Summary of Rollo May's Man's Search for Himself

By IRB Media

Please note: This is a companion version & not the original book. Book Preview:

#1 The major inner problems of people in our day are unhappiness, inability to decide about marriage or vocations, general despair and meaninglessness in their lives, and so on. But what underlies these symptoms.

#2 The chief problem of people in the middle decade of the twentieth century is emptiness. They do not know what they want, and they do not have any clear idea of what they feel. They feel empty because they do not have any definite experience of their own desires or wants.

#3 The problem with not knowing what you want is that it is often due to the fact that we live in a time of uncertainty, with a future of insecurity facing us no matter how we look at it.

#4 The modern man is also hollow, and this can be seen in the patients that come to psychologists and psychoanalysts for help. The typical American character was previously inner-directed, but is now outer-directed. He seeks to fit in rather than stand out.

• Language: English
• Publisher: IRB Media
• Release date: May 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9798822507081

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Insights on Rollo May's Mans Search for Himself

Contents

Insights from Chapter 1

Insights from Chapter 2

Insights from Chapter 3

Insights from Chapter 1

#1

The major inner problems of people in our day are unhappiness, inability to decide about marriage or vocations, general despair and meaninglessness in their lives, and so on. But what underlies these symptoms.

#2

The chief problem of people in the middle decade of the twentieth century is emptiness. They do not know what they want, and they do not have any clear idea of what they feel. They feel empty because they do not have any definite experience of their own desires or wants.

#3

The problem with not knowing what you want is that it is often due to the fact that we live in a time of uncertainty, with a future of insecurity facing us no matter how we look at it.

#4

The modern man is also hollow, and this can be seen in the patients that come to psychologists and psychoanalysts for help. The typical American character was previously inner-directed, but is now outer-directed. He seeks to fit in rather than stand out.

#5

The gyroscope man, who was completely mechanical and lacked any ability to change, was a prime example of how certain attitudes in a society tend to crystallize rigidly just before they collapse. The society has not yet found something to take the place of his rigid rules.

#6

The emptiness and boredom experienced by the middle classes has become much more serious in recent years. This can be seen in the case of the bus driver in the Bronx, who got tired of driving the same route every day, and drove away one day.

#7

The goal of being empty, of having nothing to hold on to, is something that many people seek. The problem is that this state of emptiness can lead to dangerous behaviors. The human being cannot live in a state of emptiness for long.

#8

The experience of emptiness is the result of people feeling that they are powerless to do anything about their lives or the world around them. It comes from the feeling that people are empty, and