Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences

Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences
Cover of the first edition
AuthorAbraham Maslow
LanguageEnglish
SubjectPsychology
PublisherOhio State University Press
Publication date
1964
Media typePrint

Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences is a 1964 book about psychology by Abraham Maslow. Maslow addressed the motivational significance of peak experiences in a series of lectures in the early 1960s, and later published these ideas in book form.[1]

Overview[edit]

In contrast with the preoccupation of Freudian psychopathology, Maslow insisted on a "psychology of the higher life" which was to attend to the question "of what the human being should grow toward."[2] In his work, Maslow described the experience of one's life as meaningful as being based on a feeling of fulfillment and significance.[3]

Maslow's theory of "peak-experiences" has been compared to William James' "healthy-minded" religion.[4] Maslow hypothesized a negative relationship between adherence to conventional religious beliefs and the ability to experience peak moments.[5]

In Religions, Values, and Peak Experiences, Maslow stated that the peak experience is "felt as a self- validating, self-justifying moment which carries its own intrinsic value with it." Furthermore, the person is the "creative center of his (or her) own activities."[6]

See also[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Koltko-Rivera, Mark E. "Rediscovering the later version of Maslow's hierarchy of needs: Self-transcendence and opportunities for theory, research, and unification." Review of General Psychology 10, no. 4 (2006): 302.
  2. ^ O'Connor, Dennis, and Leodones Yballe. "Maslow revisited: Constructing a road map of human nature." Journal of Management Education (2007).
  3. ^ Battista, John, and Richard Almond. "The development of meaning in life." Psychiatry 36, no. 4 (1973): 409-427.
  4. ^ Burris, Christopher T., and W. Ryan Tarpley. "Religion as being: Preliminary validation of the Immanence scale." Journal of Research in Personality 32, no. 1 (1998): 55-79.
  5. ^ Breed, George, and Joen Fagan. "Religious dogmatism and peak experiences: A test of Maslow's hypothesis." Psychological Reports 31, no. 3 (1972): 866-866.
  6. ^ Yeagle, Ellen H., Gayle Privette, and Frances Y. Dunham. "HIGHEST HAPPINESS: AN ANALYSIS OF ARTISTS'PEAK EXPERIENCE." Psychological Reports 65, no. 2 (1989): 523-530.