Læknablaðið - 01.06.1961, Blaðsíða 38

70
LÆKNABLAÐIÐ
of what is good or had. It means
that man, by his very nature
and of his own accord, strives
toward self-realization, and that
his set of values evolves from
sucli striving. The way toward
this goal is an ever increasing
awareness and understanding of
ourselves. Self-knowledge, then,
is not an aim in itself, but a
means of liberating tlie forces
of spontaneous growth.“
This last sentence is a modern
restatement of that ancient Soc-
ratic dictum, know thyself. Al-
though, as I originally stated,
many including Horney, believe
in this human urge toward
liealth, which slie calls the urge
toward self-realization, as hum-
an beings, as therapists and as
scientists, we would want some
evidence to support this assump-
tion. Also we would want it
spelled out in greater detail. It
was to tliis latter task that I
addressed myself in an article
entitled, „Diagnosing and Prog-
nosing in Psychoanalysis.“4)
Parts of this talk are taken
from tliat article.
Operating on the premise of
an urge toward self-realization
we assume that there are factors
in tlie individual and in his en-
vironment whicli ohstruct
health leading to sickness or
further healtli, i.e., straighter
growing. Using the concept
energies, I assert that energies
are present in human heings in
forms available and unavailable
for productive work and for
creative living, i.e. to further
the urge toward self-realization.
Energies invested in forms oh-
structing self-realization I call
irrational, i.e. neurotic, psycho-
patliic or psychotic processes.
Tliose favoring self-realization
I call rational, i.e. healthy pro-
cesses. To use terms with which
you are more familiar, I shall
speak of irrational sick pro-
cesses as liabilities and rational
liealthy processes as assets. In
my talk I shall devote myself
only to assets, because most
likely you have heard much
more about irrational sick pro-
cesses and because the urge to-
ward health is the main focus
of my talk.
And now to spell out these
assets in the patient, in himself,
and in his environment, in his
past and his present. First the
assets in himself and in his past.
Among these would be a favor-
able heredity, i.e., minimal evid-
ence of physical or psycho-
logical heredo-familial disease,
a tendency to good physical and
psj’chic health and to longevity.
A patient who lias a history of
good healtli, rapid uncompli-
cated recoveries from sickness,
few serious illnesses, in short
a person with good physical and
psychic vitahty and resilience
has quite some assets. A re-
quirement for an expression of