MEDITATION AND SELF-ACTUALIZATION: A CAUTIONARY NOTE ON THE SALLIS ARTICLE
William C. Compton
PSYCHOLOGIA 1984 DOI: 10.2117/psysoc.1984.125 (opens in new tab)
Study at a glance
AI-extracted from the abstract| Characteristics | Commentary Peer reviewed |
|---|---|
| Topics | Meditation |
| Key points | Argues that Sallis's theoretical comparison of meditation and self-actualization is flawed because it does not differentiate between levels of meditation practice, which led to apparently contradictory goals for meditation. The critique proposes that understanding linguistic formulations of meditation depends on the level of practice referenced, and that consistency on this point would have resolved the apparent contradiction. |
Abstract
A critique is given of Sallis's article "meditation and self-actualization: a theoretical comparison".The main argument of the critique is that Sallis failed to differentiate between the various levels of meditation practice in his article.This led him to postulate apparently contradictory goals for meditation.It is suggested that the understanding of linguistic formulations of meditation is dependent upon the level of meditation practice being referred to.It is also suggested that Sallis's article would have not appeared contradictory ifhe would have further clarified, and been consistent in his reference to, the various levels of meditative practice.