Feb 15th Notes REL 304 Abraham Maslow - Humanist - Maslow would argue that negative actions (rape,

e, murder) are caused by the environment; human nature is all that is good. - Trans-personal psychology (his school of thought) - Responsible for introducing psychology to the masses; he made it acceptable/understandable to the general public, instead of just academics - Goal: his primary goal was to find the good/best in people and society; stemmed from his disgust/hate for his mother - He had a very optimistic (rose colored glasses) view of humanity Maslows Theory of Personality - Goal: A humanizing psychology that takes into account the total, healthy being. o Freudian dehumanizing; behaviorism animals and stimulus response o Maslow believed that human beings while closely related to animals were much richer beings. o Psychology at this time was more about curing sickness not embracing humanity Orientation: A positive view of human motives, goals and inner nature.

Key Elements - Hierarchy of needs five ascending sets of basic needs that motive human behavior o Physiological, safety, love/belonging, Esteem, Self-Actualization. The base needs override other needs ex. Physiological: food/sex/sleep Self actualization Maslow argues that we have innate needs that encourage us to be more than we are as an individual person. o Maslow looks more at the psychology of motivation looks more at why we do things, instead of making models of the mind (consciousness vs. unconscious, etc.) o Needs are not all equally motivating o LOOK UP: Maslows Hierarchy of Needs (triangle) Not everyone gets to the top of the triangle. Self actualization to become everything you are capable of becoming; to fully express the intrinsic human nature. o Why is it important it is a need that wants to or needs to be met, just like the others o Ones degree of self actualization is a measure of psychological health and maturity. o What does it mean to be self actualized a self actualized person is no longer motivated by basic needs but by higher values (truth, beauty,

justice, etc.), creativyt, accomplishment, and selfless work. (metaneeds) Actualizers historical or contemporary figures who have reached that point; Maslow argued that these historical figures have done something bigger than what normal people have done (become/became self actualized) Peak experiences transformative moments of insight and feeling that include joy, peace and a sense of wholeness, selflessness and relatedness to the world. o Self-actualizers described this process, in some way or another o These powerful, motivating experiences, quite often never attributed to a religious experience o These experiences, which happened often, have led these individuals to become self actualized over time o Realizing what the events are, in some way or another, and following the directions felt is what led those people to self actualization

Maslows Theory of Religion - Religion as psychology: religion can now be rightly subsumed by psychology Religion is now a part of psychology, these things are not separate any longer. o Religious Needs = Metaneeds Almost all religions argue that you should be a better person, transforming yourself into a better human being Maslow argues that non-religious people do this as well: SelfActualizers; hences metaneeds = religious needs Psychological The pursuit of religious values coincides with our intrinsic natures pursuit of self-actualization o Religious experience = Peak experience The core religious experience has the same characteristics as the psychological peak experience. if you can realize that this is coming from you instead of to you then you will not conquer yourself and rise to self actualization - Higher values and psychological experiences are purely natural phenomenon and can be explained in purely naturalistic ways . o Everything that religion is/has been about is human nature - Religion as science: religious phenomena can now be rightly studied scientifically, resulting in a humanistic science that describes and teaches the naturalistic (religious) value system o His ideas arguably created a secular religion; while he now argues for a religious science Religion is obsolete, however, if his ideas are true, then we should be using science in a sort of spiritual sense to foster the human being and society to create a utopia