Report 2:
My Understanding of Theistic Psychology
By Sabrina Favors
Instructions for this report are at:
www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy22/459-g22-report2.htm
I am answering Questions 1, 2, 5, 6, and 9
A Link to the Selections: http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/459s2005/favors/selections.htm
(You can also click on the titles to go directly to each specific section of the selections)
People sometimes refer to the
negative aspect of religion—religious wars, persecution, intolerance. How can theistic psychology reduce this
negative aspect of religion? What makes
theistic psychology different from religion?
How do they compare the idea of “salvation?” Can theistic psychology be universal if it relies on Sacred
Scripture of Western religions and traditions?
What is “religious behaviorism?”
How can theistic psychology
reduce this negative aspect of religion?
1.1.2 Level 2: Mystical Religion
In Theistic Psychology, there is no one religion which is pointed at and claimed as the One. Theistic Psychology actually looks beyond the natural (what we call “real world”) idea of religion and examines life after death without Christian or other religious connotations. There is only one God, and he is universal, omnipotent, omnipresent, and communicates to every single person through the Sacred Scriptures and through what we call the conscience.
How do
they compare the idea of “salvation?”
1.2 Mystical vs. Rational Approaches to Theistic Psychology
Salvation, as defined through Theistic Psychology, comes through our connection to God. With that, we can enter the heaven of our mind (thinking good thoughts and being full of love for God and others). Sometimes, people think this connection means they are “one” with God, which is a selfish idea and thus they fall into the hell of their mind.
Can
theistic psychology be universal if it relies on Sacred Scripture of Western
religions and traditions?
1.7 Swedenborg’s Description of How We Are Resuscitated After Death
In Swedenborg’s Writings, he says that when we are dying, an angel (a spirit in the highest level of heaven) helps us think of eternal life, and when we are brought from the natural world (i.e. our body dies) to the spiritual world, spirits from the next level down come to see the newly “resuscitated” spirit. He uses these images commonly associated with Western religions, but they represent universal ideas—heaven is a place of love inside our spiritual/mental minds, and angels are just other spirits in their own heavens.
What is “religious behaviorism?”
1.8.4.2 What is God Talking to Us About?
The term “religious behaviorism” refers to the processes in our minds that are stimulated by practicing religion.
i. Importance of the Question to You and Why: Especially recently, religion has taken a hit for the worse. It is the scandal which makes the national news, not the good and helpful programs organized every day. Theistic psychology, although at its lowest level of understanding seems to be strongly influenced by Christianity, is not affiliated with any specific religion. Some of the terms, like angels and devils, come from religious texts, but are used in a different way that is not condoning or condemning any one religion over another. The deeper meaning is universal. Some religions allow a person to reach “salvation” simply by asking for forgiveness minutes before they die. If they say the words, they are forgiven. Theistic Psychology states that you can’t reach heaven without meaning the apology, moving beyond the “hellish loves” (being mean or selfish or violent), and doing good instead.
ii. How this Perspective Helps You Understand Things About Yourself and Society: The negative aspect of religion comes in when people misinterpret, misuse, or are simply ignorant of the deeper meaning in sacred texts. A few semesters ago, I took a mythology class. The professor explained that what was written in the first 11 chapters of Genesis in the Bible wasn’t a literal history, but a sacred one. Adam and Eve weren’t real people, but represented real ideas about knowledge and lessons about obedience. This idea of looking beyond the words on the page, searching for a deeper, more universal meaning, helps me understand more about my own religion. I still have issues with it, but I can accept being a Catholic and still have the open-minded views that I do, even though “religious doctrine” may say it’s wrong.
iii. Do You Agree or Disagree and Explain Why: I agree that Theistic Psychology is a better method for viewing sacred writings. I know they have morals behind, but through Theistic Psychology, I can see the deep meaning that applies to everyone, rather than something that only applies to Christians.
…What
motivates scientists to exclude them?
1.0 The Negative and Positive Bias
Unlike the psychology most people are familiar with, referred to here as “atheistic psychology,” theistic psychology uses the knowledge about God gathered by Emmanuel Swedenborg’s Writings. In order to examine them fairly, though, we must look at them as if they are possible, though we don’t have to accept them or belief. Work off of a “what if it were true” sort of stand point.
