DOCSLIB.ORG

Transpersonal Psychology E Instructor: Greg Bogart, Ph.D, (510) 594-4329 [email protected]

Total Page：16

File Type：pdf, Size：1020Kb

Download full-text PDF Read full-text
Transpersonal Psychology E Instructor: Greg Bogart, Ph.D, (510) 594-4329 Gbogart@Ciis.Edu EWP 6752 — Fall 2011 Transpersonal Psychology e Instructor: Greg Bogart, Ph.D, (510) 594-4329 [email protected] Course Description: Transpersonal psychology studies states of consciousness, how they interact and enhance our human existence, and their relevance to human beings living through a time of planetary crisis. Transpersonal researchers investigate experiences in which our awareness expands beyond the usual limits of space and time, the rational mind, and the physical body—for example, deep meditation, out-of-body journeys, telepathy and precognition, dream lucidity and radiance, visionary journeys induced through various methods, past life memories, awakening of chakras and kundalini energy, states of communion with plants, animals, and transhuman beings, nondual consciousness in its changeless tranquility. Transpersonal psychology studies both ancient and modern practices that awaken higher perceptual and energetic potentials: yoga, meditation, pranayama, shamanism, ecstatic dance, devotional practices, chanting and toning, visualization; and contemporary practices, new yogas and group disciplines, practices derived from ecopsychology, new transpersonal expressions in psychotherapy, transformative process work, healing arts, education, as well as in music, art, dance, film, and electronic culture. This course surveys the origins of transpersonal psychology and the unfolding of transpersonal paradigms, theories, and practices. Students are introduced to the work of influential researchers in the field. Students undertake a focused spiritual practice and write about their experiences and inner awakenings in a Spiritual Practice Journal. Midterm and final exams ask students to demonstrate their knowledge of transpersonal theories and to pursue their own research. Course Requirements: • Consistent class attendance (3 absences maximum) and active participation in class discussions. • Practice a spiritual discipline and keep a journal of your experiences. • Complete Midterm Exam (due October 19) and Final Exam and Research Paper (due December 7). Papers should be typed, double-spaced, and written in APA style. Carefully edit and proofread all written work prior to submission. • Do not email me your paper. I accept papers in hard copy only. There are no exceptions! If your paper is late, please hand it in at the following class. • Library orientation. Learn how to use search engines such as PsychInfo for instant access to a world of knowledge and current research. Ask a librarian to show you how. This will take 5 minutes. • In class presentation (10–15 minutes). You are encouraged to work in pairs or teams to create presentations, which can include summary of research for your papers or self-expression through music, art, video, poetry, movement, and electronic media. Working together on these presentations should be fun and a catalyst for your learning and creativity. • You are not required to read everything in this syllabus. I am providing abundant materials and leave it to you to decide how much you want to read. • Please turn off all cell phones and pagers during class. Learning Activities Cognitive/Didactic (lecture/discussion): 50% Practical/Applied (presentations/research) 25% Experiential (group process) 25% Criteria for Evaluation: Spiritual practice journal: 10% Classroom presence and participation 20% Midterm Exam 35% Final exam and research paper 35% Summary of Educational Purpose: This course provides students with a conceptual and experiential foundation in transpersonal psychology, surveys major theorists who have shaped the field, and prepares students to do their own research. The course is also an experiential training in theories and practices intended to aid students in their self-transformation. Learning Objectives: After completing this course, students will: • Understand the basic theories and practices of transpersonal psychology, and be able to discuss the history and pivotal thinkers in the field. • Develop their own vision of the practical applications of transpersonal theories and models, in psychotherapy, spiritual counseling, education, healthcare and healing arts, bodywork, religion and community activism and leadership. Level of Instruction: M.A./Ph.D Prerequisites: None Grading Options: Course is pass/fail; letter grade is optional Required Texts: Reader of selected articles, available at Copy Central, 2336 Market Street (between Castro and Noe) telephone: 415 431-6725. Wilber, K. (2000). Integral psychology: Consciousness, spirit, psychology, therapy. Boston: Shambhala. Ferrer, J. (2002). Revisioning transpersonal theory. A participatory vision of human spirituality. