Recent Developments in Understanding Spirituality as Exemplified by the Concept of Self-Transcendence

Abstract

The recent history of science has witnessed many shifts of paradigms. One of the major changes has been observed in the shift of spirituality, transforming from a traditional faith-based notion to a more secular or postmodern one. These changes are confusing for many modern people as they are not able to follow these rapid developments. This article is an attempt at providing a conceptual framework to understand the changes that the notion of spirituality has undergone using the concept of self-transcendence and its two major dimensions: vertical and horizontal. This model will serve to evaluate different ways of defining spirituality in both theology and the social sciences and to indicate the provenience of their roots in both disciplines. In conclusion, self-transcendence will be compared with the concept of self-actualization.

Pojmové zakotvení modelu spirituální gramotnosti v českém pedagogickém prostoru a možnosti její kultivace ve školním prostředí

“…Jako duchovně gramotnou (kultivovanou) osobnost tedy můžeme vnímat jedince, který refl ektuje a kultivuje dovednosti seberefl exe (Ezealah, 2020;Hennira et al, 2020), který dokáže jednat ve vztahu k druhým lidem v modu vyznačujícím se prosociální orientací a altruismem (Timmins et al, 2018;Zarghi & Bolghan-Abadi, 2021), který dokáže prožívat environmentální citlivost a spřízněnost s přírodou (Preston & Shin, 2022;Suganthi, 2019) a který je schopen úžasu a údivu při prožívání transcendence ve vztahu k celku (Abernethy & Kim, 2018;Jastrzebski, 2021;Manuel-Morgan & Lomas, 2021).…”

A Comprehensive Theory of Spirituality: Humanistic, Theist, and Theotic

“…Such growth would allow the inherent source of transcendence to harmonize one's make-up ever further and guide one's living. In the process one would advance in self-transcendence, ever more sensitive to a transcendent dimension of life, ever moving beyond the limits of one's biased and enculturated self, ever more attaining to the universe of objective reality (Jastrzębski, 2021). Call this inner principle of transcendence "the human spirit," and the process of human integration itself qualifies as spiritual development.…”