Philosophy Commons^™

A Chakra System Model Of Lifespan Development, Candis K. Best

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This article presents a model of lifespan development based upon the tantric chakra system.

It begins with a survey of the evolution of transpersonal psychology and its alignment with

eastern philosophies as previously espoused by William James, Carl Jung and others. The

chakras are defined in relation to their potential influence on psychological functioning with

a focus on development beyond the level of ego stability and functioning. Building upon

prior work integrating the chakra system with developmental processes, this article presents

an interpretation of the chakras as a model that defines a pathway for growth-oriented

development.

Mothering Fundamentalism: The Transformation Of Modern Women Into Fundamentalists, Sophia Korb

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Despite upbringings influenced by modern feminism, many women choose to identify

with new communities in the modern religious revivalist movement in the United States

who claim to represent and embrace the patriarchal values against which their mothers

and grandmothers fought. Because women’s mothering is determinative to the family, it is

therefore central to transforming larger social structures. This literature review is taken from

a study which employed a qualitative design incorporating thematic analysis of interviews

to explore how women’s attitudes about being a mother and mothering change when they

change religious communities from liberal paradigms to fundamentalist, enclavist belief

systems. …

Unidentified Allies: Intersections Of Feminist And Transpersonal Thought And Potential Contributions To Social Change, Christine Brooks

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Contemporary Western feminism and transpersonalism are kaleidoscopic, consisting of

interlocking influences, yet the fields have developed in parallel rather than in tandem.

Both schools of praxis developed during the climate of activism and social experimentation

of the 1960s in the United States, and both share a non-pathological view of the human

experience. This discussion suggests loci of synthesized theoretical constructs between the

two disciplines as well as distinct concepts and practices in both disciplines that may serve

the other. Ways in which a feminist-transpersonal perspective may catalyze social change on

personal, regional, and global levels are proposed.

Psychospiritual Development Of Female Adoptees Raised Within A Closed Adoption System: A Theoretical Model Within A Feminist And Jungian Perspective, April E. Topfer

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This article proposes a transpersonal theoretical model suggesting that the embodiment of

the voice of the feminine is a significant catalyst for awakening the psychological and spiritual

growth and development of female adoptees. Existing Jungian and feminist theoretical

models regarding the psychological and spiritual implications for a female adoptee raised

within a closed adoption system will be discussed. The author will share her adopted voice

about her spiritual and psychological process toward finding wholeness using a hermeneutical

process of inquiry. The voices of birth mothers who relinquished their children will also be

included. Voice is then explored to be an …

A Transpersonal Feminist Approach To Family Systems, Irene S. Lazarus

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This paper presents a preliminary description of A Transpersonal Feminist Approach to Family

Systems (ATFAFS) as taught at the Institute of Transpersonal Psychology (ITP) between 1995

and 2002. In this approach, students studied the principles of Murray Bowen’s family systems

theory with attention to feminist revisions of the theory while simultaneously investigating

their own multigenerational family histories. Additionally, students kept a journal, recorded

and worked with their dreams, and worked with a chosen creative expressive modality. They

may also have worked with other transpersonal modalities. Student narratives, informed by

organic inquiry, illustrate aspects of the approach. The paper concludes with …

Eclipse, Judy Schavrien

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

NA

Stanley Mcchrystal, Felix Dzerzhinsky, Jérôme Kerviel: Are We All Ciphers?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

This article examines the fall of United States (US) Army General Stanley McChrystal, and the concepts of the self and identity.

An Update On Suicide Terrorism, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author considers the potential moral and ethical merits of suicide and suicide terrorism from a historical and philosophical perspective.

Psychologists Gone Wild: The Politics Of Scientific Psychology, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

With power on the line in science, one should expect controversy beyond the substantive. In scientific psychology—whether discovering human nature or discovering what can be said about it—the search for the what of human nature becomes a mask for human nature.

Are We All On The M Squad? Murdering Schoolchildren In China, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author discusses the phenomena of violent attacks against schoolchildren in the People’s Republic of China (PRC), and its relevance to political psychologists.

