This is the first of seven upcoming short pieces on the seven givens of existence that form the backbone of existential thought and analytic psychotherapy.
The seven major “givens of existence” that most existentially oriented psychotherapists emphasize include limitation and death, freedom, choice and responsibility, uncertainty and anxiety, meaning and purpose, connectedness and isolation, identity and embodiment. These themes form the backbone of existential psychotherapy and resonate across the broader existential tradition from philosophers like Kierkegard and Nietzsche through Heidegger, Sartre and Merleau-Ponty and psychologists and psychiatrists like Binswanger, R.D Laing, Victor Frankl, J.F.T. Bugental, Rollo May and Irvin Yalom to name a few. Unlike the philosophical systems of the 18th Century Enlightenment, which emphasized the central role of reason, existential philosophers and psychologists recognize and focus on the often irrational, emotional and embodied messiness that more realistically characterizes lived experience.
I have been a practicing clinical psychologist for over forty years. Throughout my career, almost every one of the seven existential givens of lived experience listed above have emerged at some point in the treatment of almost every client I have seen. It is often the failure to adequately address one or more of these central issues that impels clients to seek psychotherapy as they affect the lived experience of every human being. How they are addressed has a lot to do with the quality of life we experience.
It is because of the universality of these “existential givens” that I have decided to briefly describe each of them and the consequences of the failure to adequately address them in this series of blog posts. I recognize there will be some redundancy as each of the seven “existential givens” is separately described. The reason for this is that each one of them is a thread that interweaves with each of the other six to form a kind of tapestry of lived experience. In creating this seven-part blog post, I hope to make it clear why existential philosophy and existentially oriented psychotherapy are so important.
#1. The Existential Given of Limitation and Finitude
In existential thought, limitation and finitude refer to the inherent boundaries of our human existence, that is mortality, vulnerability, and inability to transcend certain conditions of life. These concepts highlight that humans are not infinite beings but are constrained by time, death, suffering, and the limits of knowledge, physiology and freedom. Philosophers often contrast finitude with infinity. Our inability to fully grasp either infinity or totality underscores the human condition as one of partiality and incompleteness.
Limitation in Existential Philosophy
In existential thought, limitation refers to the multitude of boundaries human being encounter.
It is a given in life that we humans must endure limitations of varying kinds; we do not get everything we can conceive and or want and we are all going to die. Awareness of limitation shapes every choice we make while simultaneously reflecting what we value. The inability to get everything we want can lead us to be envious or think the world is unfair and that we are victims because we do not have what others have. Limitation refers to the concrete restrictions of human life in general, our physical limitations and fragility, dependence on others, and inability to escape suffering. Human beings cannot grasp the “whole of reality.” Our mortality restricts our ability to fully comprehend infinity or ultimate truth. Existentialists argue that while humans are free, this freedom is always conduced within constraints. Here are a few instances wherein there are constraints on freedoms: a) social (As Janis Joplin Sang: “Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz? My friends all drive Porsches, I must make amends. Worked hard all my lifetime, no help from my friends. Oh Lord, won’t you buy me a Mercedes Benz?”), biological (functioning without heart and lungs), perception (interpretation due to experiential limitation), physical (running speed and strength), cognitive (limits on knowledge) and temporal (time to complete a project can be too short or too long). Paradoxically, recognizing limitations deepens freedom, since it forces individuals to choose within constraints rather than fantasize about infinite possibilities.
Finitude In Existential Thought
In philosophy, finitude, which comes from the Latin “finitus”, which means “bounded” or “limited,” describes the fact that human existence is finite, not infinite. Death is the ultimate marker of finitude. Human beings cannot grasp the “whole of reality.” Our finitude restricts our ability to fully comprehend infinity or ultimate truth. Existential thinkers like Heidegger emphasize that awareness of death shapes how we live authentically, rather than fleeing into illusions of permanence. Christian existential theologian Paul Tillich spoke of the “courage to be” in the face of nonbeing (death, meaninglessness”). Existential psychology and philosophy stress that meaning arises not despite finitude, but because of it. Death, suffering, and limitation force us to ask what makes life worthwhile. From a psychological perspective unacknowledged finitude intensifies trauma and grief. Without acceptance, loss feels unbearable, and individuals may struggle to integrate suffering into their lives.
In Summary
Limitation and finitude in existential thought underscore that human beings are finite creatures, bounded by death, time, and suffering, yet capable of freedom and meaning within those limits. Far from being purely negative, these boundaries are what make existential questions of authenticity, responsibility, and meaning possible.
Consequences of not adequately addressing limitation and finitude
If one does not come to terms with limitation and finitude, the result is often inauthentic living, anxiety, despair, or nihilism. Instead of embracing mortality and limitation as conditions for meaning, an individual may flee into illusions of permanence, distraction, or denial, ultimately undermining their ability to live authentically. Kierkegaard described despair as the refusal to accept oneself as finite and dependent. By denying finitude, individuals may experience a deep emptiness, since they are living in contradiction to their true condition. This despair can manifest as either defiance (pretending one is infinite and self-sufficient) or resignation (refusing to embrace freedom within limits). Nietzsche warned that ignoring finitude and the collapse of metaphysical certainties leads to nihilism. the belief that life has no inherent meaning. Without confronting death and limitation, people may cling to false absolutes or fall into meaninglessness when those illusions collapse. Heidegger argued that failing to face death results in living inauthentically according to social norms and distractions rather than owning one’s authentic existence. Denial of finitude often leads to escapism—through consumerism, entertainment, or rigid ideologies. These distractions mask mortality but prevent deeper engagement with meaning, love, and responsibility. Avoidance prevents authentic choices, since the individual never grasp their life as a finite project. Bugental emphasized that psychotherapy must help clients confront, rather than evade, the realities of both limitation and death.
Why Acceptance of Limitation and Finitude Matters
Accepting both limitation and finitude allows one to live deliberately, making choices that reflect personal values rather than social conformity. Existential psychology shows that meaning in life often arises precisely from confronting death and suffering. Recognizing limits paradoxically deepens freedom, since it forces individuals to choose within constraints rather than fantasize about infinite possibilities. In short: refusing to confront finitude traps individuals in despair, nihilism, or inauthenticity, while acceptance of finitude opens the possibility of authentic meaning and freedom.