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. Washburn, M. (1998). The ego and the dynamic ground. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. Murphy, M. (1992). The future of the body: Explorations into the further evolution of human nature. Los Angeles: Jeremy Tarcher. Other Recommended Books: Metzner, R. (1998). The unfolding self. Novato, CA: Origin Press. This book is now available in from Pioneer Imprints, in a print-on-demand basis. Cost is $23. Contact: [email protected] . Tel: 415-531-9233. Daniels, M. (2005). Shadow, self, spirit: Essays in transpersonal psychology. Charlottesville,VA: Imprint Academic. Spiritual Practice Journal, excerpts due with Midterm Exam. Transpersonal psychology is a path for those who are actively committed to a path of consciousness expansion and spiritual awakening. Thus, spiritual practice is a key component of the course. For this assignment you have two options. Both require focus and discipline; both offer opportunities for self-liberation through inner work. Option A: Pick a spiritual practice or mind-body discipline: meditation, yoga, chi gung, ecstatic dancing, chanting, shamanism, pranayama, holotropic breathwork, TM, vipassana, tantra, candle gazing, bodywork. Whatever you do, do it consistently for several weeks. Write about your inner experiences and awakenings as you understand them in the light of transpersonal models and theories covered in the readings and class discussions. Option B: Read Ralph Metzner’s book, The unfolding self. In highly evocative writing, this book describes 12 central metaphors of human transformation: From caterpillar to butterfly; awakening from the dream of reality; uncovering the veils of illusion; from captivity to liberation; purification by inner fire; from fragmentation to wholeness; reconciling with the inner enemy; on dying and being reborn; from darkness to light; integrating the inner wild animal; unfolding the tree of our life; journey to the place of vision and power; returning to the source. Pick one or more of these themes and discuss their relevance to your current spiritual evolution. This book provides rich material for journaling, self-inquiry, and self-realization. You will turn in a summary or excerpts from your journal with your Midterm Exam. At any time during the semester you may share brief passages from your spiritual practice journal in class. Midterm Exam and Final Exam and Research Paper, described below. Student Presentations Each week, one or two 10–15 minute time slots will be allotted for student presentations. This is a time to formulate your thoughts and express your creativity. You can present individually, or team up with another class member to collaborate on a joint 20–25 minute presentation. Presentations can include your personal response to one (or more) of the readings, describing whatever it evoked in you. August 31. Introduction to transpersonal psychology, and the historical and cultural factors contributing to its emergence. Frances Vaughan: The inward and outward arcs of evolution; Five levels of health. Reading : Instructor’s Notes on Stan Grof, Beyond the brain (Chapter 1). September 7. The Great Ancestors: William James, the study of the stream of consciousness. Sigmund Freud, the study of dreams and their symbolism. Carl Jung, archetypes of the collective unconscious; synchronicity, psychology east and west. Reading : Robert Frager, “Transpersonal psychology: Promise and prospects.” Ronald Valle, “The emergence of transpersonal psychology.” [Carefully read pp. 257–63. Skim or skip the remaining pages.] Bryan Wittine, “Beyond ego.” Bruce Scotton, “Introduction and definition of transpersonal psychology.” Allan Chinen, “The emergence of transpersonal psychiatry.” Mark Epstein, “Freud’s influence on transpersonal psychology.” Bruce Scotton, “The contributions of C. G. Jung to transpersonal psychiatry.” For further study : Michael Daniels, “Approaching transpersonal psychology.” Shadow, self, spirit (pp. 11–38). September 14. The Great Ancestors, II. Existential-humanistic psychology. Abraham Maslow, Anthony Sutich. Roberto Assagioli and Psychosynthesis. Reading : Roberto Assagioli, “Psychosynthesis: Height psychology—Discovering the self and the Self—an interview with Roberto Assagioli.” J. R. Battista, “Abraham Maslow and Roberto Assagioli. Pioneers of transpersonal psychology.” Psychosynthesis Techniques: The Evening Review; Ideal Model Exercise; The Blossoming of the Rose; Exercise of “The Door”; Integration of Subpersonalities Through the Witness; Exercise in Disidentification and Self-Identification. For further study : Michael Daniels, “Maslow and self-actualization.” Shadow, self, spirit (pp. 115–29). J. Firman, & A. Gila, Psychosynthesis: A psychology of the spirit. September 21. The Harvard connection: William James, Timothy Leary, Richard Alpert/Ram Dass, and Ralph Metzner. Psychedelics and the study of consciousness.