What are the consequences for a society of “materialism” which excludes God from science?
1.1.1 Level 1: Materialistic Science (Monism, Negative Bias)
A. Materialism is believing that something doesn’t exist if it physically there. Thus, there can no higher power separate from the universe. It denies God is a divine, infinite, rational person who created everything, but is instead a part of the entire universe. This all implies that the things God has made can’t think or act or progress on their own.
B. Opposed to materialism, theistic psychology believes God is infinite, divine, and who shares “revelations” about Himself and other things in order that we can follow these ideas, which is rational to do.
What are the consequences for a society of “materialism” which excludes God from science?
1.1.2 Level 2: Mystical Religion
If we give in to materialism, we are cutting ourselves off from God. He is still there, but we don’t listen to what he says. If we opened up and listened, we would become more rational, also called being enlightened, and we understand higher truths. If everyone did this, everything would get better because we would all be more rational and less inclined to act selfishly.
What are “scientific revelations”…?
Through the scientific revelations, the ideas given to Swedenborg by the Divine Human (God), we wouldn’t understand how God managed the world. No one else could see beyond the natural mind until they were dead. Although other prophets heard and wrote what became the Old and New Testaments, they didn’t treat this rationally, only Swedenborg has.
Discuss whether motivation is justified and how theistic psychology proposes to overcome this objection.
1.3 Non-Substantiative or Mystical Dualism vs. Rational Substantive Dualism
To call professor James, or others who have rationally looked at Swedenborg’s Writings, crazy is to have the negative bias. Essentially, that is not giving theistic psychology the benefit of the doubt. The positive bias, however, is working on the assumption that God does exist and that all of this could be true. Then to examine what that says about our behavior as humans.
What are the consequences for a society of “materialism” which excludes God from science?
1.8.4.2 What is God Talking to Us About?
Materialism and philosophical atheism both refuse to believe even the lowest level of rationality, based on the Old Testament, and so don’t believe anything about theistic psychology, so they only describe God in physical terms.
Discuss whether the motivation is justified and how theistic psychology proposes to overcome this objection.
3.7 The Nature and Character of God: A Scientific Perspective
Most people believe that there is a higher power or God, but in science the issue of God is nil. This is due to the fact that the only scientific information that can be gathered about God is through divine revelations. Before theistic psychology, no scientific method or theory was applied to these divine revelations.
i. Importance of the Question to You and Why: Religion and belief in God is such an important idea to many people in the world, it doesn’t seem right to utterly ignore it when looking into scientific theories. Theistic psychology doesn’t demand for the curious students to immediately accept and fully believe what Professor James has laid out. All we must do is accept that it could be possible, and after we have gathered all our information, then make a choice, or perhaps keeps examining the information. Scientists perhaps, like most people, are afraid of what they don’t understand, and with the mention of God, they think they can’t look at theistic psychology scientifically and thus can’t understand it.
ii. How this Perspective Helps You Understand Things About Yourself and Society: For quite a few weeks, I had a difficult time accepting what I was reading. I could say, “This could be true,” but I got stuck in the negative bias every time I thought, “But it isn’t science.” I really had to reexamine the way I defined some words in order to move past my negative bias and understand the material more in-depth.
iii. Do You Agree or Disagree and Explain Why: Scientists don’t accept the scientific revelations because they are wrapped up in the idea of all science being repeatable and public. I no longer think this is accurate. Theistic psychology doesn’t fall under the definition of traditional science, but it examines the revelations in a scientific manner and deserves to be treated with open-mindedness.
Why is the topic of “regeneration” so basic in theistic
psychology? What are the “character
reformation” steps of building a “new will?”
What is the difference between the “old will” and the “new will?” What are “heavenly traits” vs. “hellish
traits?” How does this relate to
personality theory in psychology as you know it?
Why the topic of “regeneration” so basic in theistic psychology?
