Second-wave positive psychology (PP 2.0) is a therapeutic approach in psychology that attempts to bring out the best in individuals and society by incorporating the dark side of human existence through the dialectical principles of yin and yang. This represents a distinct shift from focusing on individual happiness and success to the dual vision of individual well-being and collective humanity. PP 2.0 is more about bringing out the "better angels of our nature" than achieving optimal happiness or personal success. The approach posits that empathy, compassion, reason, justice, and self-transcendence will improve humans, both individually and collectively. PP 2.0 centers around the universal human capacity for meaning-seeking and meaning-making in achieving optimal human functioning under both desirable and undesirable conditions. This emerging movement is a response to perceived problems of what some have called "positive psychology as usual".
Limitations of positive psychology Positive psychology "as usual" has been presented as the branch of psychology that uses scientific understanding and effective intervention to aid in the achievement of a satisfactory life, rather than treating mental illness. The focus of positive psychology is on personal growth rather than on pathology.It has been argued that this binary, dichotomous view has fueled positive psychology's success and decline. The single-minded focus on positivity has resulted in persistent backlash (e.g., Frawley, 2015 for a recent review). The following criticisms have been leveled against positive psychology by researchers both outside of and within the positive psychology community. These include the "tyranny" of positivity and the lack of balance between positives and negatives; failing to cover the entire spectrum of human experiences; failing to recognize the importance of contextual variables; and assuming that the Western individualistic culture represents the universal human experience. As a result, various positive psychologists have proposed the need for a broader perspective.
Existential positive psychology Paul Wong has argued for integrating positive psychology with existential psychology, resulting in "existential positive psychology" (EPP). This approach differs significantly from positive psychology "as usual" regarding epistemology and content. EPP takes a pluralistic and holistic approach to research. It is open to insights and wisdom from both the East and the West and research findings from all sources regardless of the paradigm of truth claims. In terms of content, it explores both people's existential anxieties and their ultimate concerns. Thus, EPP contributes to a broader understanding of human experiences. Both existential philosophers and psychologists see life as a series of paradoxes, predicaments, and problems. From this existential perspective, life is also full of striving and sense-making, tragedies, and triumphs. The dynamic interplay between good and evil, negatives and positives, is one of the hallmarks of EPP. Positives cannot exist apart from negatives, and authentic happiness grows from pain and suffering. This paradoxical view reflects Albert Camus' insight that "there is no joy of life without despair" (p. 56) and Rollo May's observation that "the ultimate paradox is that negation becomes affirmation" (p. 164). It may be argued that positive psychology is intrinsically existential because it is concerned with such fundamental questions about human existence as: What is the good life? What makes life worth living? How can one find happiness? Positive psychology research on these existential issues without taking into account the existential literature inevitably leads to superficiality or mischaracterization. A comprehensive positive psychology cannot be developed without taking into account the reality of death, the only certainty for all living organisms. However, human beings alone are burdened with the cognitive capacity to be aware of their own mortality and to fear what may follow after one's own demise. However, death awareness may be essential to meaningful living; "though the physicality of death destroys us, the idea of death saves us" (p. 7). Thus, awareness of our finality is indeed an important motivational factor for us to do something meaningful and significant in our lives. Therefore, EPP advocates that the proper context of studying well-being and the meaningful life is the reality of suffering and death. Researchers who share this view include Bretherton and Ørner, Schneider, and Taheny. Recently, positive psychologists have recognized that positive psychology is rooted in Humanistic psychology, but in practice, it continues to distance itself from its heritage because of the alleged lack of scientific research in humanistic psychology. A mature positive psychology needs to return to its existential-humanistic roots because it can both broaden and deepen positive psychology.
Components of PP 2.0 Paul Wong extends EPP to second-wave positive psychology (PP 2.0) by formally incorporating the dialectical principles of Chinese psychology, the bio-behavioral dual-system model of adaptation, and cross-cultural positive psychology. Thus, PP 2.0 provides a big tent that allows for multiple indigenous positive psychologies and a much broader list of variables that contribute to well-being and flourishing. PP 2.0 is necessary because neither positive psychology nor humanistic-existential psychology can adequately understand such complex human phenomena as meaning, virtue, and happiness. Such deep knowledge can only be achieved by an integrative and collaborative endeavor. This calls for a humble science. In other words, PP 2.0 denies that the positivist paradigm is the only way to examine truth claims, especially when we research the profound questions of what makes life worth living.
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