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Self Actualisation.
Carl Rogers argued that a discovery had been made, “But we have not known or recognised that in most if not all individuals there exist growth forces, tendencies towards self actualisation…”

Rogers continues describing how given the right conditions individuals are motivated to explore their own attitudes and reality, feel an emotional release and that, “The individual is capable of discovering and perceiving, truly and spontaneously, the interrelationships between his own attitudes, and the relationship of himself to reality. The individual has the capacity and strength to devise, quite unguided, the steps that will lead him to a more mature and more comfortable relationship to his reality.” (Rogers 1946). Roger’s stated that the actualising tendency exists within every living organism and given the right conditions results in growth towards the reaching of full potential.

I believe this contains two important elements, firstly that the motivation for growth exists within us all, that it’s a primary force which is innate rather than received. Rogers uses the metaphor of how plants develop depending on environment. One example used by Rogers is that of a potato growing in the dark with only a minute source of light. He describes how the potato produces a white sprout that would reach towards the light. “The sprouts were, in their bizarre futile growth, a sort of desperate expression of the directional tendency I have been describing. They would never become plants, never mature, never fulfil their real potential. But under the most diverse circumstances, they were striving to become.” (Rogers 1980).

The second element goes beyond desire to grow and suggests that the means to realise growth needs no guidance, it is also innate and exists within us. As I understand it Rogers claims we need nothing more than an environment that allows our own fertile growth to reach our potential. We don’t so much need teaching as an environment that allows us to learn, that it is not direction we need, rather that we are allowed to move freely.

While the theory of self-actualisation is attractive to me and one that I find uplifting I have some reservations. I don’t doubt that people will naturally endeavour to choose what seems best for them in any situation, nor do I personally doubt that it is a highly individual process; however it seems to a certain extent untestable. For example nothing would induce me to leave a perfectly serviceable aeroplane until it had landed and come to a halt, yet to others parachuting is a hobby and a means of fulfilment. How is it possible to objectively evaluate whether parachuting and waiting till the (working!) aircraft lands to get off are both choices leading to growth? If it’s suggested that all choices in the right environment are towards growth and that the person choosing has more expert knowledge than anyone on which choice is optimal, how could we prove the null hypothesis? Despite it’s attraction to me as an idea I would even in full agreement consider it a belief rather than a theory which can be subjected to testing. I believe it is a circular argument, that may not lead to it being wrong but it would be hard to show it as wrong if it was.

On the second issue of whether guidance is needed to make choices leading to growth I would again use the example of parachuting. Having no desire to leap from a aircraft, having decided for myself the few moments of ‘rush’ are not worth the risk, having self determined I don’t want to do it and not feeling in any way stunted by my decision I wouldn’t leap from an aeroplane. However if I was guided by the captain that the aeroplane had run out of fuel and within 3 minutes we would hit a mountain, I’d bet I would be one of the fastest on board to buckle my parachute, get instruction and jump! In that instance I am totally reliant on guidance, my innate will to survive is not enough for me to choose the right path to fulfilment – I need another’s teaching.

The above example is extreme but I would suggest that we are as a species faced continuously with dilemmas. As a species we have the longest childhood, we have culture, language, shared wisdoms, politics, medicine, and that separates us in a distinct way from potatoes. Where as a potato may contain all it needs to know in order to move consistently towards growth I have been grateful to the teachings of others, guidance, and corrections; even the language with which I can express this viewpoint has been the result of teaching. I believe these outside influences have enhanced our potential and that no real world exists with which to examine how much an individual can achieve without guidance. However I have not been passive in learning, I have evaluated both teachers and teachings for myself, not something which all teachers have appreciated.