Psychology: Twentieth century religion? A psychologist's view

Conclusion In conclusion, then, let me ask again the question: Is psychology our century's religion ? My answer is that psychology is not, and can never be, a full-fledged organized religion with comparable characteristics to Judaism, Catholicism, or Protestantism. Psychology is a modern science and has no coherent system of religious attitudes and beliefs, no conception of ultimate values, no dogmas supernatural in character, and no God. At most psychology is, or can be, a religious-like substitute for religion for a certain subgroup of our population, mainly intellectuals.However, both religion and depth psychology are deeply concerned with modern man's predicament. It is my belief that many people may experience religious — like phenomena within a therapeutic relationship and as a consequence of successful psychotherapy. Therefore, the roles of the clergyman and of the therapist overlap in their efforts to help modern man in his suffering and creative growth. But religion will always have its unique function and so will psychology.This article is a revised version of a talk prepared for the symposium during the Campus Conference on Religion at Cornell University, October 23, 1961.     

Handling Spirituality/Religion in Professional Training: Experiences of a Sample of Muslim Psychology Students

With increasing research interest in the relationship between spirituality/religion and mental health, the present study uses semi-structured interviews on a select group of Muslim students to explore their understanding and handling of spirituality in a secular training programme. Their understanding of spirituality, its perceived role in therapy and their training experiences are subjected to qualitative analysis using the framework approach (Ritchie & Spencer, 1994. In A. Bryman & R.G. Burgess (Eds), Analysing Qualitative Data. London: Routledge). All five participants perceived spirituality as central to human functioning. Probes into their training experience uncovered issues of bias against religious applicants, apprehension about demonstrating religious commitment, fear of punishment for compromising religious integrity, better rapport with Muslim patients but general uncertainty about handling spiritual issues in therapy, and a strong desire for the integration of spirituality/religion in the program.Cynthia Joan Patel, M.A., is a Lecturer in the School of Psychology at the University of Kwazulu-Natal, Westville Campus, Durban, South Africa. She is a Registered Counselling and Research Psychologist with the Health Professions Council of South Africa). Her research interests include women and religion, attitudes toward abortion, and the meaning of work in women’s lives. Armas E. E. Shikongo, M.A., is a Lecturer in the Department of Psychology at the University of Namibia. His research area is the psychology of spirituality.     

Conspiracies of immanence: Paul Tillich,Pierre Teilhard de Chardin and C.G. Jung

Jung's psychology proffers a sustained reflection on the traditional religious question of the relation of divine transcendence to immanence. On this issue his psychology affirms a position of radical immanence in its contention that the experience of divinity is initially wholly from within. Though this position remains on the periphery of religious and theological orthodoxy Jung is not alone in holding it among moderns. Paul Tillich adopts a similar stance with his controlling symbols of the divine as ‘Ground of Being’ and ‘Depth of Reason’. Pierre Teilhard de Chardin understands divinity as the experiential energy of evolution itself working within nature and humanity toward greater configurations of universal communion as the basis of community. All of Jung's master symbols of individuation assume such an understanding of immanence uniting individual and totality. His psychology strongly suggests and contributes to the current emergence of a new religious sensitivity based on the awareness of the intra‐psychic origin of all religions. In his later writings he held out such a position as a significant alternative to genocide.     

The Structure of Religious Mystical Experience in Relation to Pre- and Postexperience Lifestyles

Understanding religious experience constitutes one of the perennial problems of the psychology of religion. Though formal work on this topic began almost a century ago (Coe, 1990; Cutten, 1908; Hall, 1904; James, 1902; Starbuck, 1899), the questions phrased by early scholars have still to be definitively answered. Following the landmark research of E. T. Clark in 1929 on "religious awakening," research on religious experience essentially disappeared from mainstream psychology until about 1960 (W. H. Clark, 1971; W. H. Clark, Malony, Daane, & Tippett, 1973; Godin, 1985; Stark, 1965). Ralph Hood rapidly became the key research scholar in this area (Hood, 1985, 1986; Spilka, Hood, & Gorsuch, 1985). Despite his very significant efforts, including the construction of a mysticism scale (Hood, 1975), there is still a need for theoretically and operationally understanding the complex nature of intense religious experience. Specifically, this domain merits examination in terms of (a) possible pre-experience correlates of the experience, (b) the nature of the experience, and (c) the character of one's life following the experience (E. T. Clark, 1929; Leuba, 1925; Underhill, 1930).     