3.5 Consciousness as Substance
After we die, we seem to wake up in the spiritual world. At this point, before we can move on into either our heaven or our hell, we must examine our selves and see which way we want to go. If we can’t give up all the selfish desires we have, we go to hell, if we can give them up and look towards altruism instead, we go to heaven. Separating the two is called the “second death.”
What is the difference between the “old will” and the “new will?”
6.0.5 Spiritual Growth: How the New Will is Formed
The “will” is what the affective organ does (the affective organ is the organ is our spiritual minds which controls emotions). To form the new will, one has to get rid of all the feelings and other things that have been forced upon us, or that are facades to make us seem one way when we are actually another. In the spiritual world after death, all we have are the feelings, and thus thoughts, that are our own.
How does this relate to personality theory in psychology as you know it?
7.1 The Method of Affective Realignment for Character Self-modification
Through theistic psychology we can manage our feelings. One way to do this is by changing the priorities of our loves. We do this through thought processes. We talk about problems to a therapist, receive helpful advice and thus feel better. But the talking must also come with a change in the hierarchy, so we should put altruistic affections first, and lesser loves beneath it. This is similar to the psychoanalytic use of therapy. Psychotherapy involved the patient talking about whatever came to mind with the therapist. The therapy was referred to as free association.
Why is the topic of “regeneration so basic in theistic psychology?
7.6 As-of Self Principles of Living: The Power of Self-Regulation
A. At one point, every human was in the highest level of heaven all the time while they were alive. Like Swedenborg, they were always in both the natural and the spiritual worlds. But they messed up, so God separated them from their spiritual minds. We are now a split-brain race. But this means that each new generation is separate from that ancient race, and though born with selfish and evil desires, we can regenerate after death and raise up until our heavens.
B. Everyone thinks they control their own actions. They don’t. God helps manage all our thoughts and feelings, and we don’t realize this because we have an “as-of self.” This differs from the “self” in that the “self” believes we form ourselves and “as-of self” is hiding the fact that God influences us as well. The “self” is only a part of what makes up a person, there’s also the unconscious and subconscious that the “self” not consciously aware of.
What are the “character reformation” steps of building a “new will?”
7.11 Moral Intelligence and Evolution
In order to regenerate into our heavens, we have to go through two steps: 1. We refute evil or selfish things as being against God, and 2. In return, we do good things for others (altruism), in that order. With this, not just in the physical/sensorimotor sense, but also the affective and cognitive, our characters regenerate and prepare us to awaken in our heavens.
What are “heavenly traits” vs.
“hellish traits?”
6.0.4 Innocence and the Choice of Salvation
Every child is born with an “evil proprium,” or “hellish traits.” They are also born with “heavenly traits.” One heavenly trait, the most important one, is innocence, which involves being obedient to parents and other authority figures. Sometimes children are good and sometimes they are bad, this is God keeping them balanced between these traits. That way we can choose to resist giving in to our hellish traits when our conscience influences us.
i. Importance of the Question to You and Why: Although it may come in different vocabulary, the idea of changing who you for the better is pretty common. But it isn’t easy. You can regenerate your character by following two simple steps, but put into practice, they are anything but easy. The old will is full of selfish loves and hellish traits—it is the part that wants to hurts others, or doesn’t care about the consequences in regards to other people. It’s important to not hurt people, so you create a new will, full of selflessness and love.
ii. How this Perspective Helps You Understand Things About Yourself and Society: Throughout this semester, I have looked at my own personality as we study these concepts. I am sarcastic, which is a bit selfish, but I don’t think I’m cynical (most of the time), which is worse. I have tried to at least start on the path towards creating a new will, and changing my thinking about some of the things that I do.
iii. Do You Agree or Disagree and Explain Why: I believe it’s behavioral psychology, or cognitive behaviorism, which treats things like phobias by changing the behavior first. If you do something long enough, it affects the way you feel about it. If you’re afraid of dogs, look at a puppy, then touch a puppy, then pet it, then play it, then switch to a larger dog. The more interactions you have where nothing frightening happens, the greater the likelihood of the fear dissipating. I think theistic psychology is like that. But it really emphasizes starting with feeling (as discussed regarding the four options in chapter 10). You begin by wanting to improve, then you do. And even if most of you is rebelling, the body is doing it, and that seeps back into the thinking, that doing good is good, and makes you feel good.
