Asian interpretations

transcending the stream of consciousness

Eugene Taylor

pp. 31-54

in: Kenneth S. Pope, Jerome L. Singer (eds), The stream of consciousness, Berlin, Springer, 1978

Abstract

An examination of the historical roots of American psychology reveals that we have a variety of different frames of reference within which to regard the phenomena of consciousness. There is, first of all, cognitive psychology—what we would call the mainstream of the present-day scientific, academic orientation. Secondly, there is the interpretive framework of the psychoanalytic tradition, which emphasizes dynamics of the unconscious, and most currently, its relation to adaptive functioning of the ego. Thirdly, we have the experiential orientation of the Humanistic movement, advocates of which tend to focus on the creative relationship between consciousness and the unconscious, chiefly through the visualization of preconscious mental processes. Finally, there is the relatively new expression called Transpersonal Psychology, which focuses on inner exploration, ans the actualization of "ultimate states' of consciousness (Sutich, 1976) achieved through the practice of personal disciplines.