ANXIETY AND FREEDOM IN THE THOUGHT OF PAUL TILLICH AND ERIK ERIKSON

This dissertation examines the question: how is the thought of the theologian Tillich related to the thought of the psychologist Erikson specifically with respect to their views on two favorite themes of Kierkegaard: anxiety and freedom. The approach used is that of critical synthesis which integrates philosophical theology and psychology on both anthropological and methodological levels. The results of this integration are twofold: (1) An adequate understanding of human nature must be ontological and, specifically, must work out a comprehensive statement of human finitude. (2) However, this ontology must be completed by a psychohistorical structure which specifies the essential stages of human development.;The nature of the relationship between anxiety and freedom has three aspects. First, both anxiety and freedom are rooted in man's awareness of his own finitude. Man is finite, that is to say, anxious freedom. Anxiety and freedom are thus essentially related. Secondly, anxiety and freedom are dialectically related because human freedom is able to develop only in the absence of anxiety. The absence of anxiety is a precondition for the development of human emotional freedom. Yet freedom is one of the sources of anxiety. Thus, anxiety and freedom are related in a paradoxical manner. Finally, the relationship between anxiety and freedom can be understood by describing the psychoanalytic process which expands a person's capacity for freedom.;The dissertation compares and contrasts these conclusions with the thought of Jurgen Moltmann. The final chapter examines the role of religion in the formation of personality concluding that religion has three distinct roles (functions) in the development of personality: (1) to support healthy emotional and social development; (2) religion is used for defensive purposes; (3) the most important role of religion is that of integration.;This results in a concept of anxiety that encompasses both ontological and psychohistorical dimensions and has three fundamental sources: (1) finitude, (2) freedom, and (3) conflict. Freedom is understood on two levels. The first level is the absence of neurotic conflicts and anxiety. This can be described as "freedom from." Human freedom has a teleological dimension which can be described by the concept "freedom for.".