Painting by Nesreen Alsoraimi. It was two in the morning, and I was writing my latest poem. Not a peculiar activity for me. Poetry is the only thing that wakes me and prevents me from sleep. Or in truth, it was my head and heart brimming with words to describe emotions which I needed to… Read more »
Author: Brent Robbins
Special Announcement: Task Force for the Advancement of Humanistic Research
I am very pleased to take this opportunity to make an important announcement. As President of the Society for Humanistic Psychology—Division 32 of the American Psychological Association—I have commissioned a Task Force for the Advancement of Humanistic Research. The SHP Executive Board, at a Mid-Winter Meeting this past weekend, agreed unanimously to support the formation… Read more »
Anarchy Is Not a Disorder: A Critique of James Hillman
James Audubon’s Eagle and Lamb. This past Saturday on Facebook (the social life of parents with toddlers), Jason McCarty posted a quote from James Hillman that launched into an extended discussion between Jason, Amanda Lowe, Brent Potter, and me. I won’t recap the whole discussion, but it’s worth reflecting on one aspect of the conversation… Read more »
Neurophenomenology and Its Applications to Psychology
What Is Neurophenomenology? Neurophenomenology combines phenomenology and neuroscience to study experience. The term neurophenomenology, first used by Laughlin, McManus, and d’Aquili (1990), was distinguished as a new research direction for the neuroscience of consciousness by Francisco Varela (1996) and colleagues in the mid-1990s. The field of neurophenomenology has expanded exponentially around the central question of… Read more »
Letting Boys Be Boys, Not ADHD Diagnoses
Photo by Jorge Royan. On April 1, The New York Times reported on the startling fact that 11% of children in the United States are now diagnosed with Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder (ADHD). One in five young males of high school age now have the diagnosis. Among children between the ages of 4 and 17,… Read more »
Community and a Hermeneutics of Love
One of Alexis de Tocqueville’s primary observations of America in the mid-19th century was the primacy of rugged individualism within our culture. He believed this individualism was both our nation’s greatest strength, as well as our greatest weakness. It was his assertion this emphasis on rugged individualism would ultimately be the undoing of our culture… Read more »
Martin Luther King, Jr.ês Experiment in Love
Photo by New York World-Telegram and the Sun. Paul Ricoeur famously identified Nietzsche, Marx, and Freud as the “masters of suspicion.” They saw what most held sacred, and looked for the man behind the curtain. But there are other ways to disclose the man behind the curtain, and perhaps better ways—such as through a hermeneutics… Read more »
Facing the Surface of the World in Depth: A Very Brief Introduction to Phenomenology
How does one become a phenomenologist? First and foremost, phenomenology is a way of seeing—it is a style of perceiving the world, others and one’s self. This style of seeing is a sensibility that can be cultivated by drawing upon the liberal arts in all their glory—not only the natural sciences, but especially literature, the… Read more »
More Than 500 People Attend DSM-5 Symposium at APA
Photo by Richard Masoner On Friday, August 3rd, the Society for Humanistic Psychology (Division 32) hosted a special President’s Symposium at the American Psychological Association’s Annual Convention in Orlando, Florida. The symposium, titled “The DSM-5 Controversy,” was attended by more than 500 individuals, and was videotaped by the APA for C.E. credit viewing. Brent… Read more »