Abstract

The concept of psychological authenticity is of major therapeutic significance. However, because the concept has never been philosophically derived, it has lacked sound ontological status. Granting the concept of psychological authenticity sound ontological status is the purpose of this dissertation. Several major view-points of psychological authenticity are comprehensively reviewed: the early Greek philosophies, Freud, Maslow, Rogers, Singer, Bugental, Jourard, Grene, Laing, Yalom, and Ofman. ;Psychological authenticity is then philosophicaly derived from the Heideggerian and Sartrean philosophies of Being. From the Heideggerian Dasein and the Sartrean consciousness is derived human freedom and anguish. ;It is concluded that psychological authenticity may be granted ontological status because it is a way of Being in this world. ;Psychological authenticity, however, may not be defined as a human trait due to the fact that an authentic person would refuse to be defined by any trait, in accordance with the Heideggerian and Sartrean conceptions. A major thesis in this dissertation is that a single authentic human act is the manifestation of the ontological concept of psychological authenticity