Load more

Recommended publications
  • Reviewing the Heroic Experience: a Humanistic and Existential Counselling Perspective
    Heroism Science Volume 4 Issue 1 Article 6 2019 Reviewing the Heroic Experience: A Humanistic and Existential Counselling Perspective Peter Bray University of Auckland, [email protected] Peter James University of Auckland, [email protected] Follow this and additional works at: https://scholarship.richmond.edu/heroism-science Part of the Counseling Psychology Commons, and the Developmental Psychology Commons Recommended Citation Bray, Peter and James, Peter (2019) "Reviewing the Heroic Experience: A Humanistic and Existential Counselling Perspective," Heroism Science: Vol. 4 : Iss. 1 , Article 6. DOI: 10.26736/hs.2019.01.06 Available at: https://scholarship.richmond.edu/heroism-science/vol4/iss1/6 This Article is brought to you for free and open access by UR Scholarship Repository. It has been accepted for inclusion in Heroism Science by an authorized editor of UR Scholarship Repository. For more information, please contact [email protected]. 1 Heroism Science: An Interdisciplinary Journal (ISSN 2573- 7120) https://scholarship.richmond.edu/heroism-science/ Vol. 4 No. 1 (2019) pp. 1-34 Reviewing the Heroic Experience: A Humanistic and Existential Counselling Perspective PETER BRAY1 University of Auckland [email protected] PETER JAMES University of Auckland [email protected] ABSTRACT: Taking a humanistic and existential counselling stance, this brief review of heroism and the heroic experience begins by discussing the utility and structure of Joseph Campbell’s (1949) monomythic narrative of the hero’s journey, whilst considering the Jungian conceptualisation of the archetype and the collective unconscious. With their shared assumptions about transformation and growth, modern psychology and the therapeutic practice of counselling and psychotherapy are reviewed in terms of their utilisation of the hero-journey as a developmental metaphor for clients, particularly in trauma recovery.
    [Show full text]
  • The Human Encounter with Death
    The Human Encounter With Death by STANISLAV GROF, M.D. & JOAN HALIFAX, PH.D. with a Foreword by ELISABETH KÜBLER-ROSS, M.D D 492 / A Dutton Paperback / $3.95 / In Canada $4.75 Stanislav Grof, M.D., and Joan Halifax, Ph.D., have a unique authority and competence in the interpretation of the human encounter with death. Theirs is an extraordin­ ary range of experience, in clinical research with psyche- delic substances, in cross-cultural and medical anthropology, and in the analysis of Oriental and archaic literatures. Their pioneering work with psychedelics ad­ ministered to individuals dying of cancer opened domains of experience that proved to be nearly identical to those al­ ready mapped in the "Books of the Dead," those mystical visionary accounts of the posthumous journeys of the soul. The Grof/Halifax book and these ancient resources both show the imminent experience of death as a continuation of what had been the hidden aspect of the experience of life. —Joseph Campbell The authors have assisted persons dying of cancer in tran­ scending the anxiety and anger around their personal fate. Using psychedelics, they have guided the patients to death- rebirth experiences that resemble transformation rites practiced in a variety of cultures. Physician and medical anthropologist join here in recreating an old art—the art of dying. —June Singer The Human Encounter With Death is the latest of many re­ cent publications in the newly evolving field of thanatology. It is, however, a quite different kind of book—one that be­ longs in every library of anyone who seriously tries to un­ derstand the phenomenon we call death.
