Self-Actualisers of Maslow

3 › 1 › 10

Self-actualising People

My studies of "self-actualizing people" i.e., fully evolved and developed people, make it clear that human beings at their best are far more admirable (godlike, heroic, great, divine, awe-inspiring, lovable, etc.) than ever before conceived, in their own proper nature. [Rvl ch 5]

Taste on that definition: "fully evolved and developed people". As a definition it is not smart, but poor and loose. It would be better to say "much evolved persons" instead - yet "much" is still a relative thing. "Much - compared to what?" that is the question. "Evolved - in what directions? Is it for good or bad or something else in between?" Jaina philosophy teaches the soul has "infinite potentiality" [Wo 100].
It is also shown in the ancient Buddhist discourse called Last Days of Buddha, that even Buddha could have stayed on and done more than he did. But nobody asked him to keep on living indefinitely (that feat), and hence he decided to leave.
These mentions suggest that Maslow could have defined the persons he studied, less pretentiously and awkwardly because of the term "fully" - is it fully gay too? But there is good in his study, many a genfundenes Fressen - tidbit.

Abraham Maslow

The American psychologist and philosopher Abraham Maslow (1908-70) is best known for his self-actualization theory. What Maslow calls integration of the self should be the main goal of psychotherapy, he argues, and "The word Existentialism . . . had better be dropped. The trouble is that I have no good alternative label to offer [Rvl, Preface]."
Maslow was a main contributor to humanistic psychology, sometimes called the "third force", with its then new ways of perceiving and thinking. To Maslow, humanistic psychology integrates Goldstein's Gestalt psychology and Freud in a scientific spirit. [Zto 7-9, passim] In his main works he thinks that humans have basic bodily need, safety, love, esteem, and, on top, self-actualisation and believe that truly healthy people are self-actualisers, among other things because they work on or excel in integrating various parts in their personality, or self. Maslow

It will be helpful here to talk about a pilot investigation . . . of the people I have called non-peakers. In my first investigations . . . I used this word because I thought some people had peak experiences and others did not. But as I gathered information, and as I became more skillful in asking questions, I found that a higher and higher percentage of my subjects began to report peak-experiences . . . I finally began to use the word "non-peaker" to describe, not the person who is unable to have peak-experiences, but rather the person who is afraid of them, who suppresses them, who denies them, who turns away from them, or who "forgets" them. [Rvl ch 3]

Accordlingly, his dichotomy of "peakers" and "non-peakers" is a root problem that needs not be repressed. The object of Maslow's study appears to be less of an either-or thing than he first thought, admits Maslow, you can see. Take care; awkward definitions tend to breed awkward goings. They may ensnare some.
Maslow tried to explore outstanding persons and thought he recognises some common features in most of them. He describes the features well in his works. Many of his more profound understandings may be good, although a final touch is missing.
"And what is that final touch?" you may ask. It may be sanitising the awkward concepts and reevaluate his theories from bottom, well adjusted to more data. For not all of Maslow's theorising has been conformed by simple research. That should be known and acknowledged as well. But Maslow speculates well as he draws on other sources and his own observations and studies.
There are complements to many savoury points and chapters in Abraham Maslow's book Motivation and Personality; some are in his Toward a Psychology of Being, his second main work. Also, summaries of and comments on various findings and ideas by Maslow abound world-wide.

Existential and humanistic psychologists would probably consider a person sick or abnormal in an existential way if he were not concerned with these "religious" questions. [Rvl ch 2]

Even here it is not necessary to agree with Maslow. He really refers to existential probings, and "religious" is hardly a big thing if understood as "ceremonial, massing-crank, or cryingly ritual-occupied", whereas "spiritual" can be a beneficial if it indicates mind-finding and inner development that is constructive. And yet, have the terms much to offer if you drastically lack selfhood? If you lack substantial self-confidence, self-assertiveness and self-care? If you are yourself, fine. Then you may develop, because you are not a fake. Otherwise, many good points may not serve you, and most of your efforts may stupidly lack the needed core ingredient, your own assertiveness as an "I am".
Instead of being taken in by glib words, focus on being yourself and gyrate to your advantage. To develop yourself, be yourself first and assert yourself a lot. Compare the ancient burning bush message of "I am what I am; I become what I become." The ideal answer may not be "Burnt and extinct."
Others who are not able to be themselves, be genuine, as a basis of all they accomplish, may seek vicarious self-aggrandising, vicarious self-confidence as members of groups, including churches and may become devious characters too through steps and stages, including neuroticism.
Once again, learn there can be many and divergent definitions of key words, and that they should be well defined in the case of serious treatment. The central meanings of many terms can vary. So you can see it may be a teaching error to slur along without telling just what is meant by such as "religious", after telling something like "There is a dichotomy between peakers and non-peakers - no, they are on some sliding scale and need to be differently defined: There are those who say they have had happy moments on the one hand, and on the other hand some who suppress that information, even to themselves."
The latter are called non-peakers, but might just as well be called feeble flaggers. If they were understood as that, according to Maslow's later conclusions, studies of such men and women might take other turns than they have done, and Maslow-grounded personality tests of like that of Shostrom might be more apt. It remains to see.
In the end the foregoing illustrates that collected data needs interpretations, and interpretations have their frameworks. Some may seen more solid that others, but may still be wrong and askew. That is illustrated in the realm of physics around 1900. The framework of physics seemed satisfactory and mature then, with just a few snags to it. How wrong the establishment in physics was! How wrong many of their basic throught were. How they erred when they thought they were profound! How obsolete and irrevocably faulty many of their cherished views! And so on. [Thd 150 ff] But there is more:

Those who are materialistic or mechanistic tend to regard their peak- and transcendent experiences as a kind of insanity, says Maslow, and also that extremely other-directed people scarcely know what is going on inside themselves. [Rvl ch 3]

Maslow says "The private religious experience is shared by all the great world religions. Both men and women have peak-experiences, and all kinds of constitutional types have peak-experiences, he asserts further. Also, transcendent experiences seem to occur more frequently in college people who have rejected their inherited religion. [Rvl ch 3, ch 4, emphasis added]
"Private religious experience" looks more like "spiritual experience in oneself, the "I"" That is more like it. Hopefully, these initial points will be of service for starters. Many points are expanded on on two more Maslow pages here. -Tormod Kinnes

On Top of Robert Frager

Robert Frager is behind the posthumous, third and enlarged edition of Maslow's Motivation and Personality. These points are extracted from Frager's preface there. -TK

Psychological health is best supported by an environment that freely allows each individual a wide range of choices. [xiv]

With destructiveness, as for any behavior, we must consider three factors: the individual's character structure, cultural pressures, and the immediate situation. [xiii]

In a book chapter called "Self-actualizing People: A Study of Psychological Health," Maslow offers detailed descriptions of self-actualisers, their common qualities and attributes. These include: accurate perception, spontaneity, detachment, independence, peak experience, sense of humour, and creativeness. [xiv]

In another chapter, "Creativity in Self-actualizing People," Maslow compares the creativity of artists, poets, and others in "creative professions" with self-actualizing creativeness, which springs more directly from the personality. This second kind of creativity manifests as a tendency to do anything originally and creatively. [xiv]

Scientists are people with fears, hopes, and dreams. Maslow points out that science is not the only way to discover truth: add the approaches of the poets, philosophers, dreamers, and others. The healthy, happy, well-rounded person is likely to be a better, more creative scientist. [xiv]

In yet another chapter (17) Maslow stresses the importance of first attending to a new experience, seeing it clearly and in detail, rather than immediately categorizing new experiences. For Maslow, stereotyping is one example of blind categorizing; habits are another example. In dire cases new problems are either unrecognized or handled with inappropriate techniques, old solutions that do not fit. [xv]
Creative self-actualizing people tend to see the world with clear, fresh eyes and to be more spontaneous and expressive than most. The original insight and inspiration that form the basis of great art, primary self-actualizing creativeness is a fundamental aspect of our basic humanness. [xiv]

Literature
Ebu: Encyclopaedia Britannica. Encyclopaedia Britannica 2007 Ultimate Reference Suite DVD. London: Encyclopaedia Britannica, 2007.
Npp: Wilson, Colin. New Pathways in Psychology: Maslow and the Post-Freudian Revolution. London: Gollancs, 1972.
Pusb: Maslow, Abraham. Motivation and Personality. 3rd ed. New York, HarperCollins, 1987.
Rvl: Maslow, Abraham. Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences. Columbus: Ohio State University, 1964.
Thd: Zukav, Gary. The Dancing Wu Li Masters: An Overview of the New Physics. London: Rider, 1979.
Wo: Chatterjee, Satischandra, and Dhirendramohan Datta. An Introduction to Indian Philosophy. 7th ed. Calcutta: University of Calcutta, 1968.
Zto: Maslow, Abraham. På vej mod en eksistens-psykologi. København: Nyt Nordisk Forlag, 1970.
Zun: Maslow, Abraham. Toward a Psychology of Being. New York: Van Nostrand Reinhold, 1968.

   USER'S GUIDE to abbreviations, the site's large bibliography, letter codes, dictionaries, site design and navigation, tips for searching the site and page referrals. [LINK]
   DISCLAIMER: To help us out: [LINK]
   © 2006–2007, T. Kinnes. All rights reserved. [E-MAIL]