You And Me Baby Ain't Nothing But Mammals: Disgust, Evolution, And The Transcendence Of An Immaterial Soul, Sara G. Gottlieb

Psychology Honors Projects

Materialist theories of mind are disturbing for those who endorse the idea that an immortal soul is distinct from the material body. Many argue for a uniqueness of the human spirit that transcends bodily qualities. The present research focuses on the rejection of human evolution from the perspective of disgust, which has both a physical (body) and moral (soul) component and is elicited by objects that remind us of both death and animals. Study 1 asked whether those primed to feel disgusted would show an implicit preference for creationism over evolution on an Implicit Associations Test but failed to find …

Students' Perceptions Of Coercion In Research, Azure L. Midzinski

All Graduate Theses and Dissertations, Spring 1920 to Summer 2023

The purpose of this study was to examine how students perceive the most common methods of recruitment for research participation, and whether these recruitment strategies are perceived by the participants to be coercive. Ethical research guidelines prohibit the use of coercion in recruiting participants. Previous studies in this area have either focused on the perceptions of the researchers, or have approached the concept of coercion in a limited way. This study treated coercion as a multidimensional construct and examined student perceptions. Additionally, participant responses indicated which recruitment practices resulted in a decision to participate in the research. Findings indicate that …

Volume 03, Cheryl Peck, Charles Hoever, Longwood Theater Department, Brittany Anderson, J. Ervin Sheldon, Richard Hayden, Yuri Calustro, Candice Fleming, Rebecca Franklin, Ashley Yocum, Danielle M. Jagoda, Cristina M. Valdivieso, Jameka Jones, Amy Ellis, Ashley Maser, Erikk Shupp, Jamie Yurasits, Joshua Davis, Alexander Leonhart, Kenny Wolfe, Sally Meadows, J. Haley, Amy Jackson, Morgan Howard, Adrienne Heinbaugh, Melissa Dorton, Ciarra Stalker

Incite: The Journal of Undergraduate Scholarship

Introduction from Dean Dr. Charles Ross

Little Shop of Horrors by Longwood Theater Department

Who Has the Hottest Hotsauce in Farmville: A Quantitative Comparison of Sauces from Local Restaurants by Cheryl Peck and Charles Hoever

Precipitation Effects on the Growth of White Oaks and Virginia Pines on the Mt. Vernon Plantation by Brittany Anderson

Design and Synthesis of Novel Ion Binding Molecules for Self-Assembly and Sensing Applications by J. Ervin Sheldon

A Statistical Analysis of Algorithms for Playing SameGame by Richard Hayden

Intersecting Cylinders at Arbitrary Angles by Yuri Calustro

Putting a Foot in the Revolving Door: Strategies for Reducing …

Why Terrorism? Whose Terror?, Ibpp Editor

International Bulletin of Political Psychology

The author considers terrorism as a competitor for the legally constituted authority and power of governments.

The Logical Structure Of Dreams And Their Relation To Reality, Jeremy Barris

Humanities Faculty Research

The contradictions and non sequiturs often found in dreams (or, equivalently, dream-narratives) are not in fact logical errors, but express and work with a type of logic that characterizes the deepest dimensions of our waking reality. These are the dimensions in which we deal with ourselves as a whole, our lives as a whole, or with the sense of reality as a whole. We do so, for example, in situations of deep personal transformation, or of recognition of deep difference of outlook. The paper argues that the logic of these situations is validly one of contradiction and non sequitur, that …

Therapeutic Discourse And The American Public Philosophy: On American Liberalism's Troubled Relationship With Psychology, Clifford D. Vickrey

Honors Theses

I explore the main currents of postwar American liberalism. One, sociological, emerged in response to the danger of mass movements. Articulated primarily by political sociologists and psychologists and ascendant from the mid-fifties till the mid-seventies, it heralded the "end of ideology." It emphasized stability, elitism, positive science and pluralism; it recast normatively sound politics as logrolling and hard bargaining. I argue that these normative features, attractive when considered in isolation, taken together led to a vicious ad hominem style in accounting for views outside the postwar consensus. It used pseudo-scientific literature in labeling populists, Progressives, Taft conservatives, Goldwaterites, the New …