    [Show full text]
  • Statement on Diversity: As a Subfield of Religious Studies, the Study of Comparative Mysticism Has Been Dominated by Male White Western Scholars Since Its Inception
    California Institute of Integral Studies EWP9566: ADVANCED Ph.D. SEMINAR: COMPARATIVE MYSTICISM Spring 2014 (3 units) Thursdays 3:00pm-6:00pm (Jan 30-Mar 13; Mar 27-May 1); Saturday 10-5pm (May 10) Instructor: Jorge N. Ferrer, PhD. Tel. (415) 575-6262; email: [[email protected]]. Course Description: In the spirit of dialogue and inquiry, this advanced seminar provides an in-depth exploration of the field of comparative mysticism. After discussing the various meanings of the term “mysticism,” an overview of the field of comparative mysticism and its methodological foundations will be offered. We will discuss the major horizons of the field, as well as the main families of interpretive models in the field: typological, perennialist, constructivist, feminist, neo-perennialist, evolutionary, contextualist, postmodern, pluralist, and participatory. Topical sessions will address five contemporary areas of inquiry in the study of mysticism: (1) the intermonastic dialogue, (2) mysticism and gender, (3) embodiment and erotic mysticism, (4) the ethics of mysticism, and (5) psychedelic research and mystical experience. Students select two mystical traditions, authors, notions or phenomena and compare them applying one of the models studied or their own comparative approach. Students are encouraged to approach the study of mystics and mystical texts from an empathic, participatory, and contemplative perspective. Summary of Educational Purpose: The main purpose of this course is to deepen students’ knowledge of classic and contemporary approaches to the study of mystical phenomena and comparative mysticism. An additional objective is to guide students in the selection of the most appropriate comparative approach for their research interests. Learning Objectives: After completing this course, students will be able to: 1.
    [Show full text]
  • The Transpersonal William James
    THE TRANSPERSONAL WILLIAM JAMES Mark B. Ryan, Ph.D. Cholula, Puebla, Mexico ABSTRACT: Transpersonal psychologists often speculate on who was their ‘‘first’’ pioneer, commonly with reference to Carl Jung. A look at the early development of modern psychology, however, reveals various figures who accepted a spiritual and collective dimension of the psyche, among them William James. Out of a tension between scientific and religious outlooks embodied in his own life and thought, James had embraced and articulated the principal elements of a transpersonal orientation by the early twentieth century, and had given them a metaphysical and empirical justification on which they still can stand today. We can see those elements in four aspects of his thought: first, in what he chose to study, especially in his interest in psychic and religious experience; second, in his definition of true science and his refutation of materialism; third, in his concept of consciousness; and fourth, in his defense of the validity of spiritual experience. ‘‘100 Years of Transpersonal Psychology’’: the title and description of the Association for Transpersonal Psychology conference in September, 2006, represented a milestone in the official recognition of William James’s place in the origins of modern transpersonal thought. As the conference’s official announcement declared, James made the first recorded use of the term ‘‘transpersonal’’ in 1905. The conference’s title took its measure of a century from that coinage, suggesting a major role for James in the founding of the field. The occasion of James’s use of the term was modest: an unpublished document, merely a printed course syllabus at Harvard University for an introductorycourse in philosophy (Vich, 1998).
    [Show full text]
  • The Transpersonal Self: 1. a Psychohistory and Phenomenology of the Soul
    Transpersonal Psychology Review, Vol. 6, No. 1, 17-28. (2002) [Preprint Version] Note: A revised and updated version of this paper appears as a chapter in Daniels, M. (2005). Shadow, Self, Spirit: Essays in Transpersonal Psychology . Exeter: Imprint Academic. The Transpersonal Self: 1. A Psychohistory and Phenomenology of the Soul Michael Daniels Abstract This is the first of two papers in which I examine the meaning and significance of concepts of the transpersonal self. In this paper I focus on the development and experiential foundations of religious and metaphysical ideas about the soul. These ideas, I suggest, have profoundly influenced psychological approaches to the transpersonal self. A psychohistorical examination of the concept of the soul suggests that it encompasses a varied and complex set of aspects and meanings. The different aspects of the soul are, I suggest, based on interpretations of a wide variety of human experiences, including life and death, dreams, out-of-body experiences, hauntings, possession, self-reflexive consciousness, inspiration, and mystical experience. In general terms, concepts of the soul seem to have evolved from a primitive belief in a quasi-physical reality, through the later incorporation of psychological qualities, to what may be a relatively recent focus on spiritual experience. Conceptual difficulties can arise when we fail to recognise the differences between these levels of interpretation. "I cannot understand what mind is, or how it differs from soul or spirit . They all seem one to me." St Teresa of Avila, The Book of Her Life , Chap. 18. Cited in Happold, 1970, p. 352. Transpersonal Psychology Review, Vol.
