Erik H. Erikson, Young Man Luther: A Study in Psychoanalysis and History (1958)

As part of NTT JTSR’s series on Key Texts, the present article discusses Erik H. Erikson’s interdisciplinary, psychohistorical study of the young Martin Luther, its reception, and its relevance for today. Erikson showed how Luther’s own identity crisis – emerging from the troubled relationship with his father – converged with a crisis in late medieval society and theology, and how being a talented homo religiosus helped Luther to solve both crises at the same time, presenting a “religiosity for the adult man” in accordance with the Renaissance need for autonomy. It is argued that during his psychosocial study of Luther and the latter’s cultural context, Erikson developed a general, existential theory of religion that is also relevant for an understanding of the search for identity and religion in modern times.

Conatus and Dasein: The Problem of an Existential Theory of Motivation

In the article I articulate an interpretation of the findingness (Befindlichkeit) of Dasein in Heidegger as a specific existential drive, basing it on an interpretation of his concept of existence, drawing from his earlier lectures before Being and Time, and relying on the clarification of the existential meaning of relation. Following a related interpretation of understanding and care, I offer some considerations pertaining to the problem of authentic motivation and its possible practical application. Initially, I offer an interpretation of existence as it relates to the meaning of being, understanding the relata in this ultimate sense as two aspects of speech. In this, I understand the meaning of being as a groundless call or address. Building on that, I propose a motivational understanding of findingness as the necessary drive of Dasein toward its self-interpretation as it relates to the enigmatic call of being. I supplement this view with an interpretation of existential understanding as a coequal aspect of the groundless freedom of that relation of Dasein to itself. Finally, I offer an interpretation of authenticity, in line with the aforementioned explicated understanding of existence and the corresponding meaning of the authentic motivational findingness of Dasein. In conclusion, I raise a question of how such authentic motivation could be practically understood in the perspective of life-world interactions.

Quadratic Word Equations with Length Constraints, Counter Systems, and Presburger Arithmetic with Divisibility

Word equations are a crucial element in the theoretical foundation of constraint solving over strings. A word equation relates two words over string variables and constants. Its solution amounts to a function mapping variables to constant strings that equate the left and right hand sides of the equation. While the problem of solving word equations is decidable, the decidability of the problem of solving a word equation with a length constraint (i.e., a constraint relating the lengths of words in the word equation) has remained a long-standing open problem. We focus on the subclass of quadratic word equations, i.e., in which each variable occurs at most twice. We first show that the length abstractions of solutions to quadratic word equations are in general not Presburger-definable. We then describe a class of counter systems with Presburger transition relations which capture the length abstraction of a quadratic word equation with regular constraints. We provide an encoding of the effect of a simple loop of the counter systems in the existential theory of Presburger Arithmetic with divisibility (PAD). Since PAD is decidable (NP-hard and is in NEXP), we obtain a decision procedure for quadratic words equations with length constraints for which the associated counter system is flat (i.e., all nodes belong to at most one cycle). In particular, we show a decidability result (in fact, also an NP algorithm with a PAD oracle) for a recently proposed NP-complete fragment of word equations called regular-oriented word equations, when augmented with length constraints. We extend this decidability result (in fact, with a complexity upper bound of PSPACE with a PAD oracle) in the presence of regular constraints.

A proof of Bel’tyukov-Lipshitz theorem by quasi-quantifier elimination. I. Definitions and GCD-lemma

This paper is the first part of a new proof of decidability of the existential theory of the structure , where | corresponds to the binary divisibility relation. The decidability was proved independently in 1976 by A. P. Bel’tyukov and L. Lipshitz. In 1977, V.I. Mart’yanov proved an equivalent result by considering the ternary GCD predicate instead of divisibility (the predicates are interchangeable with respect to existential definability). Generalizing in some sense the notion of quantifier elimination (QE) algorithm, we construct a quasi-QE algorithm to prove decidability of the positive existential theory of the structure <...>. We reduce to the decision problem for this theory the decision problem for the existential theory of the structure <...>. A quasi-QE algorithm, which performs this reduction, will be constructed in the second part of the proof. Transformations of formulas are based on a generalization of the Chinese remainder theorem to systems of the form GCD(ai, bi +x) = di for every i [1..m], where ai, bi, di are some integers such that ai 6 = 0, di > 0.

