Rollo Reese May

1. Introduction

Rollo Reese May (1909–1994) is widely regarded as a founding figure of existential psychology in the United States. Working at the intersection of psychotherapy and philosophy, he sought to reinterpret psychological suffering in light of fundamental human conditions such as freedom, finitude, and the search for meaning. Rather than treating anxiety, guilt, or despair merely as symptoms to be removed, he framed them as responses to the dilemmas of being human in a modern, rapidly changing society.

May drew systematically on European existentialism and phenomenology—especially Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, and Martin Heidegger—as well as on psychoanalysis and the existential theology of Paul Tillich. Proponents describe him as a “translator” who made complex continental ideas practically usable for clinicians, students, and a wider educated public. His writings on love, will, and creativity circulated far beyond clinical psychology, influencing discussions in ethics, religious studies, and cultural criticism.

Although often associated with humanistic psychology, May maintained a critical distance from overly optimistic or adjustment-oriented versions of humanism. He emphasized conflict, ambivalence, and the ever-present possibility of nonbeing (death, emptiness, or meaninglessness) as inescapable aspects of psychological life. Supporters regard this as a distinctive attempt to balance a tragic view of existence with an affirmation of courage and creative possibility.

In contemporary scholarship, May is frequently cited as a pivotal figure in the development of existential-humanistic psychotherapy, in debates about the nature of authenticity, and in critiques of technological and bureaucratic culture. His work remains a central reference point for clinicians and theorists interested in integrating philosophical reflection with psychological practice.

2. Life and Historical Context

Early Life and Education

Born in Ada, Ohio, in 1909, May grew up in a Midwestern Protestant milieu that some biographers portray as emotionally constrained and conflict-ridden. After undergraduate study (often reported as at Oberlin College, though details are occasionally disputed), he enrolled at Union Theological Seminary in New York (1930–1933). There he encountered Paul Tillich and other religious thinkers grappling with European existentialism, an experience that gave him his basic conceptual vocabulary of anxiety, courage, and ultimate concern.

Illness, War, and Postwar Culture

In the late 1930s May traveled in Europe, where he was exposed to continental psychoanalysis and existential thought during a period marked by the rise of fascism and looming war. This setting, many commentators argue, sharpened his awareness of mass conformity, propaganda, and dehumanization.

From about 1940 to 1942 he was treated for tuberculosis in a sanatorium. This prolonged confrontation with illness, isolation, and mortality is frequently cited as biographical grounding for his later emphasis on finitude, anxiety, and authentic choice. During and after World War II, he completed clinical training, earning a PhD in psychology from Columbia University in 1949.

Placement in Intellectual and Social History

May’s most influential work emerged in the postwar United States, a period of rapid economic growth, suburbanization, and the consolidation of psychodynamic psychiatry. He wrote against the backdrop of:

Scholars often situate May within broader debates about modernization, secularization, and the psychological impact of mass society in the mid‑20th century.

3. Intellectual Development

Theological–Existential Beginnings

At Union Theological Seminary in the early 1930s, May moved away from conventional Protestant dogmatics toward existential theology. Under Paul Tillich’s influence, he encountered concepts such as existential anxiety, ultimate concern, and the courage to be. Proponents suggest this period established the enduring linkage, in his thought, between psychological experience and questions of meaning and value.

European Influences and Illness

Travel and study in Europe around 1938–1939 exposed May to continental existentialism and phenomenology, as well as to psychoanalytic practice. Interpreters argue that contacts—direct or indirect—with figures like Ludwig Binswanger and Medard Boss helped orient him toward a Daseinsanalytic view of the person as being‑in‑the‑world. His subsequent tuberculosis and sanatorium years are described by many commentators as an “existential laboratory,” where themes of death, isolation, and freedom assumed concrete personal urgency.

Clinical–Existential Synthesis

After the war, May completed his doctorate at Columbia and began clinical work. During the late 1940s–1960s he systematically integrated psychoanalytic insight (drives, conflict, unconscious processes) with existential categories (freedom, responsibility, guilt). Works such as The Meaning of Anxiety and the edited volume Existence mark this phase. Scholars often highlight his effort to reframe neurosis not only as intrapsychic conflict but as a distortion of one’s being‑in‑the‑world.

Mature Existential-Humanistic Phase

From the 1960s into the 1970s, May expanded his focus from clinical psychopathology to broader analyses of love, will, and creativity in works like Love and Will and The Courage to Create. He increasingly engaged in cultural criticism, addressing sexual liberalization, technological expansion, and the crisis of traditional values.