    [Show full text]
  • Download (1MB)
    1 Contents Acknowledgments 4 Foreword 5 Chapter One Introduction 7 Chapter Two Self-actualisation, peak experience and flow 11 Chapter Three The plateau experience 27 Chapter Four Development of the PLEX psychometric 39 Chapter Five Discussion and future directions 71 Appendix I The PLEX-3 80 References 83 Index 94 2 List of Tables Table 2.1 Csikszentmihalyi’s characteristics of flow 21 Table 2.2 Csikszentmihalyi’s (2000) model 22 Table 3.1 Summary of the plateau experience 36 Table 4.1 Various stages advocated in psychometric development 42 Table 4.2 Summary of test-retest results 64 Table 4.3 Descriptive statistics for test/retest phases 67 Table 4.4 Descriptive statistics for the subscale totals 67 Table 4.5 Sten score and interpretation 69 3 Acknowledgments Conducting research is a process...not a product. As a process, there is a symbiotic relationship between the research and the researcher: as one develops, so does the other. However research is not conducted within a vacuum: a number of people have contributed in one way or another to the process. To this extent, I would specifically like to acknowledge the following... For their guidance, Dr. Michael Daniels, Professor Les Lancaster and the MSc Consciousness and Transpersonal Psychology programme team at Liverpool John Moores University (UK). Although the programme is no longer running, I am honoured to have studied under such a committed team and alongside such committed students. I would also like to extend my thanks to the staff at the University of Worcester (UK) who have enabled access to a variety of student cohorts and of course, the students for taking time to inform this research.
    [Show full text]
  • Powerpoint Slide 1
    ‘Holotropic BreathworkTM - healing through a non-ordinary state of consciousness’ Dr. Nicola Crowley Introduction The concepts of ‘healing’, and the ‘therapeutic power of altered states’ of consciousness are not mainstream concepts in psychiatry, but are increasingly being considered as valid and necessary subjects to consider in our expanding understanding of brain, mind and consciousness. This is challenging to doctors who are grounded in the biomechanical model and the Newtonian-Cartesian paradigm within which it is structured. Experiential data derived from work with non-ordinary states of consciousness challenges these basic tenets. Defining the ground Definitions form an important basic frame of reference as we start to explore a field that is essentially experiential, about experiences that can be beyond words. Healing The concept of healing is different to curing. The word ‘heal’ traces its roots back to the Anglo-Saxon word hal, which means ‘whole’. Curing on the other hand, implies that someone is trying to eliminate a disease, symptom or crisis. In psychiatry, medication is our curing tool. Suppressing symptoms to buy time, containment, and comfort and to gain balance and perspective are all possible. But the healing process is one of not suppressing symptoms but actually moving into them as a way of reaching wholeness. Sometimes our attempts at cures can deny the possibility of healing rather than facilitate it. Curing as an attempt to control our experiences can interfere with our ability to move into the unsolicited experiences we need to restructure our lives 1. In his essay ‘The Spirit in Health and Disease’ psychiatrist Laurence Bendit 2 spoke of healing as rebuilding one’s life anew from chaos and disorder: ‘Healing is basically the result of putting right our wrong relationship to the body, to other people and…to our own complicated minds, with their emotions and instincts at war with one another and not properly understood by what we call ‘I’ or ‘me’.
