Author: Brent Robbins


Special Announcement: Task Force for the Advancement of Humanistic Research

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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

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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

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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 »

Community and a Hermeneutics of Love

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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 »

Facing the Surface of the World in Depth: A Very Brief Introduction to Phenomenology

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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

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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 »