Growing Hope

The experience of COVID-19 is a novel experience for most of us and has brought forth existential anxieties and questions, such as that of our vulnerabilities, responsibilities, existential guilt, fear of life and death, freedom and isolation, and hope and despair. This article reflects the author’s existential journey during the lockdown of COVID-19, as the author pondered on the deeper meanings of this experience, and how hope can be found amid this crisis.

Existential–Humanistic Therapy and Disaster Response: Lessons From the COVID-19 Pandemic

The COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically affected the mental health field. The unique distress caused by the pandemic along with the need for many to transition their therapy practices to TeleHealth/Telepsychology modalities caught many therapists, including existential–humanistic therapists, unprepared to make the necessary adjustments to treat clients in a manner that is safe and effective. Existential–humanistic therapy often is neglected with trauma and disaster relief work, despite its relevancy and important contributions. All therapies must adjust in crisis situations, particularly when adjustments to how services are offered are disrupted; however, the impact of these changes varies by therapeutic orientation. As an approach that values genuineness, empathy, and presence, existential–humanistic therapy faces unique challenges when employed with disaster response. However, when these challenges are faced, existential–humanistic therapy has much to offer disaster response, including consideration of existential guilt, existential shattering, existential anxiety, and existential perspectives on self-care.

Fraud and guilt: rationalization strategies and the relevance of Kierkegaardian life-views

Purpose The purpose of this paper is to use Kierkegaard’s life-views (aesthetical, ethicist and religious life-views) for better understanding the way fraudsters are dealing with their ontic-existentiell guilt, while developing rationalization tactics. Design/methodology/approach Rationalization tactics make possible to neutralize moral discomfort about fraudulent practices. Endorsing Kierkegaard life-views actually unveils three basic patterns fraudsters could agree with (consciously or not): the focus for individualization processes, the ontic-existentiell quest and the attitude towards guilt. Each Kierkegaardian life-view has deepened this threefold pattern in a very different way. Findings The aesthetician life-view is so emphasizing immediacy and pleasure that it strengthens an amoral perspective. Fraudsters could easily adopt such life-view. The ethicist is so basically concerned with morality (distinction between good and evil) that he/she cannot consciously favour fraudulent practices. At best, fraudsters may be “would-be ethicists”. As long as they are unable to feel repentance, fraudsters will not be able to fully embrace the religious life-view. At best, they may be “would-be religious”. Research limitations/implications The way Kierkegaard’s life-views could put light on fraudsters’ rationalization tactics has not been empirically assessed. Empirical studies that would be focussed on such topics should deepen the relevance and meaning of fraudsters’ psychological, sociological, cultural and religious/spiritual traits. Originality/value The paper analyzes to what extent fraudsters could feel psychological guilt, as well as ontic-existentiell guilt, as it is grounded on ontological-existential guilt (guilt as an ontological category). Taking Kierkegaard’s life-views as reference pattern, it presents the implications of being oriented towards immediacy/pleasure (avoiding guilt, at any cost), towards freedom (being aware of one’s guilt) or towards the infinite (being fully aware of one’s guilt).

Conclusion II

This chapter continues the discussion of general issues related to the meaning of life. The book has argued that to see life as meaningless is to see it as lacking a sufficient number of aspects of sufficient value. But many people describe the meaninglessness of their lives differently, mentioning existential guilt, anxiety, and despair. Others portray their meaningless lives as a joke, a lie, or an unfulfilled promise. The chapter argues that the analysis of meaninglessness presented in the book explains rather than conflicts with the ways in which people actually describe their feeling of meaninglessness. The chapter also stresses the importance of investing effort and work in enhancing meaning in life and, lastly, reviews the most crucial of the practical guidelines this book offers.