    [Show full text]
  • A Transpersonal Orientation: Psychosynthesis in the Counselor's
    A Transpersonal Orientation: Psychosynthesis in the Counselor’s Office* By Dorothy Firman, Ed.D. Introduction Defining transpersonal as simply that which goes beyond the individual or personal, it could be hypothesized that all counselors are, at least in part, transpersonal in their orientation. By and large Americans, in any profession, believe in God and in various other religious and spiritual perspectives (Harper, 2005). Given that this is the case, the transpersonal (or spiritual) dimension, is, almost inevitably, part of a counselor’s possible arena of concern. While it is important for counselors to orient themselves specifically towards areas of interest and expertise, it is also clear that broad knowledge and comfort in the widest possible area will serve both the counselor and client. It is therefore important that all counselors have a working knowledge of the transpersonal orientation in counseling and psychotherapy, simply to keep pace with their client’s concerns. It seems clear from the research, that counselors do, in fact, share an interest in and concern for the transpersonal dimension in their clinical work (Winston, 1990; Carlson, Kirkpatrick, Hecker, and Killmer, 2002). What is also likely to be true, is that counselors are not trained to work in that dimension nearly as thoroughly as they are trained, for instance, to work in family of origin issues. It is not surprising, at least historically, to find counselors dealing with spiritual or transpersonal issues with their clients, but not talking about that aspect of their work in supervision. And more often than not, there is little if any academic training in the transpersonal orientation in counseling and psychology (Shafranske and Malone, 1990).
    [Show full text]
  • A Perinatal Interpretation of Frightening Near-Death Experiences: a Dialogue with Kenneth Ring
    A Perinatal Interpretation of Frightening Near-Death Experiences: A Dialogue with Kenneth Ring Christopher M. Bache, Ph.D. Youngstown State University ABSTRACT: While endorsing several of Kenneth Ring's conclusions, I pro pose a more comprehensive interpretation of frightening near-death experi ences (NDEs). I criticize Ring's interpretation of meaningless void NDEs as emergence reactions and argue that all three forms of frightening NDEs inverted, hellish, and meaningless void experiences-are better understood as rooted in the perinatal level of consciousness. I expand Ring's account of resistance to ego death as the cause of these NDEs, and develop the broader implications of a perinatal reading of frightening NDEs. Finally, I introduce and explore parallels with the "dark night of the soul" experience. Anyone familiar with Stanislav Grof's work cannot help but be struck by the phenomenological parallels between perinatal symp tomatology (Grof, 1975, 1985, 1988) and frightening near-death experi ences (NDEs) (Atwater, 1992; Grey, 1985; Greyson and Bush, 1992; Irwin and Bramwell, 1988; Rawlings, 1978). These extensive parallels suggest that Grof's concept of the perinatal level of consciousness may hold an important key to understanding these enigmatic NDEs. Ken neth Ring is aware of these parallels and discussed them in his anal ysis of the meaningless void variety of NDE in his article, "Solving the Riddle of Frightening Near-Death Experiences" (1994). Ring's analysis is insightful and productive, yet I believe that the parallels with perinatal experience are much more extensive than he has recognized. Christopher M. Bache, Ph.D., is Professor of Philosophy and Religious Studies at Youngstown State University.
