Existential Psychology: Meaning and Responsibility

Existential psychology stands as a profound response to the question of what it means to be human.

Abstract

"Existential psychology explores the fundamental questions of human existence—freedom, responsibility, authenticity, and meaning. Emerging from existential philosophy, it emphasizes the lived experience of being and the individual’s confrontation with the inevitabilities of existence, such as death, isolation, and choice. This essay examines how existential psychology conceptualizes meaning and responsibility as central to psychological well-being and personal growth. Drawing from key figures including Viktor Frankl, Rollo May, Irvin Yalom, and contemporary existential-humanistic theorists, the discussion situates existential psychology within a framework that balances philosophical insight and therapeutic practice. The essay also highlights the ethical and therapeutic implications of meaning-making and responsibility for modern psychology, especially amid growing existential anxieties and crises of purpose in the 21st century.

1. Introduction

Existential psychology, rooted in existential philosophy, concerns itself with the human condition in all its ambiguity and depth. Rather than focusing on pathology or mechanistic explanations of behavior, it examines the person’s confrontation with existence—freedom, choice, death, isolation, and meaning (Yalom, 1980). The existential perspective views human beings not as passive products of heredity or environment, but as active participants in the construction of their lives (May, 1983). Within this orientation, two intertwined dimensions—meaning and responsibility—emerge as central to understanding psychological growth and suffering.

Meaning provides a sense of direction and coherence, while responsibility reflects the individual’s capacity and obligation to shape life authentically within freedom’s constraints. These ideas have deep philosophical roots in thinkers such as Søren Kierkegaard, Friedrich Nietzsche, Martin Heidegger, and Jean-Paul Sartre, whose insights profoundly influenced the psychological formulations of Viktor Frankl, Rollo May, and others. The following sections explore how existential psychology defines and applies meaning and responsibility, tracing their philosophical origins, therapeutic implications, and relevance to contemporary psychological practice.

2. Philosophical Foundations of Existential Psychology

2.1 Kierkegaard and the Self in Becoming

Søren Kierkegaard (1849/1980) introduced a framework in which the self is not a static entity but a dynamic process of becoming. He proposed that despair arises from an inability to align the finite and infinite aspects of the self. For Kierkegaard, authentic existence entails the courage to make choices in the face of uncertainty and to take responsibility for those choices. This early conception of existential responsibility would later underpin existential psychotherapy’s emphasis on agency and authenticity.

2.2 Nietzsche and the Creation of Meaning

Friedrich Nietzsche (1886/1967) rejected external sources of value, declaring the “death of God” as a metaphor for the collapse of absolute moral foundations. In response, he called for the creation of individual meaning through the “will to power” and self-overcoming. Nietzsche’s view of life-affirmation through creativity and personal responsibility profoundly shaped existential psychology’s emphasis on self-determination and the construction of meaning amid a world lacking inherent purpose (Schneider & Krug, 2017).

 2.3 Heidegger, Sartre, and the Ontological Grounding of Responsibility

Martin Heidegger’s (1927/1962) Being and Time reoriented existential inquiry toward the analysis of “being-in-the-world.” For Heidegger, human existence (Dasein) is characterized by care, finitude, and the capacity for authenticity. Authenticity arises when one confronts the inevitability of death and chooses to live with awareness of one’s possibilities. Jean-Paul Sartre (1943/1956) extended this view, asserting that “existence precedes essence”—humans are free to define themselves through acts of choice. Freedom, however, is inseparable from responsibility; to be free is to be condemned to choose, and thus, to bear the weight of one’s own existence.

These philosophical foundations provide existential psychology with a framework for understanding meaning and responsibility not as external moral duties but as existential conditions of being.

3. The Emergence of Existential Psychology

Existential psychology arose in the mid-20th century as a counterpoint to the reductionist tendencies of behaviorism and the determinism of psychoanalysis. Pioneers such as Viktor Frankl, Rollo May, and Irvin Yalom sought to integrate existential philosophy into psychotherapy, emphasizing freedom, meaning, and authenticity as essential to psychological health (Schneider et al., 2015).

3.1 Viktor Frankl: Meaning as the Core of Existence

Viktor Frankl’s logotherapy represents the most direct psychological articulation of existential meaning. Drawing from his experiences in Nazi concentration camps, Frankl (1959/2006) argued that the will to meaning is the primary motivational force in human life. Even under extreme suffering, individuals retain the freedom to choose their attitude toward circumstances. This freedom confers responsibility—the ability to respond creatively to life’s demands. Frankl proposed three pathways to meaning: through creative work, experiential values (love and beauty), and the attitude taken toward unavoidable suffering.

