Stressing the positive, creative aspects of power and innocence, Rollo May offers a way of thinking about the problems of contemporary society. He discusses five levels of power's potential in each individual, what each is, how it works, and more.

Stressing the positive, creative aspects of power and innocence, Rollo May offers a way of thinking about the problems of contemporary society. Rollo May defines power as the ability to cause or prevent change; innocence, on the other hand, is the conscious divesting of one's power to make it seem a virtuea form of powerlessness that Dr. May sees as particularly American in nature. From these basic concepts he suggests a new ethic that sees power as the basis for both human goodness and evil. Dr. May discusses five levels of power's potential in each of us: the infant's power to be; self-affirmation, the ability to survive with self-esteem; self-assertion, which develops when self-affirmation is blocked; aggression, a reaction to thwarted assertion; and, finally, violence, when reason and persuasion are ineffective.

“Clear, accurate, and interesting. There is no better short introduction to the existential approach to psychology.” —Dallas Morning News The brilliant psychologist Rollo May was a major force in existential psychology. Here, he brings together the ideas of Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and other great thinkers to offer insights into its ideas and techniques. He pays particular attention to the causes of loneliness and isolation and to our search to find new and firm moorings in order to move toward a future where responsibility, creativity, and love can play a role.

No detailed description available for "Origins of Aggression".

Employing insights from theology, sociology and political science, this text considers the question of power within the Church, which is thought to provide the key to unlocking core dilemmas in the Church's self-understanding, and to point towards a relevant ecclesiology for the 21st century. The book shows how different denominations handle power in different ways, exposes the misuse of power in fundamentalist and new religious movements, and argues that these movements highlight problems of power elsewhere within the Church.