Jon Carlson: Award for Distinguished Career Contributions to Education and Training in Psychology

Presents Jon Carlson as the 2011 winner of the American Psychological Association Award for Distinguished Career Contributions to Education and Training in Psychology. "For his contributions in creating educational and training materials in psychology for instruction and the public. Jon Carlson has a distinguished career in higher education, maintained an active private practice, served 34 years as a school psychologist/counselor, is a prolific author and scholar, and is an innovator in the development of media-based training materials. His contribution to education and training is noteworthy for the volume of his professional production, the scope of topics addressed, and his ability to provide meaningful tools to change how psychologists are trained. His audiovisual work documents the profession of psychology in terms of research and practice for current scholars and for future generations." (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2011 APA, all rights reserved).     

Salvaging the self in a world without soul: William James's The Principles of psychology

This article explores William James's transformation of the religious soul into the secular self in The Principles of Psychology. Although James's views on the self are familiar to many historians of psychology, the article places his treatment of the self within the broader social and cultural context of a secularizing, industrializing society. There were palpable tensions and anxieties that accompanied the cultural shift, and these are particularly transparent in James's Principles. James attempted the project of secularizing the soul in order to promote a natural science of the mind but with marked ambivalence for the project, because it left out some of the moral and metaphysical questions of great interest to him.     

A citation analysis of Henri Tajfel's work on intergroup relations

The late Henri Tajfel (1919-1982) is one of the central figures who shaped the development of post-war European social psychology. His contributions range from the establishment of an infrastructure for a European social psychology, and the start of a new intellectual movement within social psychology, to the formulation of a set of concepts addressing intergroup relations that were finally integrated into Social Identity Theory. The present study provides an empirical examination of Tajfel's contribution to intergroup research over the last 30 years via a citation analysis of five journals: the Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, the British Journal of Social Psychology, the European Journal of Social Psychology, the South African Journal of Psychology, and the German Journal of Social Psychology (Zeitschrift für Sozialpsychologie). The results indicate that Tajfel's work on intergroup relations is increasingly cited, especially since the 1990s, and the international recognition of his work is substantial. Three possible reasons for the recognition his work still enjoys are proposed: its potential to generate theoretical and empirical controversies; its explanatory power; and the extent to which his work is used as a referential framework.     

Philip G. Zimbardo on his career and the Stanford Prison Experiment's 40th anniversary. Interview by Scott Drury, Scott A. Hutchens, Duane E. Shuttlesworth, and Carole L. White

We interviewed Philip G. Zimbardo on April 19, 2011, in anticipation of the 40th anniversary of the Stanford Prison Experiment in August 2011. While Zimbardo's name is mentioned often in tandem with the experiment, he has distinguished himself in many other areas within psychology before and after the experiment, beginning with an accomplished early career at New York University in which he took interest in social psychology research on deindividuation. We discussed the Stanford Prison Experiment in the greater context of his varied and illustrious career, including recent pioneering work on heroism, the establishment of The Shyness Clinic at Stanford University, and the iconic Discovering Psychology series. We also addressed his adroit and candid approach to the experiment itself over the years.     

Secular and religious: the intrinsic doubleness of analytical psychology and the hegemony of naturalism in the social sciences

In recent years a number of prominent social theorists, including Jürgen Habermas and Charles Taylor, have voiced concern about the hegemony of naturalistic, secular assumptions in the social sciences, and in their different ways have sought to address this by establishing greater parity between secular and religious perspectives. This paper suggests that C.G. Jung's analytical psychology, which hitherto has been largely ignored by social theory, may have something to contribute on this issue as it can be understood coherently both empirically, without reference to transcendent reality, and metaphysically, with reference to transcendent reality. It is argued that, despite his denials of any metaphysical intent, Jung does in fact engage in metaphysics and that together the empirical and metaphysical vectors of his thought result in a rich and distinctive double perspective. This dual secular and religious perspective can be seen as part of Jung's own critique of the hegemony of naturalism and secularism, which for Jung has profound social as well as clinical relevance. The concern and approach that Habermas and Taylor share with Jung on this issue may provide some grounds for increased dialogue between analytical psychology and the social sciences.     

Henry A. Murray's Early Career: A Psychobiographical Exploration

ABSTRACT This paper is a psychobiographical study of Henry A Murray's early career A formulation of his personality is developed, emphasizing his inner depressive tendencies, his sense of specialness, and his characteristic concerns in relationships His decision to become a psychologist, his initial reaction to academic psychology, and his years of involvement with psychoanalysis are considered in the light of his personality The final section contains an examination of the ways in which Murray's personality and his experiences during his early career shaped Explorations in Personality, his most influential work.     

