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Spiritual phenomena definition1/7/2024 ![]() ![]() This association was not, however, made apparent at that time. For example, if someone engaged in spiritual practice, his or her adaptation to their environment could partially be explained. The latter framework leant itself to incorporating spirituality as a potential component through which to understand and explain consciousness. Structuralism and functionalism were the key platforms upon which psychology began to exhibit its academic presentation. In 1890, William James had proposed that there was little utility in building a typology of consciousness, and instead asserted that explanation rather than description warranted greater attention (Hart, 1981). “Functionalism” asserted that psychological processes were determined by individuals’ functioning in, and adaptation to their environment. This generated the rise in experimental psychology and became known as “structuralism” (Titchener, 1902).Īnother school of thought simultaneously emerged. He used introspection as a tool to examine the component of consciousness. Wundt’s student, Edward Titchener, argued that the mind was instead comprised of components and that if these components could be defined and understood then the structural processes of the mind could be explored. This flexibility was, however, short-lived. Wundt established the first psychological laboratory in Leipzig, Germany, not deeming experiments as the only routes of enquiry to determine psychological knowledge and promoting the necessity to study elements of the mind. It was towards the end of the nineteenth century that Wilhelm Wundt, described as often the “Father of Psychology” (Burton et al., 2018), championed mental processes and the integral positioning of the mind in human existence:įrom the standpoint of observation, then, we must regard it as a highly probable hypothesis that the beginnings of the mental life date from as far back as the beginnings of life at large. To unpack the relationship between psychology and spirituality, it is necessary to explore how the discipline of psychology emerged from a wealth of philosophical questions to the standards of scientific inquiry it upholds today. ![]() Our behaviours, emotions, and cognitions are inextricably linked to everything we experience in our lives, from the ordinary to the extraordinary. Historically Positioning Spirituality within the Discipline of PsychologyĪs a discipline, psychology traverses the arts and sciences. It is for this reason that we champion spirituality as the concept to explore in relation to psychology. Religion is generally characterised by a more prescriptive approach to pursuing the sacred (Hill et al., 2000), which to a large extent counters the tenets of individual differences that fortify routes to psychological well-being. The specific reason for this is due to spirituality generally being a broader concept that embraces individual approaches to the pursuit what is sacred. Furthermore, spirituality (as opposed to religion) is discussed with relation to psychology here. Such an endeavour would warrant a separate paper, as the development, testing, and refining of such measures deserves appropriate attention that extends beyond the scope of this discussion. For example, while aspects of how spirituality can be measured within the survey methods often deployed in psychology, a full review of questionnaires measuring spirituality is not present. While the topics herein are presented as foundations upon which to build a discussion about the relationship between a broad concept and academic discipline, it is not a comprehensive review. Charting a path between the title components is an attempt to link the parallel, crossing, and indeed divergent paths of spirituality and psychology. ![]() At the outset, it is important to articulate the aims of this paper. ![]()
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