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Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization
A bold reimagining of Maslow's famous hierarchy of needs--and new insights for realizing your full potential and living your most creative, fulfilled, and connected life.
When psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman first discovered Maslow's unfinished theory of transcendence, sprinkled throughout a cache of unpublished journals, lectures, and essays, he felt a deep resonance with his own work and life. In this groundbreaking book, Kaufman picks up where Maslow left off, unraveling the mysteries of his unfinished theory, and integrating these ideas with the latest research on attachment, connection, creativity, love, purpose and other building blocks of a life well lived.
Kaufman's new hierarchy of needs provides a roadmap for finding purpose and fulfillment--not by striving for money, success, or happiness, but by becoming the best version of ourselves, or what Maslow called self-actualization. While self-actualization is often thought of as a purely individual pursuit, Maslow believed that the full realization of potential requires a merging between self and the world. We don't have to choose either self-development or self-sacrifice, but at the highest level of human potential we show a deep integration of both. Transcend reveals this level of human potential that connects us not only to our highest creative potential, but also to one another.
With never-before-published insights and new research findings, along with exercises and opportunities to gain insight into your own unique personality, this empowering book is a manual for self-analysis and nurturing a deeper connection not only with our highest potential but also with the rest of humanity.
When psychologist Scott Barry Kaufman first discovered Maslow's unfinished theory of transcendence, sprinkled throughout a cache of unpublished journals, lectures, and essays, he felt a deep resonance with his own work and life. In this groundbreaking book, Kaufman picks up where Maslow left off, unraveling the mysteries of his unfinished theory, and integrating these ideas with the latest research on attachment, connection, creativity, love, purpose and other building blocks of a life well lived.
Kaufman's new hierarchy of needs provides a roadmap for finding purpose and fulfillment--not by striving for money, success, or happiness, but by becoming the best version of ourselves, or what Maslow called self-actualization. While self-actualization is often thought of as a purely individual pursuit, Maslow believed that the full realization of potential requires a merging between self and the world. We don't have to choose either self-development or self-sacrifice, but at the highest level of human potential we show a deep integration of both. Transcend reveals this level of human potential that connects us not only to our highest creative potential, but also to one another.
With never-before-published insights and new research findings, along with exercises and opportunities to gain insight into your own unique personality, this empowering book is a manual for self-analysis and nurturing a deeper connection not only with our highest potential but also with the rest of humanity.
432 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2020
About the author
Scott Barry Kaufman
16 books421 followersScott Barry Kaufman, Ph.D., is a humanistic psychologist exploring the depths of human potential. He has taught courses on intelligence, creativity, and well-being at Columbia University, NYU, the University of Pennsylvania, and elsewhere. In addition to writing the column Beautiful Minds for Scientific American, he also hosts The Psychology Podcast, and is author and/or editor of 9 books, including Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization, Wired to Create: Unravelling the Mysteries of the Creative Mind (with Carolyn Gregoire), and Ungifted: Intelligence Redefined. In 2015, he was named one of "50 Groundbreaking Scientists who are changing the way we see the world" by Business Insider. Find out more at http://ScottBarryKaufman.com.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 200 reviews
June 14, 2020
Bought this for a deep dive into self-actualization, and it’s so much wider than I expected. Yes, the book primarily updates Maslow, but also synthesizes insights from Karen Horney, Viktor Frankl, Irvin Yalom, Rollo May, and many other psychological and philosophical thinkers.
Kaufman helped me understand the social instinct more deeply, included strong sections on vulnerable narcissism and whole love, posits that beyond self-actualization is a drive towards transcendence (that some have this and others don’t), and discusses micro-dosing, peak experiences and flow. At the back, he includes self-probing challenges for readers to explore.
Kaufman helped me understand the social instinct more deeply, included strong sections on vulnerable narcissism and whole love, posits that beyond self-actualization is a drive towards transcendence (that some have this and others don’t), and discusses micro-dosing, peak experiences and flow. At the back, he includes self-probing challenges for readers to explore.
October 20, 2020
Very interesting book, definitely a re-read and to make notes
Striving to become the best version of ourselves, or what Maslow called self-actualization.
Maslov's Self Actualization Needs: Explore (Curiosity, curiosity, openness, understanding), Love, Purpose. These needs help us grow and transcend
If only Maslov hadn't died earlier than expected then he would have been able to finish or continue his work. What is written in textbooks about the needs pyramid isn't exactly what he finally realized. What was more was that you can go up and down the pyramid in different aspects and it flows. Not just one section onto the next.
This book taught me a lot about narcissism and the two types: vulnerable and grandiose
The good life is not something you will ever achieve. It’s a way of living. As Carl Rogers noted, “The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination.”