In defense of Joy: C. S. Lewis and psychoanalysis

The imaginative experience of Joy, as he calls it, was central to the career of C. S. Lewis: it informed his work as literary scholar, writer, and religious thinker. Cognizant that psychoanalytic concepts held implications for the meaning of this experience, Lewis offers a critical commentary on these implications and their presuppositions with regard to literary imagery. His commentary suggests possible conflicts between a view of humankind that is psychoanalytically-derived and one which is aesthetically informed.     

Emerging Finnish Adults Coping with Cancer: Religious,Spiritual, and Secular Meanings of the Experience

The article presents empirical findings on religious, spiritual, and secular coping among emerging Finnish adults with cancer and seeks an understanding of the different meanings they constructed of their experience with cancer. Autobiographical interviews and life tree drawings of 16 emerging adults were analyzed utilizing a narrative approach. To gain a deeper understanding of the cancer-coping and meaning-making processes, the stories of Beth, Sophia, and Anna are explored in detail. An exploration of the meaning-making process of all the participants shows that over time many of the participants were able to find meaning in their cancer experience. Religious meaning was found when the disease was discovered as a calling from God, spiritual meaning was discovered within a buffered identity and important relationships, and secular meaning was found in the courage to make a career change. The theoretical discussion points out a gap between the disciplines of theology and psychology of religion. The gap is partly bridged by utilizing the concepts of lived religion and existentially oriented spirituality in the discussion of meaning-making theories.     

FINDING ROTHKOWITZ: THE JEWISH ROTHKO

While Mark Rothko's canvases are renowned for their rich, monumental expanses of colour, he has insisted that his paintings should be appreciated on more than an aesthetic level. “The people who weep before my pictures,” he commented in 1956, “are having the same religious experience I had when I painted them.” While various critics and scholars have recognized the importance of this remark, just what Rothko meant by “religious experience” has been highly contested. In this article I will argue that Rothko's Jewish identity—informed by his experiences in Russia and New York—influenced his understanding of “religious experience” in subtle but powerful ways. I will not attempt to spot a raft of Jewish symbols and references in Rothko's work, an endeavour that has yielded spurious results in previous studies. Instead, I will examine Rothko's sense of “religious experience” as an evolving concept in his thought and painting; a process which finds its culmination in the Rothko Chapel, a space informed but not defined by the artist's Jewishness.     

Burnout and Depression Among Roman Catholic Secular,Religious, and Monastic Clergy

Burnout and depression among Roman Catholic secular, religious order, and monastic (Cistercian) priests was investigated using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI) and the Center for Epidemiological Studies-Depression (CESD) scale. Additionally, a Self-Report-Inventory (SRI) was included requesting information on demographics as well as four categories of predictor variables (vocational satisfaction, social support, spiritual activities, and physical environment) associated with burnout and depression. All participants were randomly selected. The survey yielded a return rate of 90.67%. Secular clergy reported significantly greater emotional exhaustion than did monastic clergy. Secular priests also had significantly greater depression (72%), when compared to religious (40.8%) and monastic (39.5) clergy. Overall group comparisons revealed that secular clergy experienced the highest degree of burnout and depression, monastics the least, and religious priests falling in between. The lack of social support and sense of isolation, for secular clergy, were key elements associated with their experience of both burnout and depression. Candidate in Psychology atand a Psychology Intern at the Ohio State University     

Jean Martin Charcot and Aphasia: Treading the Line between Experimental Physiology and Pathological Anatomy

During his entire career Jean Martin Charcot published or lectured on aphasia and brain localization in man. He contributed case studies during the early 1860s, while in the 1870s he became the leading French promoter of localizationism. It was in 1883 and 1884 that he summarized his thoughts on aphasia in a series of 14 lectures he delivered at the Salpêtrière Hospice. His paramount ambition was to achieve didactic clarity. His proposed "bell diagram" was widely criticized for its simplicity, but nevertheless gained considerable popularity in France. His teaching borrowed extensively from the writings of contemporary researchers and was clearly associationist in nature. Charcot′s major contribution in the history of aphasiology is that he introduced the works of "diagram-makers" to the French scientific community at large. Charcot′s lecture series also played a key role in renewing interest in psychology. Charcot′s dismissal of experimental physiology as a legitimate means of investigating central nervous functions in man allowed him to define a separate field of research for a new psychology, one, he believed, which should depart from introspection and turn to his clinicoanatomic method for guidance.     

