Participatory theory is a vision or

conceptual framework A conceptual framework is an analytical tool with several variations and contexts. It can be applied in different categories of work where an overall picture is needed. It is used to make conceptual distinctions and organize ideas. Strong concept ...

that attempts to bridge the

subject Subject ( la, subiectus "lying beneath") may refer to: Philosophy *''Hypokeimenon'', or ''subiectum'', in metaphysics, the "internal", non-objective being of a thing **Subject (philosophy), a being that has subjective experiences, subjective cons ...

– object distinction. According to Jorge Ferrer, "the kernel of this participatory vision is a turn from intra-subjective experiences to participatory events in our understanding of transpersonal and spiritual phenomena."

Participatory epistemology

A participatory epistemology is a

theory of knowledge Epistemology (; ), or the theory of knowledge, is the branch of philosophy concerned with knowledge. Epistemology is considered a major subfield of philosophy, along with other major subfields such as ethics, logic, and metaphysics. Episte ...

that holds that

meaning Meaning most commonly refers to: * Meaning (linguistics), meaning which is communicated through the use of language * Meaning (philosophy), definition, elements, and types of meaning discussed in philosophy * Meaning (non-linguistic), a general te ...

is enacted through the participation of the human mind with the world. Originally proposed by

Goethe Johann Wolfgang von Goethe (28 August 1749 – 22 March 1832) was a German poet, playwright, novelist, scientist, statesman, theatre director, and critic. His works include plays, poetry, literature, and aesthetic criticism, as well as t ...

, it has been discussed extensively by cultural historian

Richard Tarnas Richard Theodore Tarnas is a cultural historian and astrologer known for his books '' The Passion of the Western Mind: Understanding the Ideas That Have Shaped Our World View'' and '' Cosmos and Psyche: Intimations of a New World View''. Tarnas i ...

. In a participatory epistemology, meaning is neither solely objective nor solely

subjective Subjective may refer to: * Subjectivity, a subject's personal perspective, feelings, beliefs, desires or discovery, as opposed to those made from an independent, objective, point of view ** Subjective experience, the subjective quality of conscio ...

. That is to say that meaning is not, per modern or positivist views, found solely outside of the human mind, in the objective world, waiting to be discovered. Nor, per

postmodern Postmodernism is an intellectual stance or mode of discourseNuyen, A.T., 1992. The Role of Rhetorical Devices in Postmodernist Discourse. Philosophy & Rhetoric, pp.183–194. characterized by skepticism toward the " grand narratives" of modern ...

or constructivist views, is meaning simply constructed or projected onto an inherently meaningless world by the subjective human mind. Rather, Tarnas argues that meaning is ''enacted'' through the

dialectical Dialectic ( grc-gre, διαλεκτική, ''dialektikḗ''; related to dialogue; german: Dialektik), also known as the dialectical method, is a discourse between two or more people holding different points of view about a subject but wishing to ...

participation of the human mind with the larger meaning of the cosmos. Thus meaning exists ''in potentia'' in the

cosmos The cosmos (, ) is another name for the Universe. Using the word ''cosmos'' implies viewing the universe as a complex and orderly system or entity. The cosmos, and understandings of the reasons for its existence and significance, are studied in ...

, but must be articulated by human

consciousness Consciousness, at its simplest, is sentience and awareness of internal and external existence. However, the lack of definitions has led to millennia of analyses, explanations and debates by philosophers, theologians, linguisticians, and scien ...

before it exists in actuality.

In this view, the essential reality of nature is not separate, self-contained, and complete in itself, so that the human mind can examine it "objectively" and register it from without. Rather, nature's unfolding truth emerges only with the active participation of the human mind. Nature's reality is not merely
phenomenal A phenomenon ( : phenomena) is an observable event. The term came into its modern philosophical usage through Immanuel Kant, who contrasted it with the noumenon, which ''cannot'' be directly observed. Kant was heavily influenced by Gottfried W ...
, nor is it independent and objective; rather, it is something that comes into being through the very act of human
cognition Cognition refers to "the mental action or process of acquiring knowledge and understanding through thought, experience, and the senses". It encompasses all aspects of intellectual functions and processes such as: perception, attention, thoug ...
. Nature becomes intelligible to itself through the human mind.

According to Tarnas, participatory epistemology is rooted in the thought of

Schiller Johann Christoph Friedrich von Schiller (, short: ; 10 November 17599 May 1805) was a German playwright, poet, and philosopher. During the last seventeen years of his life (1788–1805), Schiller developed a productive, if complicated, friends ...