Late Cultural and Symbolic Concerns

In his later years (1980s–1990s), May turned more explicitly to myth, symbol, and narrative as indispensable for personal and cultural meaning. He reflected on the erosion of shared myths in modernity and emphasized the role of art and storytelling in sustaining human dignity. Some commentators see this as a shift toward a more overtly cultural–hermeneutic orientation within his existential framework.

4. Major Works

Overview of Principal Texts

The Meaning of Anxiety (1950, rev. 1977)

In this extensively revised doctoral work, May surveys psychological and philosophical theories of anxiety, engaging Freud, Kierkegaard, and later clinical research. He distinguishes normal (or ontological) anxiety, which signals threatened values and growth, from neurotic anxiety, which involves avoidance and distortion. Supporters regard this as his foundational theoretical achievement.

Man’s Search for Himself (1953)

Written for a broad audience, this book explores problems of conformity, emptiness, and identity in postwar America. It introduces May’s ideas about freedom as self‑shaping and criticizes mass culture’s impact on authenticity. It is often cited as an accessible entry point into his thought.

Existence (1961)

Co‑edited with Ernest Angel and Henri Ellenberger, Existence anthologizes key clinical and theoretical writings in existential psychiatry and psychology, including work by Binswanger and others. Commentators credit it with helping to institutionalize existential approaches in English‑speaking psychotherapy.

Love and Will (1969)

This ambitious volume analyzes different forms of love (care, sex, eros, agape) and defines will as the capacity to organize oneself toward chosen goals. May argues that modern society fragments the traditional unity of love and will. The book received wide attention, both admiring and critical, for its cultural sweep.

The Courage to Create (1975) and The Discovery of Being (1983)

The Courage to Create portrays creativity as an existential act of courage in the face of anxiety and nonbeing. The Discovery of Being offers a more systematic summary of May’s existential psychology, clarifying concepts such as being‑in‑the‑world and destiny, and is often used as a capstone statement of his mature position.

5. Core Ideas and Themes

Anxiety, Freedom, and Nonbeing

A central theme in May’s work is anxiety as an inescapable consequence of human freedom and awareness of nonbeing (death, loss, meaninglessness). Following and popularizing Kierkegaard—“Anxiety is the dizziness of freedom”—May argues that anxiety emerges when cherished values or self‑structures are threatened by new possibilities.

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“Freedom is man’s capacity to take a hand in his own development.”

— Rollo May, Man’s Search for Himself

He distinguishes “normal” or ontological anxiety, proportionate to real existential threats and potentially growth‑enhancing, from neurotic anxiety, which is disproportionate, repressed, or rigidly avoided. Proponents hold that this distinction allows therapists to affirm anxiety’s constructive role while still treating pathological patterns.

Love and Will

In Love and Will, May develops paired notions of love (movement toward union with others and the world) and will (capacity to organize oneself toward goals). He proposes several modes of love—care, friendship, erotic love, self‑love, and agape—and contends that modern culture often separates passionate eros from committed will, producing both apathy and compulsive sexuality. Supporters see this as a nuanced account of agency; critics sometimes view his typology as culturally bound.

Authenticity, Responsibility, and Being‑in‑the‑World

Drawing from Heidegger and Binswanger, May conceives the person as being‑in‑the‑world, embedded in physical, social, and spiritual contexts. Authenticity involves lucid awareness of one’s freedom and limits, acceptance of responsibility for choices, and resistance to uncritical conformity. He links inauthentic living to feelings of emptiness and meaninglessness common in modern societies.

Creativity, Myth, and Meaning

May interprets creativity broadly as the act of bringing something new into being—whether in art, relationships, or social life.

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“Creativity is the process of bringing something new into being.”

— Rollo May, The Courage to Create

He argues that creativity and myth‑making are crucial responses to the fragmentation of contemporary culture, enabling individuals and communities to construct shared meanings and confront nonbeing with courage rather than resignation or denial.

6. Methodology and Therapeutic Approach

Existential-Phenomenological Orientation

May’s therapeutic method is often described as existential‑phenomenological. He emphasizes careful description of the client’s lived experience rather than immediate explanation via diagnostic labels or theoretical constructs. The focus is on how the person exists in their world—their relationships, values, and sense of possibility—rather than solely on symptoms.