What is the perspective that theistic psychology provides
on Sacred Scripture? How is it related
to Divine Speech? What are the
correspondences in Sacred Scripture? Give some illustrations of Sacred
Scripture and show how they are to be interpreted from the perspective of
theistic psychology.
What is the perspective that theistic psychology provides on Sacred Scripture?
1.8.2 Divine Speech and Its Functional Properties
Divine Speech comes from the one and only God, so everyone gets the same message at the same time. It comes down from the Spiritual Sun (where God is in a sense), and filters through the layers of the mind/heaven (celestial-rational, spiritual-rational, etc) down into our conscious mind. It gives us consciousness and immortality in the spiritual world. We can understand it by looking at the literal meaning of Sacred Scripture through correspondences (like God talking to us through the Old and New Testament and Swedenborg’s Writings). Theistic psychology is based on the understanding extracted from the Writings.
How is this related to Divine Speech?
The Spiritual light, which is knowledge or correspondences from God, travels through all the levels of our interior mind (the levels of heaven). Each person, though they receive the same information, react differently to it, because we are all unique, and this reaction affects the understanding in the next level down, and so on until it reaches our natural mind that we are conscious of. This is happening for every thought and feeling we have.
What are the correspondences in Sacred Scripture?
3.7 The Nature and Character of God: A Scientific Perspective
Like the Writings, the Old and New Testament are Sacred Scripture and have the literal meaning of the stories, as well the deeper levels of meaning which theistic psychology extracts. There is a code to pull out this information, but it is more scientific and objective the some other “Bible Codes.”
What are the correspondences in Sacred Scripture?
3.7.1 The Science of Correspondence
Unlike “Bible Codes,” Swedenborg’s method for extracting the meaning and data of correspondences is more systematic, scientific, rational, and can be repeated.
What is the perspective that theistic psychology provides on Sacred Scripture?
3.7.3 Extracting the Scientific Meaning in Sacred Scripture
Sacred Scripture is written at this lowest level, so people can understand it with their natural minds, and accept it on their own. In Swedenborg’s Writings, we can learn how to extract the higher-level correspondences from the literal information on the page.
Give some illustrations of Sacred Scripture and show how they are to be interpreted from the perspective of theistic psychology.
3.7.2.1 The Stages of Theistic Psychology
This is an excerpt from the Writings of Swedenborg, with the theistic psychology examination of it included. On the literal surface, the passage is about marriage of the Lord and the Church, but with the translation to theistic psychology, marriage is the combining of two things, the Lord is God, and the Church is a person’s mind as it regenerates or reforms.
Give some illustrations of Sacred Scripture and show how they are to be interpreted from the perspective of theistic psychology.
3.7.3 Extracting the Scientific Meaning in Sacred Scripture
This passage in the writings looks at the Old Testament book of Genesis. Swedenborg tells us that Genesis only gives us the basic story of how God created the world and the first man, but if we look deeper, that is all really about the regenerating mind and the ancient race. Theistic psychology goes deeper, explaining that Swedenborg’s phrase “Most Ancient Church” is actually a reference to the first step in character reformation. The literal meaning is in reference to the ancient race.
i. Importance of the Question to You and Why: I grew up in a Roman Catholic family, so I went to catechism class from a fairly young age. Even now, when I help my mother teach a CCD class on Sundays, I have so many questions, and can’t tell first graders that the story of Adam and Eve isn’t really about two people who lived just 4,000 years ago or so. This question is important, because it allows me to examine the Bible passages I am familiar with at a deeper, and more satisfying, level. I don’t have to accept the literal meaning of the parables.
ii. How this Perspective Helps You Understand Things About Yourself and Society: Generally, this helps me understand my own religion a little better, but as for society, it helps me see how passages of the Bible can be so twisted by some people. Since we are all individuals and thus understand Divine Speech slightly differently, it makes sense that some people would get themselves turned about and twist even the literal meaning of biblical passages, or infer deeper meaning which is the opposite of what it truly means.
iii. Do You Agree or Disagree and Explain Why: I agree. I suppose you could say I “lost my faith” for a while because I was frustrated that people took the entire Bible as a literal history and I knew it couldn’t be. Theistic psychology gives me a better framework for the Bible, and makes me want to read more than I do now (which is little to not at all).
