HILL, GREGORY F.; PHD
THE FIELDING INSTITUTE, 1993
SOCIOLOGY, SOCIAL STRUCTURE AND DEVELOPMENT (0700); PSYCHOLOGY, GENERAL
(0621); EDUCATION, GUIDANCE AND COUNSELING (0519); PSYCHOLOGY, SOCIAL
(0451); SOCIOLOGY,
THEORY AND METHODS (0344)
This work attempts an unlikely synthesis to explore a seemingly contradictory
relationship. The isolating
experience of alienation and the attachment of dependence seem contradictory.
However, they are
deeply enmeshed in social systems that demand dependence and deny open participation.
Persons in
such systems experience double-binds that promote alienation, feelings of inadequacy,
and inauthentic
existence. The existential paradigm with its focus on individual inner experience
seems contradictory to
the interactive holism of the systems paradigm. Yet it is ideal for studying
the alienation-dependence
relationship because of its attention to alienation and choice in the face of
dilemma and crisis; also its
image of progression from dependence to autonomy in many ways reflects American
dominant culture's
linear vision of movement from dependence to individualism and free choice.
The systems paradigm
emphasizes the influence of interactive relationships upon participants, systems,
and environment. It too
is ideal for exploring the alienation-dependence relationship as it attends
to complex human interactions
and allows exploration of behaviors, attitudes, and world views that create
double-binds, block open
participation, and promote alienation and dependence. This dissertation explores
the
alienation-dependence relationship by identifying forces that foster it, and
by viewing it through a
synthesis of existential and systems theories; though this synthesis is applied
primarily to individual and
family systems, its application to larger systems is suggested as well. This
approach offers clarity to the
alienation-dependence relationship and aids in countering its effects in therapeutic,
rehabilitative, and
organizational processes and in the design of human systems across multiple
levels of interaction.
Social
Systems Simulation Group
P.O. Box 6904 San Diego, CA 92166-0904 Roland Werner, Principal Phone/FAX (619) 660-1603 |