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Article

Aspiration or Adaptation?: An Unresolved Tension in Eric Berne's Basic Beliefs

Pages 243-253
Published online: 28 Dec 2017
 
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This article explores Eric Berne's underdeveloped ideas of physis and aspiration, in which he began to articulate innate psychological forces in human nature that motivate people toward maximum health, self-expression, and autonomy. It is suggested that the underdevelopment of these ideas in Berne's thinking is related to his pessimistic assessment of peoples' willingness to be truly autonomous, that is, that the pressures of script outweigh the desire to pursue one's own nature. The author elaborates Berne's ideas, links them to research in resiliency and intrinsic motivation, and offers suggestions as to the applications of these ideas within the diverse fields in which transactional analysis is used.

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William F. Cornell

William F. Cornell, M.A., TSTA, maintains an independent private practice in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S.A. He is a coeditor of the Transactional Analysis Journal and author of Explorations in Transactional Analysis: The Meech Lake Papers. He was awarded the 2010 Eric Berne Memorial Award. He can be reached at 145 44th St., Pittsburgh, PA 15201, U.S.A.; e-mail: . Author's note: This paper is dedicated to my sister, Deb, and brother, Gary, and to the futures of their children and grandchildren, for whom they have wished lives both richer and easier than those they have lived themselves.
 

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