Spiritual Development: Han F. De Wit's and Stanislav Grof's Differing Approaches
Zygon® September 2, 2001 DOI: 10.1111/0591-2385.00378 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Theoretical or philosophical paper Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Keywords | Spirituality Clarity Courage Compassion Consciousness Epistemology Conscience Moral dilemma Materialism Psychoanalysis Theology |
| Citations | 23 |
| Key points | Argues that spirituality is essential to humaneness and that first-person knowledge must supplement third-person knowledge for understanding human nature. |
Abstract
For both Han F. de Wit and Stanislav Grof, spirituality constitutes an essential part of humaneness; a life built on materialism is deemed an impoverished life. For de Wit, spirituality yields courage, compassion, joy, clarity of mind, and consequently wisdom. For Grof, personal spiritual experiences gained during altered states of consciousness are of central interest. After defining spirituality, these views, built on long‐term personal experiences of the authors and those of others, are explicated in detail. Both authors describe their respective approaches to spiritual development. In either approach, third‐person knowledge and judgments (e.g., on humanness) have to be supplemented by first‐person knowledge and judgments arrived at appropriately (e.g., on humaneness).