Integration with Psychoanalysis and Humanism

While deeply influenced by psychoanalysis, May modifies it by rejecting reduction of experience to instinctual drives and by questioning technical neutrality. He retains attention to conflict, defenses, and unconscious meanings, but frames them within questions of freedom, responsibility, and choice. Compared with Carl Rogers’s client‑centered approach, May places more emphasis on confrontation with anxiety, guilt, and the tragic aspects of life, though he shares humanistic concerns for respect and empathy.

The Therapeutic Relationship

Central to May’s method is an authentic, I–Thou therapeutic relationship (a notion indebted to Martin Buber). The therapist is not a detached expert but a fellow human being who recognizes their own existential conditions. Proponents maintain that this stance enhances the client’s capacity for authenticity and responsibility. Critics, however, question how such relational ideals translate into specific, testable techniques.

Working with Anxiety and Choice

In practice, May encourages clients to explore:

• Situations that evoke anxiety and what threatened values they reveal
• Avoided choices and unacknowledged freedoms
• Conflicts between desire for security and longing for growth

Rather than eliminating anxiety, therapy aims to transform neurotic anxiety into normal anxiety that can be faced constructively. May also stresses the importance of helping clients clarify their values and commitments, seeing this as inseparable from psychological health.

Methodological Status

Some commentators classify May’s approach as a clinical philosophy of existence more than a standardized technique, highlighting its relative lack of manualized procedures or empirical protocols. Advocates argue that its strength lies precisely in its openness and responsiveness to individual situations, while empirical critics view this as a barrier to systematic evaluation.

7. Key Philosophical Contributions

Reframing Anxiety and Freedom

May’s most cited philosophical contribution lies in his reconceptualization of anxiety and freedom. Drawing on Kierkegaard, he argues that anxiety is not merely pathological but an ontological signal of threatened values and possibilities of being. Freedom, in his account, is not simple absence of constraint but the capacity to participate in shaping oneself, inevitably linked with responsibility and guilt. Philosophers of existential ethics have used these ideas to explore how choice is experienced in concrete life situations.

The Self as Being‑in‑the‑World

Adapting Heidegger’s Dasein, May develops a psychological account of the self as being‑in‑the‑world. He emphasizes that humans are always already embedded in physical (Umwelt), interpersonal (Mitwelt), and inner or spiritual (Eigenwelt) dimensions. This framework has been influential in discussions of embodiment, relationality, and contextualism in philosophy of mind and moral psychology.

Love, Will, and Agency

May’s analysis of love and will contributes a phenomenological account of agency. He defines will as:

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“the capacity to organize oneself so that movement in a certain direction or toward a certain goal may take place.”

— Rollo May, Love and Will

This has been taken up in debates about volition, motivation, and commitment, offering an alternative to both purely rationalist and purely drive‑based models. His typology of love forms has also informed ethical and theological reflections on care, eros, and altruism.

Creativity, Nonbeing, and Value

In The Courage to Create, May connects creativity with the confrontation with nonbeing. Philosophers of art and value have drawn on his claim that creative acts instantiate new forms and meanings, thereby reshaping the horizon of possibilities. This situates aesthetics within existential ethics: creativity becomes a mode of answering the threat of emptiness and absurdity.

Ethics of Psychotherapy

Finally, May articulates an implicit ethics of psychotherapy, insisting that therapists cannot be morally neutral technicians because clinical work inevitably touches on questions of meaning, values, and authenticity. This argument has influenced later discussions about the moral responsibilities of mental‑health professionals, informed consent, and the role of worldviews in therapy.

8. Impact on Psychology and Related Fields

Existential and Humanistic Psychology

May is widely regarded as a principal architect of existential psychology in North America. Through Existence and later writings, he helped institutionalize existential perspectives within psychotherapy training and practice. Alongside Carl Rogers and Abraham Maslow, he is often grouped within humanistic psychology, though he maintained a more tragic and conflict‑oriented outlook. His ideas contributed to the development of existential‑humanistic psychotherapy and influenced training institutes and graduate programs.

Clinical Practice and Counseling

Clinically, May’s emphasis on meaning, choice, and responsibility informed approaches to anxiety disorders, depression, and identity crises. Practitioners in counseling psychology, pastoral counseling, and social work have drawn on his work when addressing issues such as career choice, midlife transitions, and spiritual struggle. Some cognitive‑behavioral and integrative therapists have selectively incorporated his insights on normal versus neurotic anxiety and on values clarification.