    [Show full text]
  • Perspectives and Vectors in Transpersonal Development
    Transpersonal Psychology Review, Vol 13, No. 1, 87-99. (April, 2009) [Preprint Version] Perspectives and vectors in transpersonal development Michael Daniels Different perspectives on the spiritual and transpersonal are discussed in relation to historical developments in human thought that occurred during the ‘axial period’ (c. 800 –200 BCE). Key aspects of post-axial ontology and soteriology are identified, and ‘ascending’ and ‘descending’ currents in post- axial soteriology are compared. It is argued that previous use of the term ‘descending current’ has conflated two distinct approaches: (1) the depth psychological perspective, and (2) the relational-participatory perspective. I suggest that the term ‘descending’ more appropriately applies to the depth psychological perspective while the relational-participatory perspective may be more meaningfully characterised as an ‘extending’ approach. In consequence, three distinct ‘vectors’ of transpersonal development may be distinguished: ascending, descending, and extending. The recognition of these vectors in various transpersonal theories is examined, together with the degree to which these theories promote a truly all-vector (AV) integral soteriology (practice). Perspectives on spirituality and the transpersonal The question of how to understand and define the transpersonal and spiritual is one that continues to occupy transpersonal psychologists (Daniels, 2005; Fontana, 2003). Currently there is no universally accepted position within the field. Rather, four, more or less distinct, perspectives may be identified (cf. Lancaster, 2004). 1. The religious perspective . This typically understands the transpersonal and spiritual in terms of people’s relationship to a divine reality that transcends mundane existence (e.g., God, Brahman, Supreme Being, Sachchidananda, Dharma, Tao, Great Spirit). 2. The psychological perspective .
    [Show full text]
  • Foreword for Jorge N. Ferrer's Revisioningtranspersonal Theory
    Foreword for Jorge N. Ferrer’s RevisioningTranspersonal Theory: A Participatory Vision of Human Spirituality (State University of New York Press, 2002) Richard Tarnas Revolutions in human thought seldom take place in a single clean sweep. Whether in science or philosophy, religion or art, major advances always emerge in a particular context and with a specific historical background that deeply shape and even constrain the way they unfold. A paradigm shift will often be initiated by a distinct, extraordinary break from the past—a kind of declaration of independence—yet this initial breakthrough will retain from the old paradigmatic structure certain essential and usually unexamined assumptions that limit the success of the new vision. These limiting assumptions held over from the past are, to use Erich Voegelin’s term, like a mortgage imposed on the new paradigm by the historical circumstances of its origin. On the one hand, the retained principles make possible the paradigm revolution in the first place, since the intellectual climate and presuppositions of the time could not have successfully supported a more radical break all at once. Yet on the other hand, the unconscious holdover often weakens the power of the new paradigm, and can even threaten to destroy it. Eventually, a crisis is reached. It may then happen that a second intervention will take place, a second conceptual breakthrough virtually as essential as the first, which will emancipate the original revolution from its unconscious limitations and allow the full paradigm shift to be realized. We see this dramatic sequence in the classic case of the Copernican revolution.
    [Show full text]
  • Retrieving Realism/ a Whiteheadian Wager
    RETRIEVING REALISM: A WHITEHEADIAN WAGER By Matthew T. Segall, PhD March 2017 California Institute of Integral Studies “‘Who was the greatest philosopher of the twentieth century whose name begins with W?’ Most learned people in America would answer ‘Wittgenstein.’ Sorry. The right answer is ‘Whitehead’—another philosopher… who is vastly more daring, and also, unfortunately, much less studied. Among his many misfortunes, Alfred North Whitehead…suffers from the terrible stigma of having indulged in metaphysics, something one is no longer supposed to do after the edicts of the first “W,” even though those who think that metaphysics is passé know usually much less science than Whitehead and swallow—without an ounce of criticism—hook, line, and sinker the entirety of metaphysical beliefs about nature that one can easily derive by lumping together the least-common-denominator views of geneticists and so-called cognitive scientists.” -Bruno Latour (2011) The organic realism of Alfred North Whitehead may provide a viable alternative to anti- realist tendencies in modern (and postmodern) philosophy since Descartes. Arguments developed by Hubert Dreyfus and Charles Taylor in their recent book Retrieving Realism (2015) aim at healing the modern epistemic wound separating soul from world in order to put human consciousness back into meaningful contact with reality, and while the authors articulated the problems cogently, their answer remains unsatisfying.1 Whitehead's process- relational approach may provide a sounder solution. In their brief but cogent text, Dreyfus and Taylor revisit a series of conversations they began with John McDowell and the late Richard Rorty in an effort to work out a realistic compromise between the objective knowledge claimed by modern scientific naturalism and the moral and spiritual values defended by inclusive humanism.
    [Show full text]