Maslow's "Transhumanism": Was Transpersonal Psychology Conceived as "A Psychology without People in it"?

Abstract

What we may call the transhuman/inhuman critique states that transpersonal psychology is centered on cosmic issues rather than on human ones and so is not a human psychology at all. Abraham Maslow's statements to the effect that the transpersonal is "transhuman, centered in the cosmos rather than in human needs" are considered evidence of this position. Analysis of Maslow's lesser known writings indicates that Maslow, somewhat like J. Huxley, used "transhuman" to indicate the essentially human capacity to desire universal values like justice and truth over the satisfaction of purely personal needs. Thus, the transhuman/inhuman critique is based on a misreading of Maslow. The transpersonal is not inherently unpsychological or divorced from human concerns; rather, it represents an extension of psychology's vision of the human.

Rediscovering the Later Version of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs: Self-Transcendence and Opportunities for Theory, Research, and Unification

“…Why does it pervade the literature so thoroughly? These questions arise because, even though isolated individuals have noted self-transcendence as a neglected step within Maslow's motivational hierarchy (e.g., Koltko-Rivera, 1998; Roberts, 1982), there is no mention of self-transcendence as a motivational status distinct from self-actualization in almost any textbook treatment of Maslow's theory. There are a few exceptions (e.g., Battista, 1996; Fadiman & Frager, 2002; Zimbardo & Gerrig, 1999); in addition, some texts describe self-actualization as embracing self-transcendence (e.g., Ryckman, 2000, p. 439).…”

“…3What Maslow here called “transhumanistic” he later termed transpersonal (Koltko-Rivera, 1998). Both terms refer to a motivational state in which the person seeks something beyond personal benefit, for example, the furtherance of some greater cause, union with a power beyond the self, and/or service to others as an expression of identification beyond the personal ego.…”

The Psychology of Worldviews

“…These stages are well known but do not represent the entire Maslovian hierarchy (Koltko-Rivera, 1998). Toward the end of his life, Maslow wrote of "individuals who have transcended self-actualization" (Maslow, / 1971) and who experience a strong, undeniable motive toward not self-actualization but self-transcendence .…”

Being in the Hidden Third: Insights into Transdisciplinary Ontology

“…Cerma (2008, p. 167 [37]) explained that Maslow viewed transhuman as "centered in the cosmos" instead of in human needs. Maslow assumed that humans can place universal values like justice and rights above meeting their own needs (Koltko-Rivera, 1998) [38]. These values liken to Nicolescu's (2010a) [39] position on transdisciplinary values (to be discussed), which are much more than and far beyond each person's self-interest -they are transpersonal as required for transdisciplinary engagement.…”