Influence Beyond Psychology

May’s work has had notable effects in adjacent fields:

Education, Creativity, and Organizational Life

Educators and organizational theorists have used May’s ideas about creativity, courage, and autonomy to discuss innovation, leadership, and resistance to bureaucratic dehumanization. His analysis of conformity and authenticity is cited in critiques of standardized schooling and corporate cultures.

Contemporary Resonance

In recent decades, May’s influence is evident in positive psychology’s concern with meaning and in acceptance‑ and mindfulness‑based therapies, which, like May, treat anxiety and painful affect as inevitable aspects of human existence rather than mere pathology. However, his impact is more thematic than directly programmatic, as later movements rarely adopt his framework wholesale.

9. Reception, Criticisms, and Debates

Contemporary Reception

During his lifetime, May was a prominent public intellectual. His books reached wide audiences and were frequently reviewed in both academic and popular venues. Supporters praised his ability to humanize psychotherapy, articulate the moral dimensions of clinical work, and bridge psychology with philosophy and theology. In the 1960s–1970s, he was often cited as a leading voice of humanistic and existential psychology.

Theoretical and Empirical Critiques

Critics in mainstream academic psychology have raised several concerns:

• Lack of operationalization and empirical testability: May’s key constructs—authenticity, nonbeing, courage—are often considered difficult to define rigorously or measure.
• Limited outcome research: His therapeutic approach has not been subjected to the kinds of randomized controlled trials that support some other modalities.
• Conceptual vagueness: Some scholars argue that his writings, while evocative, sometimes blur distinctions between description, evaluation, and prescription.

From psychoanalytic and behaviorist perspectives, commentators have questioned whether May underestimates the role of unconscious processes or learning histories, emphasizing instead conscious choice and meaning.

Cultural and Gender Perspectives

Feminist and cultural critics have challenged aspects of May’s analyses of love, sexuality, and will as reflecting mid‑20th‑century Western male assumptions. They argue that his typologies of love and his emphasis on individual choice may insufficiently address power relations, structural oppression, and cross‑cultural diversity. Others, however, find resources in his critique of dehumanization and objectification that can be adapted to such concerns.

Debates within Humanistic and Existential Traditions

Within humanistic psychology, some have viewed May as overly pessimistic compared with Maslow and Rogers, criticizing his focus on anxiety and nonbeing. Conversely, some existential philosophers and therapists have considered his work insufficiently radical, suggesting that he softens or popularizes existentialism for an American audience. Disputes also arise over his integration of theology, with some welcoming it as enriching and others warning against conflation of clinical and religious domains.

Despite these debates, May’s writings continue to be referenced in discussions about the philosophical foundations of psychotherapy, indicating a sustained—if contested—intellectual presence.

10. Legacy and Historical Significance

Role in the Development of Existential-Humanistic Psychotherapy

Historians of psychology frequently credit May with giving existential psychology a coherent voice in the English‑speaking world. His integration of European existential philosophy with American clinical practice helped establish a distinct existential‑humanistic tradition that remains represented in professional associations, training programs, and specialized clinics.

Bridge between Disciplines

May’s work is often cited as paradigmatic of cross‑disciplinary scholarship, linking clinical psychology, philosophy, theology, and cultural criticism. Later thinkers who explore the intersection of psychotherapy and ethics, such as Irvin Yalom or Emmy van Deurzen, are sometimes portrayed as extending themes that May helped to popularize. His insistence that therapy inevitably involves value and meaning continues to shape debates about the moral status of psychological practice.

Cultural and Educational Influence

Beyond professional psychology, May’s books have been widely read in liberal arts education, seminaries, and creative writing and art programs. Concepts like the “courage to create” and the critique of conformity have become part of broader cultural vocabulary, appearing in discussions of leadership, education reform, and artistic practice. Some commentators see him as an important voice in mid‑20th‑century American reflections on individualism and mass society.

Ongoing Relevance and Reinterpretation

In contemporary contexts marked by technological acceleration, social fragmentation, and renewed interest in meaning‑centered therapies, May’s themes—ontological anxiety, authenticity, creativity, and myth—are frequently revisited. Scholars have begun to reread his work through lenses such as narrative psychology, relational theories, and intercultural dialogue, assessing its resources and limitations for more diverse societies.

While opinions differ on the scope of his theoretical originality, there is broad agreement that Rollo May occupies a significant place in the history of psychology as a figure who persistently foregrounded the existential dimensions of human life, influencing how clinicians, scholars, and lay readers understand anxiety, freedom, and the quest for meaningful existence.