Existence and relationality: A synthesis of existential thought and contemporary interpersonal theory.

Abstract

Existentialism is one of the most influential intellectual traditions in Western philosophy, and interpersonal theory is one of the most influential clinical approaches in Western psychology. These two intellectual traditions have much in common. Their areas of seeming difference are also important, as they present areas in which one approach might complement the other. In this essay we examine this, providing an overview and synthesis of existential and interpersonal thought, after which we suggest directions for future research, application, and theoretical development.

The interpersonal nature of ethical virtue.

“…The IPC is a graphical tool that maps interpersonal behaviors, thoughts, and dispositions along two domains: warmth (vs. coldness) is the degree to which a person feels connected to and can cultivate a sense of love for others, and dominance (vs. submissiveness) is the degree to which a person feels surgent and actualized relative to others (see Figure 1). These dimensions represent the “metaconstructs” of agency and communion which have been observed across time and culture in human civilization and, like ethics, have deep roots in humanistic psychology (Bakan, 1966; Blatt, 2008; Wiggins, 1991; Yalch, 2022). Psychometrically, the IPC consists of eight octants comprising combinations of warmth and dominance (warmth, warm dominance, dominance, cold dominance, etc.…”

“…Psychologists have used the IPC to examine the interpersonal valence of a number of psychological constructs including personality traits, dyadic interactions, and psychopathology (for review, see Pincus et al, 2020). More recent work has involved using the IPC to examine the interpersonal nature of philosophical and ethical domains (Yalch, 2022). Given that individual ethics involves maintaining compassion for others, we might expect YALCH, NEWMAN, AND WATSON 2 ethical virtue to "project" primarily into the warm area of the IPC.…”