Criticisms of Transpersonal Psychology and Beyond—The Future of Transpersonal Psychology: A Science and Culture of Consciousness

Abstract

In this chapter I wish to critique transpersonal psychology constructively. I will go briefly through the history of psychology as a discipline and through the history and sources of transpersonal psychology as a subdomain in order to understand the frictions and possible points of departure. I will then point out some criticisms and unsolved problems and develop a future perspective. My recommendation will be to reinvent the transpersonal enterprise along the lines originally intended by the founding fathers of psychology; William James and Franz Brentano: a psychology, a science—and culture—of consciousness, in order to get rid of some of the problems besetting transpersonal psychology. I do this from the vantage point of an academic, teacher and researcher with a clinical training and experience in a transpersonal discipline, psychosynthesis, a long-standing spiritual practice in Zen meditation, the experience of being one of the founding members of the German Association of Transpersonal Psychology and Psychotherapy, and a former professor and course leader in one of the universities in the UK that is offering a postgraduate degree in transpersonal psychology and consciousness studies. I do this also with a firm commitment to the scientific enterprise, because I passionately believe that it is the only true international forum and joint venture of humankind that is comparatively successful and peaceful. At the same time I also believe that if science is to remain successful and helpful in the resolution of the problems on our agenda today then it will have, to broaden its scope and paradigmatic stance by taking seriously some of the issues that led to the rise of transpersonal psychology. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2016 APA, all rights reserved)