Freedom is man's capacity to take a hand in his own development. It is our capacity to mold ourselves.

Rollo May (1909–1994), a leading figure in American existential psychology, repeatedly argued that human freedom is inseparable from responsibility and self-formation. The quotation reflects themes he developed in mid‑20th‑century writings that brought Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, and existential philosophy into psychotherapy, especially his focus on “becoming” rather than merely adapting. May wrote in the shadow of World War II and the Cold War, when anxieties about conformity, mass society, and determinism (whether biological, social, or behavioral) were prominent. In this intellectual climate, he emphasized that persons are not simply products of drives or conditioning but can participate in shaping character and life direction through conscious choice and courage.

May is using “freedom” in an existential-psychological sense: not mere political liberty or the absence of constraint, but the human ability to participate consciously in becoming who one is. The quote links freedom to agency and responsibility—our capacity to choose attitudes, commitments, and actions that shape character over time. “Development” and “mold ourselves” suggest that the self is not fixed; it is formed through decisions made under real limits (biology, history, circumstance). In May’s framework, this kind of freedom is inseparable from anxiety and courage: to mold oneself is to risk, to confront uncertainty, and to accept accountability for one’s life.