PSC 170 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Telephone Tapping, Higher Education Research Institute, Daniel Dennett
Document Summary
Fo(cid:396) (cid:373)ost of psy(cid:272)hology"s histo(cid:396)y, psy(cid:272)hologists te(cid:374)ded to: Ignore religion/spirituality (r/s: view r/s as pathological, reduce r/s to more basic underlying psychological, social, physiologi(cid:272)al fu(cid:374)(cid:272)tio(cid:374)s: (cid:862)(cid:374)othi(cid:374)g but-(cid:374)ess(cid:863) Historically, religion has been described by psychologists as: Irrational and pathological: punitive and exploitative, dangerously illusory/ delusional, a pathway to the highest of human potentials, a source of harmony and wholeness, a basis of wisdom and maturity. Sigmund freud (1856-1939: father of psychoanalysis, role of the unconscious, anxiety and defense, psychic determinism, treatment of emotional disorders. A man of later days, of our own day, behaves in the same way. Reasons for ignoring religion: subjective and elusive nature of r/s, underestimation of power of r/s, competitiveness between psychological and religious communities in what they offer (cid:862)(cid:272)o(cid:374)su(cid:373)e(cid:396)s(cid:863); the (cid:396)eligiosity gap. Why psychologists should attend to religion/spirituality (r/s): r/s is a cultural fact, the importance of r/s for human functioning, r/s is a cultural diversity variable.