Resolving Incomparability, David Pinkowski

Legacy Theses & Dissertations (2009 - 2024)

When confronted with an important choice between two very different options, an agent often will be at a loss as to how to decide between them. This is often true even if the agent has a good understanding of the pros and cons of each option, and even if she is committed to something like "the best overall decision for me." One way to analyze this situation is to assert that the options are incomparable for the agent. Incomparability arises when, for two options, it seems that one is neither better nor worse than, nor equal to, the other. If …

Editors’ Introduction, Glenn Hartelius

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

NA

An Investigation Of The Relationships Among Self-Construal, Emotional Intelligence, And Well-Being, Constance A. Mara, Teresa L. Decicco, Mirella L. Stroink

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This study aims to further investigate the convergent validity of the recently-proposed

metapersonal model and measure of self-construal, and to emphasize the discriminant

validity of the metapersonal self-construal as a distinct construct, capturing a unique aspect

of self-construal separate from either interdependent or independent aspects. The study

looked at two questions: (1) Does the metapersonal self-construal predict higher emotional

intelligence? (2) Do those who have higher metapersonal self-construal scores also report

greater well-being? A group of 212 undergraduate students was assessed using a self-construal

scale that includes the new measure of metapersonal self-construal, along with scales

measuring emotional intelligence and …

Relational Spirituality And Developmental Spirituality: Introduction To Special Topic Section, Glenn Hartelius, Maureen Harrahy

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

NA

Koans And Levels Of Consciousness, John Rowan

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This is a theoretical paper devoted to an examination of the phenomenon of the Zen

koan. First, the existing understanding of the koan will be outlined from a number of

sources. This will be followed by an examination of what the koan would look like from

a structural point of view. Ken Wilber’s outlook will then be used to look at the koan in a

fresh way so that one might see it as a kind of test of the level of consciousness exhibited

by each solution. The latter is related to recent thinking on models in general.

Consciousness And Society: Societal Aspects And Implications Of Transpersonal Psychology, Harry T. Hunt

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Although transpersonal psychologies of self realization emphasize individual

development, earlier shamanic traditions also showed a central societal aspect and group based

consciousness. Indeed, many have understood the transpersonal movement as developing

towards an abstract globalized neo-shamanism. That altered states of consciousness, whether

as integrative realizations of the numinous or as dissociative “hypnoid” states, could be felt

and shared collectively was a familiar concept to the first generation of sociologists, who saw

all consciousness as social and dialogic in form. Durkheim, in particular, foresaw a globalized

spirituality of the future, his “cult of man,” in which modern individuation would progress

to …

The Self And The Great Chain Of Being: Interview With Robert Bolton, Samuel B. Sotillos

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

NA

Jacob Wrestles The Angel: A Study In Psychoanalytic Midrash, Michael Abramsky

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This essay is a study in psychoanalytic Midrash: a literary and psychological meditation on the

Biblical story of Jacob. The Hebrew verbal root from which the term Midrash derives means to

investigate or explore. It is a genre of Biblical scholarship used to interpret the Bible in symbolic

and inspirational terms. This essay examines Jacob as he moves from a character dominated by

self-defeating neurosis through his transformation into a spiritual being and exemplar of principled

leadership. Insights from Freudian and Jungian psychologies, mythology, and literary traditions are

used to describe and explain Jacob’s character metamorphosis.

