Transpersonal sociology
Transpersonal sociology is a transpersonal discipline that is informed by the insights of Sociology.
Definition and context[edit]
Walsh and Vaughan defined transpersonal sociology as the "study of the social dimensions, implications, expressions and applications transpersonal phenomena".[1]
Another definition, from a group of sociologists and transpersonal theorists associated with the Transpersonal Sociology Newsletter (1997), states that "Transpersonal sociology refers to the exploration of the social dimensions of those human experiences that have traditionally been called spiritual or religious. It includes evolution of a sense of self, the evolution of society, and an understanding of consciousness as extending beyond traditional human knowledge."[2]
Robert C. Atchley, a sociologist by training,[3] defined transpersonal sociology as "the study of groups and communities of people who share transpersonal states of consciousness and live in accord with such understandings".[2] In this conceptualization of sociology there is an emphasis on the spiritual dimension of social theory.[4][3]
History[edit]
According to Rominger & Friedman,[2] transpersonal sociology was an important discipline in the formative years of the transpersonal movement. However, later development of the field has been hesitant. In 1995 a collective of sociologists and transpersonal theorists came together in order to discuss the possibility of a journal supporting the field of transpersonal sociology. In the process the group established the Transpersonal Sociology Newsletter, which went on for two years, ending with issue number 5 in 1997.[2]
In 2013 the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies devoted a special topic section to the field of transpersonal sociology. [5]
Contributions to academic theory[edit]
According to Boucouvalas, [6] the discipline of transpersonal sociology appears to have been conceptualized by John Glass in the early 1970's. Glass envisioned a new type of transcultural sociology alongside the emerging force of transpersonal psychology,
Other contributions to the field includes the work of Susan Greenwood, who developed a concept of a transpersonal sociology of religion, based on a synthesis of Émile Durkheims idea of a "collective consciousness" and Carl Jung's idea of a "collective unconscious".[7][2][8]
There is also the work of Harris Friedman, who adapted the tools of sociology in his work as a transpersonal scholar and psychologist,[2] and Robert C. Atchley, who adapted the perspective of transpersonal sociology to the topic of spirituality and aging.[4][3]
References[edit]
- ↑ Walsh, R. and F. Vaughan. On transpersonal definitions. Journal of Transpersonal Psvchology, 25:199-207, 1993
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Rominger, R., & Friedman, H. L. (2013). Transpersonal sociology: Origins, development, and theory. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 32(2), 17–33.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 Brady, Michael. Book Review: Spirituality and Aging by Robert Atchley. Educational Gerontology, 37: 1100–1101, 2011
- ↑ 4.0 4.1 David O. Moberg. Book review: Spirituality and Aging by Robert C. Atchley. Perspectives on Science and Christian Faith, Volume 61, Number 3, September 2009
- ↑ Hartelius, G. Editors Introduction. International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, 32(2), III-IV.
- ↑ Boucouvalas, M. Following the Movement: From Transpersonal Psychology to a Multi-disciplinary Transpersonal Orientation. Journal of Transpersonal Psychology, 1999, Vol. 31, No.1
- ↑ Greenwood, S. F. (1990). Emile Durkheim and C. G. Jung: Structuring a transpersonal sociology of religion. Journal for the Scientific Study of Religion, 29(4),482-495. doi:10.2307/1387313
- ↑ Goodwyn, E. Depth Psychology and Symbolic Anthropology: Toward a Depth Sociology of Psychocultural Interaction. The International Journal for the Psychology of Religion, 24:169–184, 2014
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