Toward a Psychology of Being
Abraham H. Maslow
“If we wish to help humans to become more fully human, we must realize not only that they try to realize themselves, but that they are also reluctant or afraid or unable to do so. Only by fully appreciating this dialectic between sickness and health can we help to tip the balance in favor of health.” Abraham Maslow
Abraham Maslow’s theories of self-actualization and the hierarchy of human needs are the cornerstone of modern humanistic psychology, and no book so well epitomizes those ideas as his classic Toward a Psychology of Being.
A profound book, an exciting book, its influence continues to spread, more than a quarter century after its author’s death, beyond psychology and throughout the humanities, social theory, and business management theory.
Of course, the book’s enduring popularity stems from the important questions it raises and the answers it provides concerning what is fundamental to human nature and psychological well-being, and what is needed to promote, maintain, and restore mental and emotional well-being. But its success also has to do with Maslow’s unique ability to convey difficult philosophical concepts with passion, precision, and astonishing clarity, and, through the power of his words, to ignite in readers a sense of creative joy and wholeness toward which we, as beings capable of self-actualization, strive.
This Third Edition makes Abraham Maslow’s ideas accessible to a new generation of psychology students, as well as businesspeople, managers, and trainers interested in applying the study of human behavior to management techniques.
An energetic and articulate scholar, Professor Maslow was the author of more than twenty books, including Eupsychian Management; Psychology of Science; Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences; Motivation and Personality; and Principles of Abnormal Psychology (with B. Mittelmann). He also edited New Knowledge in Human Values and wrote nearly one hundred articles. His teachings continue to be a staple for psychologists and psychology students.
“Capacities clamor to be used, and cease their clamor only when they are well used. . . . Not only is it fun to use our capacities, but it is necessary for growth. The unused skill or capacity or organ can become a disease center or else atrophy or disappear, thus diminishing the person.” Abraham Maslow
Toward a Psychology of Being, Third Edition
Abraham Maslow doesn’t pretend to have easy answers, absolutes, or solutions that bring the relief of finalitybut he does have a deep belief in people. In this Third Edition of Toward a Psychology of Being (the original edition sold well over 100,000 copies), there is a constant optimistic thrust toward a future based on the intrinsic values of humanity. Professor Maslow states that, “This inner nature, as much as we know of it so far, seems not to be intrinsically evil, but rather either neutral or positively ‘good.’ What we call evil behavior appears most often to be a secondary reaction to frustration of this intrinsic nature.” He demonstrates that human beings can be loving, noble, and creative, and are capable of pursuing the highest values and aspirations.
This Third Edition will bring Professor Maslow’s ideas to a whole new generation of business and psychology readers, as well as anyone interested in the study of human behavior.
About the author
Abraham H. Maslow
American psychologist Abraham Harold Maslow developed the theory of a hierarchy of needs and contended that satisfying basic physiological needs afterward motivates people to attain affection, then esteem, and finally self-actualization.
The first of seven children to Russian immigrant Jewish parents, he received his Bachelor of Arts in 1930, his Magister Artium in 1931 and his Philosophiae Doctor in 1934 in psychology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. Maslow taught full time at Brooklyn college, then at Brandeis, where he was named chair of psychology in 1951. People know humanist-based Maslow, for proposing for an individual to meet to achieve ably. Maslow analyzed and found reality-centered achievers.
Among many books of Maslow, Religion, Values, and Peak-Experiences , not a free-thought treatise, neither limited “peak experiences” to the religious nor necessarily ascribe such phenomena to supernaturalism. In the introduction to the book, Maslow warned that perhaps “not only selfish but also evil” mystics single-mindedly pursue personal salvation, often at the expense of other persons. The American humanist association named Maslow humanist of the year in 1967.
Later in life, questions, such as, “Why don’t more people self-actualize if their basic needs are met? How can we humanistically understand the problem of evil?,” concerned Maslow.
In the spring of 1961, Maslow and Tony Sutich founded the Journal of Humanistic Psychology with Miles Vich as editor until 1971. The journal printed its first issue in early 1961 and continues to publish academic papers.
Maslow attended the founding meeting of the association for humanistic psychology in 1963 and declined nomination as its president but argued that the new organization develop an intellectual movement without a leader; this development resulted in useful strategy during the early years of the field.
Maslow, an atheist, viewed religion.
While jogging, Maslow suffered a severe heart attack and died on June 8, 1970 at the age of 62 in Menlo Park, California.
(Goodreads.com)
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