The Grofs’ Model Of Spiritual Emergency In Retrospect: Has It Stood The Test Of Time?, Darlene B. Viggiano, Stanley Krippner

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The purpose of this essay is to review the Grofs’ model of spiritual emergencies. The authors

ask: Has the model been useful for identifying and treating psycho-spiritual distress? Should

it be amended? Spiritual emergency can be defined as a crisis involving religious, transpersonal,

and/or spiritual issues that provides opportunities for growth. Spiritual emergence, meanwhile,

lends itself to gentler transformation. The research methods include an archival literature

review triangulated with an authoritative interview. The findings are that the Grofs’ model

of spiritual emergencies was ahead of its time and that the medical establishment needs to

catch up. Adaptations and revisions that …

Relational Spirituality, Part 1 Paradise Unbound: Cosmic Hybridity And Spiritual Narcissism In The “One Truth” Of New Age Transpersonalism, Gregg Lahood

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

Cosmological hybridization, a process in which spiritual paradises are bound together, is

highly active in American religious culture. Beginning with an early Christianized version of

the Buddha, this religious Creolization gathered speed after WWII and peaked during the

Vietnam War, leading to a complex spiritual revolution in which transcendence became an

all important orientation. This revolution set the scene for the emergence of a non-relational

transpersonal psychology in which Americanized nondualism gained ascendency. It is argued

here that popular New Age transpersonalism traps the spirit, breeding a self-serving, Selfas-

everything form of spiritual narcissism. Given that some are calling the …

Relational Spirituality, Part 2 The Belief In Others As A Hindrance To Enlightenment: Narcissism And The Denigration Of Relationship Within Transpersonal Psychology And The New Age, Gregg Lahood

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

The aim of this paper is to tease out from the New Age religion and religious transpersonal psychology a more relational spirituality. Humanistic and transpersonal psychologies were important forces in the emergence of the social phenomenon of the New Age. New Age transpersonalism leans toward a restrictive non-relational spirituality because of its historical affirmation of individualism and transcendence. Relational spirituality, which is central to the emerging participatory paradigm, swims against strong and popular currents in New Age transpersonal thinking which tend to see spirituality as an individual, personal, inner pursuit, often into Eastern/Oriental nondualism. Whatever the merits of impersonal Advaita …

Transpersonal And Other Models Of Spiritual Development, Harris Friedman, Stanley Krippner, Linda Riebel, Chad Johnson

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This chapter focuses on exploring various models of spiritual development. It first addresses

philosophical dilemmas underpinning the concept of spiritual development by questioning

whether these can be addressed without metaphysical assumptions embedded in religious

worldviews and thus understood in any consensual way across different historical and

cultural contexts. Traditional models of spiritual development are then reviewed, drawing

from indigenous, Eastern, and Western cultures. Integrative-philosophical and scientific

models, including those from the psychology of religion, transpersonal psychology, and

neurobiology, are then presented. The chapter concludes by noting the complexities involved

in understanding spiritual development accompanied by suggestions on future directions

for …

The Gift Of Life: Death As Teacher In The Aghori Sect, Rochelle Suri, Daniel B. Pitchford

International Journal of Transpersonal Studies

This article utilizes the example of the Aghori, with their radical and unique perspective on death,

as a challenge to the Western world to live an authentic, present life by maintaining awareness of

mortality. Specifically, three main themes are explored: first, a theoretical engagement of the concept

of death based on the (Western) philosophy of existentialism, second, a review of the historical

origins and philosophy of the Aghori sect, and third, a depiction of the Aghoris as a living example

of vigorously accepting death as an inevitability of life. On this basis a brief comparison of Western

and Eastern attitudes …

(2010) Philosophical Dialogue With Children: Essays On Theory And Practice, David Kennedy

Collected Papers of David Kennedy

David Kennedy is the foremost expert of children’s philosophical experience and practice writing today. One of the factors that makes him so will be apparent to readers of this collection of essays: the insistent probing and the astonishing range of his scholarship, which encompasses philosophy of childhood, philosophy of education, developmental psychology, cultural studies, critical theory, philosophy of subjectivity, chaos and systems theory, epistemology, and metaphilosophy. The other factor, only hinted at in this book, is the thousands of hours that Kennedy has clocked on the rugs and in the small chairs of schools, pre-schools, churches and other children’s spaces …