A Psychobiographical Study of Intuition in a Writer's Life: Paulo Coelho Revisited

Psychobiographical reflections on Viktor von Weizsäcker within the cultural framework of salutogenesis and medical anthropology

This article explores the life of Viktor von Weizsäcker (VvW, 1886-1957), a German medical doctor, philosopher and founder of the Heidelberg School of Anthropological Medicine, from a psychobiographical and salutogenic perspective. The authors use salutogenesis and sense of coherence (SOC), and take crucial cultural, historical, and socio-structural frameworks into account to explore the life during the 19th and 20th Centuries in Germany. They present the exploration of a strong SOC in the life of VvW and show how SOC is created within the tight family bonds of the family clan, which has produced many extraordinary theologists, philosophers, scientists and politicians over six generations. In a complex, interconnected and holistic way, SOC is evident in von VvW's individual life, and is also shown to be a family resource. This article contributes to psychobiography in three ways: it develops the salutogenetic perspective in psychobiography, explores the life of VvW within a specific sociocultural context, and investigates the life from a salutogenetic and socio-cultural perspective. Finally, conclusions are drawn, and recommendations for theory and practice are given.

Guiding psychologists through inner and outer worlds: reflections from an academic Levinsonian psychobiography of Joe Slovo

Psychobiography has become valuable within the context of professional psychology training. A recent psychobiography purposively sampled Joe Slovo to uncover, reconstruct and illustrate significant trajectories of his development. Slovo's (1926-1995) lifelong dedication to the struggle against Apartheid has been widely acknowledged, and he held longstanding leadership positions in various South African liberation movements. Levinson's theory of lifespan development served as the study's psychological lens. Alexander's approaches to data identification and extraction were used, followed by a psycho-historical matrix for data categorisation based on the life cycle theory and significant historical periods throughout Slovo's life. To fully embrace the Levinsonian understanding that an individual cannot be separated from their social world, consideration was given to significant historical and sociocultural forces and events during the data analysis. Therefore, this study's findings extend beyond Slovo's individual development to illuminate the complex ways external forces, such as family dynamics, historical events, political movements, community concerns and cultural and language considerations, influence developmental trajectories, life structures and tasks. The authors reflect on the value of sociocultural and contextual sensitivity in psychobiography to help trainee psychologists venture beyond the subject's inner psychological life, including understanding their outer worlds.

The Meaning of Life and Death in the Eyes of Frankl: Archetypal and Terror Management Perspectives

This article aims to uncover the meaning of life and death across the lifespan of the extraordinary person, Viktor E. Frankl (1905–1997). Frankl was purposively sampled due to his international acclaim as an Austrian neurologist and psychiatrist, who later became famous as a holocaust survivor and the founder of logotherapy. Through his approach of “healing through meaning,” he became the founder of the meaning-centred school of psychotherapy and published many books on existential and humanistic psychology. The study describes the meaning of life and death through two theoretical approaches: the archetypal analysis based on C.G. Jung’s and C.S. Pearson’s work and a terror management approach based on the melancholic existentialist work of Ernest Becker. The methodology of psychobiography is used to conduct the psycho-historical analysis of the interplay of archetypes and death annihilation anxiety throughout Frankl’s lifespan. The article evaluates how archetypes and death anxiety interacts and how they built meaning in different stages of Frankl’s lifespan. The theories are discussed and illustrated in the light of Viktor E. Frankl’s life.

Ferdinand Karl Piëch: A Psychobiography of a Ruthless Manager and Ingenious Engineer

The dark sides of personalities have gained importance during the past two decades. Psychobiography deals with the life of extraordinary individuals throughout the life span by applying selected theories to analyse specific life aspects. This study uses Theodore Millon's (1990, 2011) personality theory to explore the life of Ferdinand Karl Piëch (1937-2019), an Austrian engineer and business executive who was the chairman of the executive board of the Volkswagen Group (1993-2002) and the chairman of the supervisory board from 2002 to 2015. Piëch was also known for having a complex and controversial personality. This study aims to explore the life and work of Ferdinand Karl Piëch through the lens of Millon's personality theory. This study has four specific aims. Firstly, to provide an accurate and objective description of Piëch's life history. Secondly, to formulate an accurate description of Piëch's personality on the basis of existing biographical data. Thirdly, to interpret Piëch's personality through the use of Millon's theoretical framework and identify the personality prototypes that correspond with his personality characteristics. Fourthly, to contribute to expanding the field of "dark personality aspects" from a psychobiographical perspective, especially the personalities of extraordinary individuals. The findings suggest that although Piëch demonstrated the characteristics of three personality prototypes, the assertive-sadistic prototype is the best fit for his personality characteristics. Conclusions are drawn and recommendations for theory and practice are given.