, Schelling,

Hegel Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel (; ; 27 August 1770 – 14 November 1831) was a German philosopher. He is one of the most important figures in German idealism and one of the founding figures of modern Western philosophy. His influence extends ...

Coleridge Samuel Taylor Coleridge (; 21 October 177225 July 1834) was an English poet, literary critic, philosopher, and theologian who, with his friend William Wordsworth, was a founder of the Romantic Movement in England and a member of the Lake ...

, Emerson, and

Rudolf Steiner Rudolf Joseph Lorenz Steiner (27 or 25 February 1861 – 30 March 1925) was an Austrian occultist, social reformer, architect, esotericist, and claimed clairvoyant. Steiner gained initial recognition at the end of the nineteenth century as ...

The "participatory turn" in transpersonal theory

In the field of

transpersonal psychology Transpersonal psychology, or spiritual psychology, is a sub-field or school of psychology that integrates the spiritual and transcendent aspects of the human experience with the framework of modern psychology. The '' transpersonal'' is defined ...

, the "participatory turn" endorsed by Jorge Ferrer suggests that transpersonal phenomena are participatory and co-creative events. Ferrer defines these events as "emergences of transpersonal being that can occur not only in the locus of an individual, but also in a relationship, a community, a collective identity or a place." This participatory knowing is multidimensional, and includes all the powers of the human being (body/heart/soul), as understood from a transpersonal framework. Ferrer's vision includes a spiritual reality that is plural and multiple, and a spiritual power that may produce a wide range of revelations and insights, which in turn may be overlapping, or even incompatible. Criticism Ken Wilber argues that participatory epistemology is limited in its appropriate scope to observing the interior of a subjective plural domain. Ferrer argues that Wilber's criticisms of participatory theory have conflated

pluralism Pluralism denotes a diversity of views or stands rather than a single approach or method. Pluralism or pluralist may refer to: Politics and law * Pluralism (political philosophy), the acknowledgement of a diversity of political systems * Plur ...

with vulgar

relativism Relativism is a family of philosophical views which deny claims to objectivity within a particular domain and assert that valuations in that domain are relative to the perspective of an observer or the context in which they are assessed. There ...

Application in psychoanalysis

Psychoanalyst

Robin S. Brown Robin S. Brown is a psychoanalyst and academic. His work has been associated with a “philosophical turn” in psychoanalysis, and has received interdisciplinary attention in the fields of psychoanalysis, analytical psychology, and transpersona ...

has promoted a participatory perspective in the context of relational psychoanalysis as a means to fostering

clinical pluralism Clinical pluralism is a term used by some psychotherapists to denote an approach to clinical treatment that would seek to remain respectful towards divergences in meaning-making. It can signify both an undertaking to negotiate theoretical differen ...

.Brown, R.S. (2020).
Groundwork for a Transpersonal Psychoanalysis: Spirituality, Relationship, and Participation
'. London & New York: Routledge. Brown adopts a participatory reading of

Jungian archetypes Jungian archetypes are a concept from psychology that refers to a universal, inherited idea, pattern of thought, or image that is present in the collective unconscious of all human beings. The psychic counterpart of instinct, archetypes are tho ...

as a basis from which to theorize

alterity Alterity is a philosophical and anthropological term meaning "otherness", that is, the " other of two" (Latin ''alter''). It is also increasingly being used in media to express something other than "sameness", or something outside of tradition or ...

in the clinical situation.

References

Bibliography

*Bache, Christopher ''Dark Night, Early Dawn'', 2000; SUNY *Brown, Robin S. ''Psychoanalysis Beyond the End of Metaphysics: Thinking Towards the Post-Relational'', 2017; Routledge *Ferrer, Jorge ''Revisioning Transpersonal Theory'', 2002; SUNY *Ferrer, Jorge & Sherman, Jacob ''The Participatory Turn: Spirituality, Mysticism, Religious Studies'', 2009; SUNY *Sherman, Jacob ''Partakers of the Divine: Contemplation and the Practice of Philosophy'', 2014; Fortress Press *Tarnas, Richard ''Cosmos and Psyche'', 2006; Viking *Tarnas, Richard ''The Passion of the Western Mind'', 1991; Ballantine {{DEFAULTSORT:Participatory Epistemology Transpersonal psychology Epistemological theories

Participatory epistemology

The "participatory turn" in transpersonal theory

Application in psychoanalysis

See also

References

Bibliography