potential for change, new experiences, or different choices, a key focus in existential thought.
Presence: The state of being fully engaged in the current moment, aware of oneself and one’s surroundings.
Radical Freedom: The belief that humans are free to choose their actions without any predetermined essence.
Rebellion: The act of resisting or defying authority, often seen as an assertion of individuality in existential thought.
Responsibility: The obligation to take ownership of one’s choices and their consequences.
Sartrean: This relates to the existential philosophy of Jean-Paul Sartre, who is particularly focused on freedom and bad faith.
Self-Deception: The process of lying to oneself to avoid confronting uncomfortable truths, often leading to inauthenticity.
Shadow: Jung’s term for the unconscious part of the personality that the conscious ego does not identify with, often linked to existential themes of the unconscious.
Sisyphus: Camus’ metaphor for the human condition, representing the endless struggle for meaning in a meaningless world.
Solitude: The state of being alone, which can lead to self-reflection and a deeper understanding of oneself.
Soul: The essential self, often seen as the seat of consciousness, identity, and the inner experience.
Subjectivity: The emphasis on individual perspective and experience as central to understanding reality.
Suicide: In existentialism, sometimes discussed as the ultimate expression of despair and the rejection of life’s absurdity.
Temporality: The existential concept of time as it relates to human existence, particularly the future-oriented nature of life.
Thrownness: Heidegger’s term for the arbitrary conditions into which we are born, without choice or control.
Transcendence: The act of going beyond one’s current state or limitations, often linked to the search for meaning.
Truth: The pursuit of understanding and honesty about one’s existence, central to existential philosophy.
Unconscious: The part of the mind that is not within the individual's conscious awareness, significant in existential and psychodynamic thought.
Unfinishedness: The idea that human beings are always in a process of becoming, never complete or finished.
Unresolved Tension: The ongoing conflict between different aspects of existence, such as freedom and responsibility.
Values: The principles or standards of behavior that guide an individual’s choices and actions.
Void: The sense of emptiness or lack of meaning.
Vulnerability: The openness to being affected by others and the world usually involving your own self-expression.
Wholeness: The integration of all aspects of the self, including the conscious and unconscious, the good and the shadow.
Will to Power: Nietzsche’s concept of a fundamental drive to assert and enhance one’s existence and influence.
Wisdom: The ability to make sound judgments and decisions based on knowledge, experience, and deep understanding.
Wonder: A sense of awe and curiosity that inspires philosophical inquiry and exploration of the unknown.
Worldview: The framework of beliefs and values through which an individual interprets the world and their place in it.
Yearning: A deep, often existential longing for meaning, connection, or transcendence.
Zarathustra: The protagonist in Nietzsche’s work "Thus Spoke Zarathustra," representing the ideal of overcoming traditional values to create new ones.
Zeigeist: The spirit or mood of a particular period in history as shown by the ideas and beliefs of the time.
Zone of Proximal Development: Vygotsky’s concept of the difference between what a learner can do without help and what they can achieve with guidance, relevant to existential learning.
Absorption: The state of being deeply engrossed or involved in something, often leading to a loss of self-awareness.
Abyss: A metaphor for the profound depth of existential despair or the unknown.
Action: The realization of one’s will through deliberate and purposeful effort.
Aestheticism: The belief that beauty and art hold intrinsic value and can provide meaning in life.
Alienation from Nature: The disconnection experienced by modern individuals from the natural world.
Ambiguity: The state of being open to multiple interpretations, a central concept in existential uncertainty.
Amor Fati: Nietzsche’s concept of loving one’s fate, embracing all aspects of life, including suffering.
Apophatic Theology: A form of theological discourse that emphasizes what cannot be said about the divine.
Atemporal: Existing or considered outside the bounds of time; timeless.
Autonomy: The capacity to make an informed, uncoerced decision; essential for freedom.
Bad Conscience: A feeling of guilt or moral unease due to failing to live authentically.
Becoming: The process of continual change, growth, and transformation in one's existence.
Being-Towards-Others: The way individuals define themselves through relationships with others.
Boundary Situations: Jaspers’ term for experiences that confront individuals with the limits of human existence.
Calling: A sense of purpose or mission in life that one feels compelled to pursue.
Commitment: The act of dedicating oneself to a course of action or principle, despite uncertainties.
Compassion: The empathetic concern for the suffering of others, often motivating action.
Compulsion: A psychological drive that urges individuals to repeat certain actions, often despite negative consequences.
Confession: The act of admitting one's faults or beliefs, often seen as a step toward authenticity.
Conscious Uncertainty: Awareness of the limitations of one’s knowledge and the acceptance of ambiguity.
Contingency: The idea that events are not necessarily determined but are dependent on other conditions.
Courage to Create: Rollo May's concept that creativity requires the courage to bring something new into existence despite fear.
Crisis: A turning point in an individual’s life that forces a reevaluation of values and beliefs.
Critical Reflection: The practice of analyzing and questioning one’s beliefs and assumptions.
Death of God: Nietzsche’s declaration that traditional religious beliefs no longer provide meaning in a secular world.
Decadence: A decline in moral and cultural standards, often associated with a sense of meaninglessness.
Deconstruction: Derrida’s method of analyzing texts to reveal inherent contradictions and assumptions.
Defiance: The act of resisting authority or societal expectations in pursuit of personal authenticity.
Desublimation: The release of repressed desires, often leading to a more authentic expression of self.
