Exploring Existential Meaning

Both implicit and existential meaning are important constructs in fully understanding human experience. The editors of this volume present a forum for an array of viewpoints and recent research that address the notion of optimal human growth.

Both implicit and existential meaning are important constructs in fully understanding human experience. The editors of this volume present a forum for an array of viewpoints and recent research that address the notion of optimal human growth.

Foreword - James E BirrenIntroduction - Gary T Reker and Kerry ChamberlainPART ONE: THEORETICAL AND CONCEPTUAL ISSUESPhilosophical Foundations of Existential Meaning - Gary M KenyonMeaning as Movement - Hubert J M Hermans The Relativity of the MindTheoretical Perspective, Dimensions, and Measurement of Existential Meaning - Gary T RekerPART TWO: RESEARCH ON EXISTENTIAL MEANINGStructural Components of Personal Meaning in Life and their Relationship with Death Attitudes and Coping Mechanisms in Late Adulthood - Nancy Van Ranst and Alfons MarcoenDimensions and Discourses of Meaning in Life - Kay O'Connor and Kerry Chamberlain Approaching Meaning from Qualitiative PerspectivesAn Inquiry into Existential Meaning - Dominique L Debats Theoretical, Clinincal and Phenomenal PerspectivesThe Personal Meaning System in a Life-Span Perspective - Freya Dittman-Kohli and Gerben J WesterhofThe Development of a Culturally Sensitive Measure of Sources of Life Meaning - Edward Prager, Rivka Savaya and Leora Bar-TurPART THREE: APPLICATIONS AND INTERVENTIONSFinding Meaning in Caregivers of Persons with Alzheimer's Disease - Carol J Farran, Karen Lowe Graham and Dimitra Loukissa African American and White Caregivers' PerspectivesMaking Meaning within the Experience of Life-Threatening Illness - Doris D CowardReligion and Meaning in Late Life - Susan H McFaddenLogotherapeutic and `Depth Psychology' Approaches to Meaning and Psychotherapy - David GuttmannPART FOUR: OVERVIEW AND NEW DIRECTIONSExistential Meaning - Gary T Reker and Kerry Chamberlain Reflections and Directions