Empirical studies have since supported Frankl’s ideas. For example, Schnell (2009) found that individuals who identify multiple sources of meaning report greater well-being and resilience. Meaning thus functions both as a psychological resource and an ethical orientation toward life.

3.2 Rollo May: Freedom and Responsibility in Psychotherapy

Rollo May (1953, 1983) introduced existential concepts into American psychology, framing anxiety, freedom, and responsibility as central therapeutic concerns. He viewed anxiety not as pathology but as a normal response to the awareness of freedom and finitude. Responsibility, in May’s terms, is the courage to confront existential anxiety and act authentically despite uncertainty. His notion of “the courage to create” (May, 1975) embodies the dynamic interplay between meaning-making and responsibility—human beings define themselves through creative engagement with the world.

3.3 Irvin Yalom: Existential Givens and Therapeutic Encounter

Irvin Yalom (1980, 2008) systematized existential psychotherapy around four “ultimate concerns”: death, freedom, isolation, and meaninglessness. Yalom’s therapeutic approach emphasizes the here-and-now encounter as a microcosm of existential engagement. Through authentic dialogue, clients confront their avoidance of freedom and the anxiety of choice, ultimately assuming responsibility for shaping their lives. Yalom’s integration of existential ideas into group and individual therapy made existential psychology accessible within mainstream clinical settings.

4. Meaning in Existential Psychology 

4.1 The Experience of Meaning

Meaning, in existential psychology, is not a fixed entity but an ongoing process of interpretation and engagement. As Frankl (1969) noted, meaning is discovered rather than invented—it emerges in dialogue between person and world. Yet, from a Heideggerian standpoint, meaning arises from being-in-the-world, from the individual’s relational embeddedness rather than abstract cognition (Boss, 1979).

Recent psychological research aligns with these existential insights. Steger (2017) conceptualized meaning as comprising three dimensions: coherence (understanding life as comprehensible), purpose (having life goals), and significance (feeling that life matters). These dimensions parallel the existential process of situating oneself within a meaningful horizon through choice and commitment.

4.2 The Loss of Meaning in Modernity

Existential psychologists often diagnose modernity as a context of meaning crisis. As societal structures, religious certainties, and collective narratives erode, individuals confront existential emptiness—a condition Frankl termed the “existential vacuum” (Frankl, 1959/2006). The prevalence of depression, anxiety, and alienation can thus be interpreted not merely as clinical disorders but as symptoms of a deeper spiritual disorientation (Van Deurzen, 2012).

Contemporary studies echo this view: Baumeister and Landau (2018) found that meaning deficits correlate with increased psychological distress and reduced life satisfaction. The existential task, therefore, is to reconstruct meaning personally and authentically in the absence of universal foundations.

4.3 The Search for Meaning and Psychological Well-being

The pursuit of meaning functions as both a coping mechanism and a developmental process. Research within positive psychology has increasingly recognized the existential insight that meaning contributes to resilience and flourishing (Wong, 2012). For instance, Park (2010) proposed that meaning-making processes mediate the relationship between trauma and post-traumatic growth. These findings reaffirm existential psychology’s thesis: the capacity to find meaning in suffering constitutes a vital dimension of psychological maturity.

5. Responsibility and Freedom 

5.1 Existential Freedom

Existential freedom differs from political or behavioral freedom; it refers to the inner capacity to choose one’s stance toward circumstances. Sartre (1943/1956) famously asserted that humans are “condemned to be free”—even in the most constrained conditions, one must choose how to respond. This awareness of freedom is simultaneously liberating and terrifying, giving rise to existential anxiety (Tillich, 1952).

In psychological terms, freedom is the recognition of agency within limitation. It calls for authenticity—the alignment between one’s actions and chosen values (Van Deurzen, 2015). Authenticity, however, is not mere self-expression; it is a responsible engagement with one’s possibilities.

5.2 Responsibility as the Ethical Core

Responsibility in existential psychology is the ethical counterpart of freedom. Frankl (1959/2006) wrote that freedom is meaningless without responsibility; indeed, he suggested that the Statue of Liberty should be complemented by a Statue of Responsibility on the West Coast of the United States. Responsibility involves responding to life’s questions through action—it is the capacity to give meaning to one’s existence through committed choice.

Therapeutically, assuming responsibility marks the turning point from victimhood to agency. Yalom (1980) observed that clients often resist acknowledging their freedom because it entails culpability for one’s life direction. The therapist’s role, therefore, is not to relieve responsibility but to awaken it.

5.3 The Paradox of Responsibility and Anxiety

Existential anxiety accompanies freedom because choices have irreversible consequences. Rollo May (1977) described this as the tension between “being and nonbeing.” Anxiety is not merely something to eliminate but to understand—it signals the possibility of transformation. Responsibility thus involves embracing anxiety as a condition of growth.