Detachment: The process of withdrawing from emotional involvement or material concerns to gain a broader perspective.
Dialectical Thinking: A method of reasoning that involves the contradiction and resolution of opposing ideas.
Disclosure: The act of revealing previously hidden aspects of oneself or reality.
Disillusionment: The loss of naive or false beliefs, often leading to existential questioning or confusion.
Disintegration: The breakdown of the self or societal structures, often leading to existential crisis.
Disposition: One’s inherent qualities of mind and character, influencing how they engage with the world.
Distantiation: Creating psychological distance from an experience to gain perspective.
Dualism: The division of something conceptually into two opposed or contrasted aspects.
Dynamic Equilibrium: A state of balance achieved through continuous change and adaptation.
Ecstasy: A state of being beyond oneself, often associated with intense joy or spiritual experience.
Echoing: The process of reflecting on past experiences to find new meaning.
Edification: The process of building up moral, intellectual, or spiritual knowledge.
Egoism: The ethical belief that self-interest is the foundation of moral behavior.
Elan Vital: Bergson’s concept of a vital force or creative impulse inherent in all living beings.
Emergent Self: The idea that the self is not fixed but constantly evolving through experiences.
Empathy: The ability to understand and share the feelings of another, crucial for connection.
Empiricism: The theory that all knowledge is derived from sense-experience, relevant to skepticism of abstract principles.
Endurance: The capacity to withstand hardship or adversity, often seen as a virtue in thought.
Epiphany: A moment of sudden and profound insight into the nature of existence.
Eros: The life instinct, associated with the drive for survival, procreation, and creativity.
Ethical Existentialism: A branch of existentialism that focuses on the moral implications of individual freedom and choice.
Eudaimonia: Aristotle’s concept of flourishing, living in accordance with virtue and reason.
Event: A significant occurrence that disrupts the flow of life, often leading to reflection.
Exile: The state of being barred from one’s native country, used metaphorically for existential alienation.
Exposure: The vulnerability one experiences when confronting the truth about oneself or the world.
Facticity: The condition or quality of being a fact; the limitations and givens of existence.
Fate: The development of events beyond a person’s control, often contrasted with free will in existential thought.
Finitude: The finite nature of human existence, emphasizing mortality and the limits of human capability.
Flux: The constant change and flow of life, central to existential views of impermanence.
Fragmentation: The state of being broken or divided, often used to describe the disintegration of identity.
Free Association: A psychoanalytic technique used to explore the unconscious, often leading to insights into ones self.
Freedom of Indifference: The ability to make choices without being swayed by external influences.
Gestalt: A psychological term referring to a unified whole, significant in discussions of perception and reality.
Gratitude: The quality of being thankful, recognized as a component of well-being.
Groundedness: The state of being well-balanced and firmly established, often sought in mindfulness practices.
Hedonism: The pursuit of pleasure as the highest good, often critiqued by existentialists for its superficiality.
Heritage: The cultural, social, and familial background that shapes one’s identity and perspective.
Heroic Individualism: The idea that one should strive to be a hero in their own life, despite societal pressures.
Homelessness: Metaphorically, the existential feeling of not belonging anywhere, often linked to alienation.
Hope Against Hope: The idea of maintaining hope even in the face of despair and overwhelming odds.
Humanism: An outlook that emphasizes human values and the importance of individual dignity and autonomy.
Illusion: A false perception or belief, often challenged in self-reflection as a barrier to authenticity.
Incarnation: The embodiment of a deity or spirit in flesh, used to discuss the embodiment of ideals.
Individuation: Jung’s process of personal development that involves integrating different aspects of the self.
Inferiority Complex: A psychological term describing feelings of inadequacy, often explored in existential therapy.
Integration: The process of combining different aspects of the self into a coherent whole.
Intuition: The ability to understand something instinctively, without the need for conscious reasoning.
Irony: The use of words to convey a meaning that is opposite of their literal meaning.
Liminality: The threshold between two states or stages, often used to describe existential transitions.
Lucidity: Clear and easy to understand thinking, often sought after in self-reflection.
Mania: A state of abnormally elevated arousal, affect, and energy level, significant in studies of mental health.
Martyrdom: The death or suffering of a martyr, used metaphorically for enduring suffering for a greater cause.
Masochism: The tendency to derive pleasure from one’s own pain or humiliation, explored in discussions of suffering.
Maturity: The state of being fully developed, often seen as the goal of growth.
Melancholy: A deep, persistent sadness, often linked to reflections on loss and impermanence.
Mimesis: The imitation of life in art and literature, relevant to explorations of authenticity.
Myth: A traditional story that serves to explain a practice, belief, or natural phenomenon, often analyzed for its symbolic meaning.
Negation: The denial or contradiction of something, often used in existential thought to describe the rejection of false beliefs.
Neurosis: A mental disorder marked by chronic distress but not associated with delusions or hallucinations, often explored in existential therapy.
Nomadism: A lifestyle of constant movement, often used metaphorically to describe existential restlessness.
Non-being: The absence or negation of being, often associated with death or nothingness.
Omnipotence: The state of having unlimited power, often critiqued in existential thought for its unattainability.
Ontology: The branch of metaphysics dealing with the nature of being, central to existential philosophy.
Openness: The willingness to accept new ideas and experiences, seen as crucial for growth.
Overcoming: The process of conquering obstacles or challenges, central to ideas of self-actualization.
Panic: A sudden overwhelming fear, often discussed in existential psychology as a response to existential threats.