Discuss the concept of “as-of
self.” Why is it difficult for people
to accept his idea? Does this concept
of as-of self imply that we don’t really have true freedom as human
beings? Is human freedom compatible
with the concept of God’s omnipotence?
How do you react to this concept?
Can you accept it? Does it make
a difference whether you accept it or not?
Discuss the concept of “as-of self.” Why is it difficult for people to accept his idea?
2.7 Theorectical Implications of God’s Omnipotence, Omniscience, and Omnipresence
A. God makes it seem like the world, and every person, control themselves. They don’t. With the “as-of self” we don’t know he manages our thoughts, feelings, memories, dreams and enjoyments, but he takes part and influences all of those and more.
Is human freedom compatible with the concept of God’s omnipotence?
B. Humans are human because they were made in the image of the Divine Human. We are not robots just because we have the “as-of self,” but we receive the traits that define us as human from God. The “as-of self” needs conscious awareness and rational though in order to work.
Does this concept of as-of self imply that we don’t really have true freedom as human beings?
2.17.1 The As-of Self Revealed to Humankind
The “as-of self” is completely necessary for humans to be happy and to reach their heaven. It allows us to take responsibility for our actions, even though God has affected them.
Is human freedom compatible with the concept of God’s omnipotence?
7.6 As-of Self Principles of Living: The Power of Self-Regulation
A. The “self” of a person is not real, it’s just a mask people don’t know they wear. The truth behind it is that God helps to co-manage everything. The “as-of self” is discussed in theistic psychology, so we can 1. Realize God is a co-manager in, well, everything, and 2. We are responsible for everything we do. Only by understanding the concept of the “as-of self” can we reconcile these two seeming contradictions.
Does this concept of as-of self imply that we don’t really have true
freedom as human beings?
B. There is a cycle of studying the Writings and thus elevating our minds to a higher level, then falling prey to evil or hellish activities, such as eating junk food, or enjoying portrayals of evil (like violence). With the power of God, we can stop this cycle and apply the rational ideas we learned in theistic psychology. To succeed in this, we need to have a heavenly love for doing so, which we do using the “as-of self.” The stronger that love, the greater the will and the more successful you will be. If this becomes a daily habit, putting love before selfishness, we can reform our character.
SECTION B: My Commentary How do you
react to this concept? Can you accept
it? Does it make a difference whether
you accept it or not?
i. Importance of the Question to You and Why: Many people like to think that they are wholly independent and can do everything for themselves. Yet, there are times when we are at a complete loss as what to do in a situation, but suddenly we have the answer. I think the concept of the “as-of self” is important because it allows us to look at this phenomenon and give it a name. It is God dipping his fingers into our minds and swishing things around a little, giving us the information, or helping bring the information we already had to our consciousness.
ii. How this Perspective Helps You Understand Things About Yourself and Society: This semester I have had this strong feeling of restlessness. I shared a room at home and at school, so I was almost always around other people, and I was an overpowering feeling of needing to be independent from everyone else. Friends have said they felt the same way. But with the as-of self, I will never be alone, because God will always be there, helping me with my feelings and thoughts.
iii. Do You Agree or Disagree and Explain Why: I’m not sure if I accept this. It is rational, and explains those “aha!” moments, but like many people, I do find the idea of never being alone uncomfortable. I like my privacy. But at the same time, I know it doesn’t hinder my actions as a person with free will. I do not feel like a puppet. Either way, though, if does not matter whether we agree with the concept or not. If theistic psychology is true, and at the very least it is rational, then we have an “as-of self” regardless of our belief about it.
