Entry 9 : Humanistic assumptions

The first assumption of the humanist approach is that behavior should be understood in terms of the subjective experience of the individual. This means that if a behavior is to be understood, the person producing the behavior should be understood such as how he/she views the world (phenomenological viewpoint). This assumption greatly contrasts the assumptions of the psychodynamic perspective and the learning perspective which paid no attention to the individual's subjective experience. Another assumption is that people are not dependent on past experiences or current circumstances and that their acts are not merely response to a stimuli. This assumption also greatly contrasts the learning perspective which believed in stimuli/response behavior and the psychodynamic perspective which stated that people are dependent on past experiences.

Entry 9 : Humanistic assumptions

Entry 8 : What I think about existentialism

Existentialism poses questions on life such as why are we here? and who am I? It discusses the philosophical aspect of life and attempts to understand it. I like the idea of studying life and trying to understand it and I feel that existentialism may contribute to making this world a better place. Existentialist ideas are very amusing to ponder upon and will enhance us to reflect on ourselves. However, I feel that the big ideas in existentialism are too generalized and lack a tangeable example. For example, one of the big ideas states that we search for the meaning of our existence and the meaning of our death and suffering. It however doesn't explain in depth how and why we do so. In addition, these statements are rather subjective and may depend on personal beliefs. Lastly, I feel that existentialism will continue to be a debatable topic and may result in a never ending list of unanswered questions.