Vryheid in menslike identiteitsvorming en sinbelewing: alternatiewe vir deterministiese benaderings

Abstract

Representatives of humanist approaches in psychology answer the basic question o f the meaningfulness o f life by overemphasizing human freedom, thereby differing from determinist schools. Man forms his own identity in an independent way, via the possibilities of a free choice o f objectives and ideals and by means of his freedom in adapting to circumstances. In this article the concepts o f meaning and identity, as presented by four prominent humanist psychologists, ‘are investigated. In spite of doing justice to the humanity of man to a larger extent than in the case of determinist theories, humanist approaches fall short  f presenting an integrated view of man implied by the Biblical perspective on the central religious dimension o f the existence of man. Nevertheless, these theories entail insights that can be integrated into an own theory within the framework of the reformational paradigm.