Emotion and Transformation in the Relational Spirituality Paradigm Part 3. Amoral Motive Analysis

Abstract

Meaning-system analyses presently dominate the literature on religious conversion and spiritual transformation (Paloutzian & Park, 2005). To complement (not contradict) meaning-system analyses this three-article series proposes the construction of a new approach to the study of the affective basis of spiritual transformation, moral motive analysis. The objective of this final article is to outline a specific moral motive analysis of transformation, a “social intuitionist” (Haidt, 2001) approach that both complements and elaborates the theological tradition of orthokardia (Runyon, 1998). This article first summarizes the central hermeneutic and defining features of orthodardia, and then relates them to concepts in contemporary moral motivation theory. Second, following the Murphy-MacIntyrean framework (telos, problem, purpose), it proposes three core postulates concerning the role of moral emotions in spiritual transformation: moral telos as emerging love and the capable character; moral problem as the duplicitous heart and diminished capacity to love; and moral process as implicit relational transformation. Collectively, these postulates delineate an approach to relational affect transformation (virtue-acquisition and vice-diminishment) that is consistent with the sensibilities of Aristotelean virtue ethics (MacIntyre, 1984), contemporary moral motive theory (Emmons & McCullough, 2004), and the apophatic approach to change (Jones, 2002), thus providing a metapsychology of implicit relational spirituality for theory, research, and practice.

Who Cares? Generativity and the Moral Emotions, Part 1. Advancing the “Psychology of Ultimate Concerns”

“…Suggestions for continued theoretical and empirical development of relational generativity, and its relevance to the relational spirituality paradigm are offered. Collectively this three-article series extends the author's recent proposal for a moral motive approach to emotion and transformation (Leffel, 2007a(Leffel, , 2007b(Leffel, , 2007c.…”

“…This article series also extends the author's recent proposal for a moral motive approach to spiritual transformation (Leffel, 2007a(Leffel, , 2007b(Leffel, , 2007c. The goal of this approach is to model some of the processes and practices by which persons expand the repertoire of virtues (moral affective capacities) that collectively make mature love (caring) more possible.…”

“…The working assumption is that not every person has been provided the opportunity to acquire the virtues that constitute a functionally robust motive and capacity to care (e.g., Fromm, 1956), and that a central aspect of spiritual transformation is intentional development of these virtues. Thus, the moral motive approach suggests a new way of conceptualizing intentional spiritual transformation (Leffel, 2007c).…”

“…Murphy suggested that integrative models should interface theological and moral psychological constructs along three theoretical dimensions: 1) moral telos (goal of moral development); 2) moral dilemma (problem of moral development); and 3) moral process (praxis of moral development). Following this format, I outlined a "core postulate" related to each dimension (Leffel, 2007c). Postulate 1, entitled emerging love and the capable character, addressed the issue of moral telos and was delineated as follows: "The telos of spiritual transformation is the capacity to construct and freedom to express a mature form of personal relatedness (love) from an increasingly capable character" (p. 303).…”

Who Cares? Generativity and the Moral Emotions, Part 2: A “Social Intuitionist Model” of Moral Motivation

“…In particular, this model highlights the critical roles played by three implicit-procedural domains of motivation: moral intuitions, moral emotions, and moral virtues. This article series extends the author's recent proposal for a moral motive approach to emotion and transformation in the relational spirituality paradigm (Leffel, 2007a(Leffel, , 2007b(Leffel, , 2007c.…”