Need For Self-realization Research Articles

Beyond Homo Economicus: Recognition, Self-Realization and Social Work

This paper builds on Ferguson's important contribution to the debate on personalization in social work that appeared in the British Journal of Social Work in 2007. Whereas Ferguson approached the topic through the lens of political philosophy, the account below draws on critical social theory to examine not only the nature of personalization, but also its supportive pillar of individualization. In particular, Axel Honneth's critique of individualization in modern society is presented before setting out his ideas on the need for self-realization through inter-subjective recognition. The implications of Honneth's position are then considered in terms of four interrelated dimensions of social work practice, namely: (i) social work as symbolic interaction; (ii) social work as care; (iii) social work as respect; and (iv) social work as validation. It is argued that this constellation of practices poses a direct and necessary challenge to a social work of personalization.

Justice in old age: An analysis of corporatist social theory

It is sometimes argued that a tacit contract exists between the generations in industrial society that requires that the present structure of Social Security benefits not be altered in any way that would serve to diminish the present benefit levels. The demands of social justice, it is thought, require that Western societies maintain their commitments to Social Security programs, especially to those programs of the type administered in the United States. This paper examines questions of justice pertaining to the aged in contemporary society. It is argued here that the demands of justice pertain not only to the satisfaction of basic needs for subsistence but also to the satisfaction of the need for self-realization. The commitment of capitalist nations like the U.S. to social justice for the aged is analyzed using a theory of justice that is based on Durkheim's political writings on corporatism and the “solidarist” theory of the Catholic social movement. The corporatist theory of justice would require that public pension systems like Social Security be revised to provide more adequately for the social needs of the working-class aged.

Postpsychotic depression and the need for personal significance.

The author, who considers postpsychotic depression as a reaction to psychosis, illustrates some of the dynamics involved in the development and persistence of the state with letters from a patient. Among other dynamic and psychotherapeutic considerations, the need for self-realization and meaning in everyday life merits special emphasis in the treatment of those for whom escape from psychosis has meant not only deliverance from terror, but also a loss of grandeur and significance.

The timid, dependent child

Summary Illustrative case material which demonstrates the development andtreatment of timid, dependent children has been presented. The problem of timidity may be viewed as a potential way of life, a design for living, which is in keeping with the personal needs of the child, who has been overwhelmed and thwarted in his attempts to live his own life. The child is not only re-acting to a difficult life situation, but also actively contributing to it in a manner which leads to an increasing need for self-deception and a diminishing sense of self-esteem. The dynamic concept which has been presented includes a considerationof the individual in action, his specific experience, and the particular cultural milieu in which he finds himself. The traditional concepts of heredity, habit, and conditioning have been found to be an over-simplification of the actual facts of life. In contrast to an a priori list of abstract motives which have been ascribed to children in general, or the universal need for a mechanically conceived release of instinctual tensions, the method of the play-interview presents a humanistic and plastic point of view. It is concerned primarily with the timid child as an individual who has a particular need for self-realization and who possesses that faculty which especially distinguishes human beings from the rest of the animal kingdom, the unique talent for observing himself in action and then doing something about his previous patterns of behavior. It is this capacity for self-scrutiny which is utilized and organized for the purpose of a co-operative, clarifying, therapeutic experience. The entire procedure is immediately oriented toward that which wentwrong in the actual life situation. The parent is included as a collaborator, and the child is encouraged to look at what he is doing and to express himself as an euual, who has something of importance to contribute. The result is the prompt disappearance of the need for self-deception and the substitution of the pride of being oneself. The emphasis is placed on the child's doing something about his timid behavior rather than just talking about it. The goal is not to “make over,” but to restore what was there originally, and to assist the child in every practical way in keeping with his concrete needs. Finally, the method of the play-interview helps the timid child to substitutefor an ineffectual, fearful, dependent way of life, which he soon finds to be of no value to him, an effectual, spontaneous independent way of doing things. It is this resulting alteration in the person in action or personality which makes it possible for the child to continue to enjoy his newly won freedom of self-expression in thought, feedling, and action.