FROM PRUDENCE TO MORALITY: A Case for the Morality of Some Forms of Nondualistic Mysticism

Several contemporary philosophers have charged that there is a conceptual tension between nondualistic types of mystical awareness—an awareness of some particular conception of the divine as an all‐pervasive unity within which there are no distinct substances—and the social character of morality. However, some nondualistic mystics have conceptualized enlightenment not only as being compatible with moral virtue—specifically, compassion and care—but as providing a foundation for it. I here offer a conceptual model for this grounding, at least according to Dōgen Zenji and Meister Eckhart. Briefly, the model suggests that some forms of nondualistic mystical awareness are accompanied by the mystics' prudential concerns extending to include the well‐being of “others” under their scope. Finally, utilizing this model, I suggest possible responses to two common arguments for the claim that nondualistic mysticism is essentially amoral.     

A review of Lacan's seminar on anxiety1

The seminar on anxiety marks a turning point in the development of Lacan's thought from several perspectives. First, Lacan implicitly abandons his theory that the unconscious is structured like a language. He also abandons the endeavour to identify Freud's theory with his own. He develops some original new ideas about anxiety, some of which are of great interest, such as the connection between castration anxiety and narcissism; others, such as his denial of the existence of separation anxiety, are absurd. Lacan's main point of divergence from Freud, his rejection of the inner world, also emerges clearly in this seminar.     

Taxonomy of Spiritual Experiences

Spiritual experiences are often associated with health crises, with little information about the structure of the experience. A taxonomic analysis was conducted on data from a group of healers, unveiling a structural model of spiritual experience comprised of three domains: circumstances, manifestation and interpretation. Circumstances included the aspects of setting, situation, and timing. Manifestation incorporated the modes of awareness and the phenomena of the experience. Components of interpretation included personal meaning and congruence with social norms. The examples reflected the orientation of the study population. Further research could examine the applicability of the taxonomy to other religious or spiritual orientations and may assist in clinical assessment of spiritual experiences.Diane Wind Wardell, Ph.D., R.N.C., H.N.C., C.H.T.P./I., and Joan C. Engebretson, Dr.P.H., R.N., H.N.C., are Associate Professors in the School of Nursing at the University of Texas Health Science Center at Houston. Correspondence to Diane Wind Wardell, Diane.Wardell@uth.tmc.edu.     

‘How can we help when she won't tell us what's wrong?’ Professionals working with South Asian women who have experienced sexual abuse

In this paper, we explore some of the issues facing professionals in the UK currently involved in providing services for South Asian women who have experienced sexual abuse. The study describes part of a wider Economic and Social Research Council funded project, based upon interviews and focus groups with both professionals and women survivors of sexual abuse. Drawing on semi‐structured interviews and two focus groups with 37 professionals including psychological therapists, refuge and project workers, from a range of organisations, our aim in this paper is to provide a discursive analysis of some of the key dilemmas faced by professionals working with sexual abuse in South Asian communities by exploring two central interpretive repertoires: ‘culture not self’ and ‘symptom talk as solution’. The analysis indicates that professionals face a series of dilemmas when working with South Asian women survivors. They highlight the tension between individualised models of personhood in many psychological therapies and the challenge to these by South Asian communities who hold a more relational view of the person. One of the strategies used by professionals to work with the tensions between ‘culture’ and the ‘reality’ of the survivor's pain was the translation of women's distress into symptoms of mental disorder. However, the consequences of this intervention raised some serious issues, including further pathologisation and stigma. The implications of these findings will be discussed in terms of how to understand the experiences of South Asian women from a more socially grounded perspective and to explore the issues they face in accessing and receiving appropriate services to deal with the aftermath of sexually abusive experiences. Copyright © 2006 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.     

Why philosophy and history matter: A conversation with Ann Taves

The article picks up some ideas that Ann Taves presents in her book Religious Experience Reconsidered, and looks at possible conversations that are not fleshed out in detail in Taves’ book. In particular, it is argued that the disciplinary confrontation with philosophy and with historiography is of crucial importance if the disciplines of cognitive science and psychology of religion want to become in the future what they pretend to be now—a serious alternative and complement to the study of religion as we know it from other contexts, such as cultural studies and historiography.     

From 1799 to 2009: Religious Experience Reconsidered-background, argument, responses

This introductory essay to a review symposium on Religious Experience Reconsidered by Ann Taves (2009) briefly reviews some main stages of the discussion of religious experience in the study of religion\s with special attention to the Romantic tradition and its apologetic legacy and to more recent attempts to revise, rehabilitate, or challenge this key category. The essay then summarizes the argument and structure of Taves' book and highlights main points of the responses.