Modern empirical studies have supported this interpretation. For example, Schulenberg and Melton (2010) found that individuals with higher meaning and responsibility orientation report lower existential anxiety and higher life satisfaction. Responsibility and meaning are therefore mutually reinforcing: meaning grounds responsibility, while responsibility actualizes meaning.

6. Existential Therapy and the Practice of Meaning and Responsibility 

6.1 The Therapeutic Encounter

Existential therapy emphasizes authenticity, presence, and dialogue rather than technique (Van Deurzen & Adams, 2016). The therapist engages the client as a fellow human being, co-exploring the existential givens of existence. The goal is not symptom reduction but greater awareness, freedom, and responsibility.

In practice, therapists help clients confront avoided aspects of existence—mortality, choice, isolation, and meaninglessness. Through this confrontation, clients learn to live more authentically and to assume ownership of their lives. As Schneider (2008) noted, existential therapy aims for deep presence: an attunement to the lived immediacy of being.

6.2 Meaning-Centered and Logotherapeutic Interventions

Logotherapy offers structured methods to help individuals identify sources of meaning. Techniques such as dereflection (shifting focus from self-absorption to purposeful activity) and attitude modification encourage responsibility in the face of suffering (Frankl, 1969).

Recent adaptations, such as Wong’s (2010) meaning-centered therapy, integrate existential principles with empirical psychology, emphasizing meaning, purpose, and responsibility as buffers against despair. These interventions have demonstrated efficacy in improving well-being among individuals facing terminal illness, trauma, or existential distress (Vos et al., 2015).

6.3 Existential-Humanistic Integration

Existential psychology overlaps with humanistic approaches, particularly in emphasizing authenticity, self-actualization, and growth (Schneider & Krug, 2017). However, existential psychology introduces a deeper engagement with finitude and responsibility. While humanistic psychology often focuses on potential, existential psychology attends to limitation—the inevitability of death, failure, and ambiguity—as essential conditions for meaning.

This dialectic between freedom and limitation grounds an ethics of responsibility that transcends self-fulfillment, orienting individuals toward contribution and relational depth (Bugental, 1981).

7. Contemporary Relevance: Meaning and Responsibility in the 21st Century 

7.1 The Crisis of Meaning in Postmodern Culture

Contemporary culture is marked by pluralism, technological saturation, and existential dislocation. As traditional narratives of religion and progress lose authority, individuals often face a “crisis of meaning” (Baumeister, 2023). Existential psychologists argue that this crisis manifests in rising rates of anxiety, depression, and alienation.

In such a context, the existential task is to reassert responsibility for creating meaning rather than seeking external validation. This process demands engagement with uncertainty, ambiguity, and the courage to live without guarantees.

7.2 Existential Responsibility in Social and Global Contexts

Existential responsibility extends beyond personal life to collective ethics. Climate change, social inequality, and technological disruption challenge humanity to act responsibly within a shared world. Van Deurzen (2015) suggests that existential maturity involves not only self-awareness but world-awareness—a recognition of interdependence and ecological responsibility.

Existential psychology thus invites an ethical shift: from individual self-realization to relational and planetary responsibility, echoing Heidegger’s call for care as the essence of being.

7.3 Meaning and Responsibility in Psychological Practice

In contemporary psychotherapy, meaning and responsibility remain vital. The integration of existential principles into cognitive-behavioral, narrative, and acceptance-based therapies reflects growing acknowledgment that psychological health involves more than symptom control—it entails existential vitality and purpose (Wong, 2023).

Clinicians increasingly recognize that addressing existential issues fosters resilience, moral agency, and authenticity in clients facing crises of identity, loss, or moral injury (Vos, 2021). Thus, existential psychology continues to serve as a bridge between philosophical insight and psychological practice.

8. Conclusion

Existential psychology stands as a profound response to the question of what it means to be human. At its core lie two interdependent dimensions: meaning—the horizon within which life becomes intelligible and purposeful—and responsibility—the ethical act of choosing and responding to that horizon. Together, they form the foundation of psychological maturity, authenticity, and moral engagement.

From its philosophical origins in Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Heidegger, and Sartre to its psychological articulation in Frankl, May, and Yalom, existential psychology insists that human beings are not mere objects of circumstance but co-authors of their existence. Meaning and responsibility are thus not optional pursuits but existential imperatives: to live is to choose, and to choose is to take responsibility for meaning.

In an age of fragmentation and uncertainty, existential psychology offers a reminder that freedom and responsibility are inseparable, and that the search for meaning remains the most vital expression of human dignity." (Source: ChatGPT 2025)

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