The study focused on a procedural analysis of the concept of self as that concept was employed within the theoretical models of human nature of Carl Rogers, psychologist, and Reinhold Niebuhr, theologian and ethicist. Procedural analysis examines the definitional precision and logical consistency with which a theory's or model's concepts and arguments are developed. / The models of human nature of Carl Rogers and Reinhold Niebuhr were selected for analysis because both used the concept of self to describe an executive function within the person which organizes perception and behavior; both located the origins of maladjustment and misbehavior in the self; and both argued that a radical change in the functions of the self is required for human behavior to approach their respective normative notions of health. Rogers' and Niebuhr's models were also selected because of their influence on a wide variety of professions and disciplines, particularly pastoral counseling. Finally, their models were selected because of the continuing importance of the concept of self in contemporary thought about human nature. / The procedural analysis revealed significant differences in their conceptualizations of self. The properties associated by Rogers with the concept of self in selected writings were the constituent elements of the picture or gestalt that one has of oneself in relation to the remainder of experience. That self-concept includes the introjected conditions of worth which serve as the perceptual strainers through which experience is interpreted and often distorted, leading to psychological maladjustment. The properties associated by Niebuhr with the concept of self were attributes of an assumed spiritual element in human nature. The self is anthropocentrically described as a force of will, power, and transcendence paradoxically embodied in natural existence and anxiously tempted to escape paradox and anxiety by the will-to-power or sensuality, which underlie the primary expressions of human misbehavior. Procedural analysis also revealed basic differences between metaphysical, epistemological, and axiological assumptions supporting their respective models of human nature. / Certain implications of the study were discussed including: the importance of procedural analysis of the various models of human nature and behavior that guide counseling practice; the problem of surplus meanings frequently associated with the concept of self in counseling and psychotherapeutic literature and research; and some implications for pastoral counseling. / Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 41-03, Section: A, page: 0952. / Thesis (Ph.D.)--The Florida State University, 1980.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:fsu.edu/oai:fsu.digital.flvc.org:fsu_74182 |
| Contributors | WILKERSON, STEVEN EUGENE., Florida State University |
| Source Sets | Florida State University |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Text |
| Format | 228 p. |
| Rights | On campus use only. |
| Relation | Dissertation Abstracts International |
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