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/459f2004/lyons/459-g21-report2.htm
My Incomplete Understanding of Theistic Psychology, By Ami Lyons
i. In Lyons’ evaluation of a previous student’s report, she expressed an idea about Baracao’s attitude toward the subject of theistic psychology. “The overall message of his paper is summed up in the previous quote. He believed in the importance of keeping an open mind. His analogy of ‘keeping one’s cup half full’ resonates within me. If someone keeps their cup totally full (thinks that they’ve got this life all figured out) when someone comes along to pour new knowledge into us, we find that our cup runneth over, but not in the good way that the bible talks about. There is no room for change. The message is that there are many wonderful minds that we can learn a lot from. Be not only open to hear them, but fill yourself with them and never stagnate.” This seems to also portray Lyons attitudes accurately, as well. She is very open-minded about the subject and seems to give it her full attention.
ii. Two of the questions Lyons looked at were 2 and 5 (on my instructions). She talked about why scientists feared theistic psychology—because it is scientific and objective, while religion is subjective and political. It seems they can’t handle this idea. It may be due, as she says, to the fact that our thinking is so one-sided, believing our position is right and there’s no way the other side could be valid, and our side wants to believe humans can explain everything. Science and psychology have become atheistic and materialistic, which, though there is no proof of either, makes the negative bias almost a default setting for humankind’s understanding. It’s like people assume the worst, or are skeptical of everything, and very critical when someone tries to convince them otherwise. The effect of materialism, according to Lyons, is war, for one thing. Whether for oil or to protect democracy, we are justifying the killing of people.
iii. Overall, working on these questions gave Lyons a new outlook on the Old and New Testament, as well as herself. It even helped her understand where society was in terms of rationality, which unfortunately, doesn’t seem to be too far if we believe that money can produce happiness (as opposed to the adage she quotes, “Wealth cannot produce happiness).
iv. One thing she said was that theistic psychology forced her to look at atheistic psychology in a new way. I find myself doing this. I’ll try to understand something in theistic psychology in terms of the psychology I’ve learned in other classes, and in the process learn about atheistic psychology in a new light. Like Lyons, I also have a new outlook on the Bible, how they are actually more universal than structured religions make them out to be.
http://www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/459f2004/zukowski/459-g21-report2.htm
My Understanding of Theistic Psychology, By: Emmy Zukowski
i. Zukowski is a Catholic, so some of the information about Scripture affected her. She seems to prove the point that theistic psychology doesn’t hinder one’s religious beliefs, and in fact seems to have strengthened her resolve to regenerate her character. As she says, “I personally want to do everything in my power after realizing this all in order to establish a “new will” for heaven. I don’t want to go to hell!”
ii. She explained that knowing one has an “old will” full of hellish traits goads a person to want to develop a “new will,” because they’d want to avoid resuscitating in their hell after death. “The proprium that forms during the natural world will affect where we end up in the afterlife; therefore realizing these concepts we have the ability to decide. We can change and reform ourselves for the better for final acceptance into heaven [or] refuse change and continue our naturally hellish ways acceptable for hell.” And she has chosen to reform her character.
iii. Generally, she agreed with the concepts she learned in theistic psychology. She appreciated the opportunity to ask questions in class, comparing that to religions where it is not always acceptable to question authority. She was very much open to the subject and had the positive bias.
iv. The positive bias was something I struggled with off and on throughout the semester. Sometimes I was fine, but other times, I had to contend with the ideas of science I’d grown up in. Even after our discussion of other scientific theories that couldn’t be proven, my mind occasionally rebelled at the thought of a science based on these Writings. Now, I think my grasp of the positive bias is much firmer. There are still some aspects that I’m not sure I accept, but I am open to all of them, and willing to believe they could be true.
Karina Swenson: Inside Out, February 3, 2005
Content: Karina discussed Swedenborg’s background, Divine Speech, and the concept of Heaven. Although his Writings are associated with the Bible, she felt he sounded more similar to his contemporaries. She then explained that God monitored the levels of consciousness we are at when we receive correspondences, which contain the Divine Speech. She used the example of Biblical and Asian parables and proverbs. Taking literally, they don’t make much sense, but metaphorically they contain a lesson for people to learn. Heaven she defined as the place in our mind where every joy we have is in its perfect state. Overall, in this early oral presentation, she seemed critical of Swedenborg, although I think her example of proverbs and parables very appropriate.