荆其诚的国际心理学思想与实践

荆其诚先生是当代中国著名的心理学家, 是改革开放后中国心理学界在国际上的代言人。他视野开阔, 是颇具造诣的实验心理学家, 也是功底深厚的理论心理学家。文章没有涉及他在认知与发展心理学方面所做的贡献, 只从理论方面分析他的国际心理学思想及实践, 找寻他对心理学研究所持的基本态度与价值追求。文章认为荆其诚在宏观把握心理学的发展逻辑后, 以“两个阵营的心理学”来界定心理学的现状, 坚信心理学的未来是一种国际的心理学。为了达成这一学术理想, 荆其诚不仅撰文将国外心理学介绍到中国、将中国心理学推介到国外, 还积极投身于国际心理学组织与实践, 长期担任国际心联的领导职务, 组织并主持召开了2004年第28届国际心理学大会。荆其诚的一生为彰显心理学的国际维度、促进国际心理学交流、将中国心理学推上世界舞台作出了巨大贡献。     

RELIGION AND FRANCIS BACON'S SCIENTIFIC UTOPIANISM

Francis Bacon often is depicted as a patriarch of modernity who promotes human rational action over faith in divine Providence and as a secular humanitarian who realized that improvement of the human condition depended on human action and not on God's saving acts in history. Bacon's New Atlantis is usually described as a “scientific utopia” because its ideal order, harmony, and prosperity are the result of the investigations of nature conducted by the members of Solomon's House. I challenge these characterizations by showing that Bacon's so‐called scientific utopianism is grounded in his religious convictions that his age was one of Providential intervention and that he was God's agent for an apocalyptic transformation of the human condition. I examine the centrality of these religious themes in two of his philosophical works, The Advancement of Learning and The Great Instauration, which are well known for setting out Bacon's critique of the state of learning and for presenting the principles of his epistemology. Analysis of The Advancement of Learning demonstrates Bacon's conviction that his reform of natural philosophy was part of a Providentially guided, twofold restoration of the knowledge of nature and the knowledge of God. Examination of The Great Instauration reveals that Bacon sees his age as one of apocalyptic transformation of the human condition that restores humanity to a prelapsarian state. Analysis of the New Atlantis shows that utopian perfection can be achieved only through a combination of right religion and the proper study of nature. Moreover, when the “scientific” work of Solomon's House is recontextualized within the religious themes of salvation and deliverance that permeate the New Atlantis, the full scope of Bacon's “scientific utopianism” can be seen, and this project is not the one usually portrayed in scholarly treatments. Bacon's program for rehabilitating humanity and its relation to nature is not a secular, scientific advance through which humanity gains dominion over nature and mastery of its own destiny but rather one guided by divine Providence and achieved through pious human effort.     

Vygotsky's Theory of Creativity

In Educational Psychology (1997/1926), Vygotsky pleaded for a realistic approach to children's literature. He is, among other things, critical of Chukovsky's story "Crocodile" and maintains that this story deals with nonsense and gibberish, without social relevance. This approach Vygotsky would leave soon, and, in Psychology of Art (1971/1925), in which he develops his theory of art, he talks about connections between nursery rhymes and children's play, exactly as the story of Chukovsky had done with the following argument: By dragging a child into a topsy-turvy world, we help his intellect work and his perception of reality. In his book Imagination and Creativity in Childhood (1995/1930), Vygotsky goes further and develops his theory of creativity. The book describes how Vygotsky regards the creative process of the human consciousness, the link between emotion and thought, and the role of the imagination. To Vygotsky, this brings to the fore the issue of the link between reality and imagination, and he discusses the issue of reproduction and creativity, both of which relate to the entire scope of human activity. Interpretations of Vygotsky in the 1990s have stressed the role of literature and the development of a cultural approach to psychology and education. It has been overlooked that Vygotsky started his career with work on the psychology of art.     

From philosopher to psychologist: the early career of Edwin Ray Guthrie, Jr

Edwin R. Guthrie rose to prominence as a psychologist in the 1930s. His theoretical outlook was behavioristic. This approach came from his conviction that an objective method could be applied to a scientific treatment of mind. Prior to becoming a psychologist, he was a philosopher of mathematics. Guthrie was initiated into psychology by Stevenson Smith, from whom he learned a psychology of adjustment informed by comparative research, Columbia functionalism, and clinical psychology. Guthrie's first step into psychology was in collaboration with Smith on Chapters in General Psychology (S. Smith & E.R. Guthrie, 1921). To synthesize their own unique position on learning from the contemporary theory and research, they used the principle of association. This articles focuses on Guthrie's origin and his development into a learning theorist.     

RUMINATIONS ON RUSE AND RELIGION

Abstract. I am in general agreement with Ruse on most religious and scientific issues but find little justification in his partial return to Christianity. His rejection of the literal interpretation of certain "Jewish myths," once started, can logically end only with the rejection of all the important content of both Old and New Testaments. His recognition that religious establishments have been responsible for much personal stress and many of history's great tragedies is understated.