How is distress understood in existential philosophies and can phenomenological therapeutic practices be “evidence-based”?

The “evidence-based practice” movement frames counselling and psychotherapy as causal processes, something the therapist does to the client. The value of what it is that is done is measured by interpreting mental and emotional distress as an abnormal behaviour, by giving this “symptom” a numerical score, before and after interventions in a quantitative research approach. In existential therapies emotions are viewed instead as healthy responses to our being in the world; as transient communications in relational contexts, altered only through the client’s autonomous choice. Human distress will be encountered and explored by all practitioners regardless of their modality. This article is an attempt to reclaim that exploration, as a phenomenological enquiry founded in the radically different epistemological framework of existential theory. Less value might then be placed on systemized measurement and control, and more placed on human responses to emotionality. Those who are distressed might feel understood and validated.

What is Existential Educational Encounter?

This paper aims to clarify the meaning of the pedagogical concept of encounter by providing an overview of its use from the historical foundations of the concept in Otto Friedrich Bollnow’s (1903 to 1991) philosophy to contemporary phenomenological readings by Maxine Greene, Donald Vandenberg and Robyn Harrison. The outcome is a critical analysis and evaluation of the significance of the concept in educational contexts. The aims of the paper are as follows: a) to articulate the educational significance of the concept of encounter, and b) to clarify its relationship to the humanistic concept of formation (or unfolding; Bildung), in order to establish the tension between Bildung-theory and the existential theory of human formation. The paper claims that, for a more elaborated understanding of the human educative process, the tension between the processes of encounter and Bildung should be seen as the core tension behind the holistic view of becoming human. Also, c) for an analysis of the Anglo-American reception of the concept, a phenomenological view of the encounter as a transcendental aspect of a learning process will be made in order to gain a wider view of the concept.

Being active 1½ years after hip fracture: A qualitative interview study of aged adults’ experiences of meaningfulness

Background: Being active is vital and a source of well-being. However, 18 months after hip fracture (HF), progress seems to have come to a halt. Aged adults may feel vulnerable, experiencing ongoing dependency and limited possibilities for socializing. How they experience the meaningfulness of being active during these circumstances is unknown. The aim of this study was to explore experiences of the meaningfulness of being active for aged adults 18 months after HF. Methods: A phenomenological-hermeneutic methodology based on the philosophies of Heidegger and Gadamer was applied. Data were collected using individual interviews conducted in participants’ homes. The study was part of a longitudinal study, and three former interviews helped build trusting relationships with participants and focus the semi-structured interview guide. An existential theory of well-being and suffering considering health to be a balancing of mobility and dwelling was applied. Participants were nine aged adults 65 years or older with pre-fracture dependency included in the study 18 months earlier while still in hospital after HF. The interpretation was a process of analyzing data by moving between the parts and the whole as a means of gaining a deeper understanding and continuously testing pre-understandings. The analysis followed five steps: a) getting a sense of the whole b) delineating and condensing meaning units, c) interpreting meaning units, d) relating to study purpose, and e) developing themes and sub-themes. Results: Two main themes emerged. The main-theme “Feeling the continuity of life“ had four sub-themes: “Gratitude for present possibilities,“ “Connected with earlier life-experience,“ “Thoughtfully managing vulnerability,“ and “Belonging with other people.“ The main-theme “Feeling vulnerable“ had two sub-themes: “Thwarted“ and “Sad and regretting lost continuity in life.“ Conclusions: Eighteen months after HF, aged adults seem to be struggling on their own to be active in meaningful ways. To maintain hope, relieve the strain in everyday life, and maintain a sense of safety and self-confidence, they may need help. However, to avoid suffering, there is a need to balance additional training and a struggle for progress with well-being experiences in terms of feeling gratitude, restoring a sense of normality, and feeling kinship with other people.