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Journal of Happiness Studies
Published in: Journal of Happiness Studies 4/2020

08-06-2019 | Research Paper

The Coalescence of Being: A Model of the Self-Actualisation Process

Author: Mark Fabian

Published in: Journal of Happiness Studies | Issue 4/2020

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Abstract

Self-actualisation is a central theme in many accounts of well-being. Yet theories of how self-actualisation is prosecuted and how exactly it leads to well-being are relatively underdeveloped. This paper addresses this shortfall by explicating a novel theory of self-actualisation—the coalescence of being. The theory is founded on insights from existential philosophy, but these are built upon substantially by integrating recent ideas from psychology, notably self-determination theory, self-discrepancy theory and terror-management theory. The central mechanism of coalescence is the individual trying to harmonise their actual-, ideal- and ought-selves. They do this by positing their ideal-self and ought-self as a goal and then living in accordance with this aspiration. When their actual self is disclosed to them in their actions or in the assessment of others they can gauge their progress towards this goal. Success brings positive affect, while failure gives rise to negative affect. Introspecting upon these signals helps the individual to better understand whether their goals are self-congruent or need adjusting. Iterative recalibration of the three self-constructs on the basis of this introspection accelerates the coalescence process. The final part of the paper analyses how coalescence leads to well-being as defined by a range of theories of well-being.
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Footnotes
1
Norton should be given credit for trying to ground his theory in the work of contemporary developmental psychologists, notably Piaget, but the science has moved on since.
 
2
“Tight” cultures are those that have strong (extensive, palpable, frequently practiced, omnipresent) norms and a low tolerance for deviant behaviour, whereas “loose” cultures have weak norms and a high tolerance for deviant behaviour. Agrarian communities typically have tighter cultures than metropolitan ones. See Gelfand et al. (2011) for a review of theory and cross-country evidence.
 
3
Norton (1976) also wrote extensively of the importance of integrity for self-actualisation and eudaimonia. Perhaps his most emphatic statement in this regard is the following (ibid, p. 193):
The actualisation of personhood is progressive, requiring, in Nietzsche’s words: “long obedience in the same direction”. To re-choose is to annihilate all accomplished actualisation stemming from original choice; it is a re-beginning out of a lapse into indeterminacy. As such it poses to the life in question the spectre of final indeterminacy as a life without identity or necessity—a life that in the true meaning of the term has failed to exist.
 
4
There are curious parallels here with coalescence argumentation (Gilbert 1995). This involves debate partners with differing opinions exploring each other’s positions in order to find common ground. This common ground can then be used to affect “coalescence, a joining or merging of divergent positions, by forming the basis for a mutual investigation of non-conflictual options that might otherwise have remained unconsidered” (ibid, p. 837). In this example and the coalescence of being more generally, the debate partners are two of the multiple selves that inhabit an individual. Some shock to the individual’s value system instigates the debate, in this case the discovery of the homosexuality of the woman’s daughter. The multiple selves must then explore common ground in an attempt to coalescence towards a relatively nonconflictual option.
 
5
Aristotle used Telos to mean end or purpose.
 
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Metadata
Title
The Coalescence of Being: A Model of the Self-Actualisation Process
Author
Mark Fabian
Publication date
08-06-2019
Publisher
Springer Netherlands
Published in
Journal of Happiness Studies / Issue 4/2020
Print ISSN: 1389-4978
Electronic ISSN: 1573-7780
DOI
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10902-019-00141-7

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