Connection: In a much simpler way, Karina defines what Divine Speech is. This agrees and complements what I wrote in Question 6. I also felt as she did at first, and had to move past my negative bias.
Neil Tsukiyama: How the Spiritual Mind Affects the Natural Mind, February 10, 2005
Content: Neil looked at the law of correspondences, regeneration or character reformation, and dualism/substantive dualism. In the first he describes how the Divine Speech filters down through the different layers of the mind. As one goes through this, their mind is made more rational and rises to higher levels (spiritual rational for instance), and this is character reformation. Dualism is the belief that we have a natural mind which is what we think we think with, and a spiritual world/mind that we are only conscious of after death. Once we realize there are two worlds, we can come to terms with being dual citizens. Neil didn’t share much of his own personal feelings, but brings up some good points and details about these topics.
Connection: His example of temptation works very well to convey what must be given up in order for character reformation to occur. It also adds the idea of other spirits influencing our thoughts and feelings, which I do not mention in my investigation of the subject.
Seon-Hee Cheon: Individual Growth Recapitulates History and Evolution, March 10, 2005
Content: Seon-Hee studied the development of the “as-of self,” a basic anatomical chart of the human mind and the three steps in rational spirituality. I am primarily concerned with the first topic. She defines the concept, and explains that regeneration is progressive and involves a cycle which mimics how we grow physically. She draws this comparison, that as we grow in our bodies, we must grow in our “as-of selves,” becoming more rational and reforming our characters.
Connection: I’m not sure I agree with her comparison, I think the “as-of self” doesn’t actually progress, but through it our characters can, and does so in a different manner, but it was an interesting way to look at it. She included a chart of the “circuit of consciousness within each degree” of rationality. Our character grows as we grow physically, but I feel they grow in very different ways.
Start early! It’s common advice, but it is true. The research takes time, as well as just thinking over the material so you understand it. Keep up with the reading throughout the semester, and keep all of the oral presentation outlines. That way, you can refer back to them when you have to find information on a particular subject. What others focused on in their presentations can help you hone your own search. The FIND command under Edit is also helpful, and if you don’t know how, ask someone about creating bookmarks and links between files early. It can be tricky.
One of my biggest difficulties in the technical or mechanical aspect of the report was making the bookmarks from Report 2 to the specific sections in the Selections file. For reference, I worked on Windows 2000. Here is how I figured it out:
Open your Report 2 file and your Selections file. NOTE: Make sure you open the htm version of the selections file, or else when you upload it, you’ll get an error when you click on the links. Highlight the part you want to make into a bookmark (the area you want to go when you click on the link in your report 2). For example, my first one is Section 1.1.2. You go to INSERT, and click on Bookmark. In the small bar at the top of the window that appears, type in the title you want to use (it can contain letters and numbers, but must start with a letter and can’t have spaces). I used Section1_1_2. Save the Selections file (as an htm file, remember that). Now switch to your Report 2 file, and go to the point you want to make into the link (the area you click in order to reach Section 1.1.2 for Question 1). Highlight what you want to be the link. In this case it’s 1.1.2 Level 2: Mystical Religion. Go to INSERT, scroll down to Hyperlink, and click on it. A window appears. In the box marked text to Display, what you highlighted should appear. In the box marked Type the File or Web page name, type in selections.htm. then click on Bookmarks (on the side of the larger box) and another window appears. Highlight the Bookmark which corresponds to the link (here, the Section1_1_2 bookmark). Click okay. That window disappears and the larger hyperlink one is still there. Click okay on that one. Now test the link to make sure it works. It ought to take you from Report 2 to that particular selection for your first Question in the selections file.
Good luck, and study hard. This is not a report, or a course, to breeze through. Both require time and a lot of effort.
Class Home Page: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leonj/leonj/leonpsy22/classhome-g22.htm
My Home Page: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/459s2005/favors/
The URL for Report 2: www.soc.hawaii.edu/leon/459s2005/favors/459-g22-report2.htm