The Genetic Given: Towards An Existential Understanding of Inherited 'Personality Traits'

Abstract

Traditionally, existential therapists have tended to reject genetic accounts of how people come to be the way they are but, with increasing evidence in support of the genetic position, these accounts can no longer be brushed aside. The following paper presents evidence in support of the genetic position, and argues that genetic influences can be incorporated in to an existential understanding of human being-in-the-world by considering inherited psycho-physiological characteristics as one of the givens with which people are thrown into the world. Furthermore, it argues that this understanding can augment the practice of existential therapists in a way that is unique amongst therapeutic modalities.