Ontological security

The term ontological security was coined by psychiatrist R. D. Laing in the book The Divided Self in which it is described as a "basic existential position" from which a person "will encounter all the hazards of life, social, ethical, spiritual, biological, from a centrally firm sense of his [sic] own and other people's reality and identity." Ontological, in this context, is not used in a philosophical sense but in an empirical one, since Laing considered it the "best adverbial or adjectival derivative of being." The intellectual traditions that inform the concept are psychoanalysis, specifically British object relations theory in which Laing was trained, and existential philosophy. In sociology, ontological security is a stable mental state derived from a sense of continuity in regard to the events in one's life. Anthony Giddens (1991) refers to ontological security as a sense of order and continuity in regard to an individual's experiences. He argues that this is reliant on people's ability to give meaning to their lives. Meaning is found in experiencing positive and stable emotions, and by avoiding chaos and anxiety. If an event occurs that is not consistent with the meaning of an individual's life, this will threaten that individual's ontological security. Ontological security also involves having a positive view of self, the world, and the future.