The relationship of alienation and dependence: A synthesis of existential and systems theory

This work attempts an unlikely synthesis to explore a seemingly contradictory relationship. The isolating experience of alienation and the attachment of dependence seem contradictory. However, they are deeply enmeshed in social systems that demand dependence and deny open participation. Persons in such systems experience double-binds that promote alienation, feelings of inadequacy, and inauthentic existence. The existential paradigm with its focus on individual inner experience seems contradictory to the interactive holism of the systems paradigm. Yet it is ideal for studying the alienation-dependence relationship because of its attention to alienation and choice in the face of dilemma and crisis; also its image of progression from dependence to autonomy in many ways reflects American dominant culture's linear vision of movement from dependence to individualism and free choice. The systems paradigm emphasizes the influence of interactive relationships upon participants, systems, and environment. It too is ideal for exploring the alienation-dependence relationship as it attends to complex human interactions and allows exploration of behaviors, attitudes, and world views that create double-binds, block open participation, and promote alienation and dependence. This dissertation explores the alienation-dependence relationship by identifying forces that foster it, and by viewing it through a synthesis of existential and systems theories; though this synthesis is applied primarily to individual and family systems, its application to larger systems is suggested as well. This approach offers clarity to the alienation-dependence relationship and aids in countering its effects in therapeutic, rehabilitative, and organizational processes and in the design of human systems across multiple levels of interaction.