Stop walking through the world looking for confirmation that you don’t belong. You will always find it because you’ve made that your mission. Stop scouring people’s faces for evidence that you’re not enough. You will always find it because you’ve made that your goal. True belonging and self-worth are not goods; we don’t negotiate their value with the world. The truth about who we are lives in our hearts. Our call to courage is to protect our wild heart against constant evaluation, especially our own. No one belongs here more than you.
Striving to become the best version of ourselves, or what Maslow called self-actualization.
Maslov's Self Actualization Needs: Explore (Curiosity, curiosity, openness, understanding), Love, Purpose. These needs help us grow and transcend
If only Maslov hadn't died earlier than expected then he would have been able to finish or continue his work. What is written in textbooks about the needs pyramid isn't exactly what he finally realized. What was more was that you can go up and down the pyramid in different aspects and it flows. Not just one section onto the next.
This book taught me a lot about narcissism and the two types: vulnerable and grandiose
The good life is not something you will ever achieve. It’s a way of living. As Carl Rogers noted, “The good life is a process, not a state of being. It is a direction, not a destination.”
Stop walking through the world looking for confirmation that you don’t belong. You will always find it because you’ve made that your mission. Stop scouring people’s faces for evidence that you’re not enough. You will always find it because you’ve made that your goal. True belonging and self-worth are not goods; we don’t negotiate their value with the world. The truth about who we are lives in our hearts. Our call to courage is to protect our wild heart against constant evaluation, especially our own. No one belongs here more than you.
April 5, 2020
In his groundbreaking book, Dr. Kaufman transcends the traditional vision of Maslow's hierarchy of needs to present a new vision of the good life that's so needed in our current time of troubles and tribulations.
Informed by the latest research (including some of his own) in positive psychology, social psychology, evolutionary psychology, clinical psychology, developmental psychology, personality psychology, organizational psychology, sociology, cybernetics, and neuroscience, this book redefines the perception of our hierarchy of needs as taking the form of a pyramid. He demonstrates convincingly that such a hierarchical vision of our needs neither fits Maslow's intention nor the latest research.
Instead, Kaufman proposes that we use the metaphor of a sailboat, driven by a combination of deficiency and growth. The sailboat itself - the basis on which we build our life - consists of safety, connection, and self-esteem. Deprived of any of these, our perspective will be distorted and we will be driven to address that deprivation. Yet that kind of existence is not the good life: it's surviving, not thriving. To thrive, we need the sail part of the sailboat, which is the growth part of our existence, and consists of what Maslow termed "self-actualization" and what Kaufman helpfully breaks down into exploration, love, and purpose. Of course, we can still pursue these growth aspects of our existence if we are deprived of some of the planks for the sailboat, but we will not be able to thrive nearly as much if we suffer deprivation. And once we are not deprived and have grown, we can reach above the sail to the sky, transcending ourselves as individuals and becoming part of a much greater whole. Importantly, Kaufman highlights our responsibility in helping others at least avoid deprivation, if not pursue growth - his book is not only about individuals, but also about society as a whole.
It would be wonderful if as many people as possible read Kaufman's book and followed his guidance.
Informed by the latest research (including some of his own) in positive psychology, social psychology, evolutionary psychology, clinical psychology, developmental psychology, personality psychology, organizational psychology, sociology, cybernetics, and neuroscience, this book redefines the perception of our hierarchy of needs as taking the form of a pyramid. He demonstrates convincingly that such a hierarchical vision of our needs neither fits Maslow's intention nor the latest research.
Instead, Kaufman proposes that we use the metaphor of a sailboat, driven by a combination of deficiency and growth. The sailboat itself - the basis on which we build our life - consists of safety, connection, and self-esteem. Deprived of any of these, our perspective will be distorted and we will be driven to address that deprivation. Yet that kind of existence is not the good life: it's surviving, not thriving. To thrive, we need the sail part of the sailboat, which is the growth part of our existence, and consists of what Maslow termed "self-actualization" and what Kaufman helpfully breaks down into exploration, love, and purpose. Of course, we can still pursue these growth aspects of our existence if we are deprived of some of the planks for the sailboat, but we will not be able to thrive nearly as much if we suffer deprivation. And once we are not deprived and have grown, we can reach above the sail to the sky, transcending ourselves as individuals and becoming part of a much greater whole. Importantly, Kaufman highlights our responsibility in helping others at least avoid deprivation, if not pursue growth - his book is not only about individuals, but also about society as a whole.
It would be wonderful if as many people as possible read Kaufman's book and followed his guidance.
November 26, 2021
As an avid listener of Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman's (SBK) podcast titled 'The Psychology Podcast', I was really excited to delve into this book. Kaufman's curiosity and eagerness to learn is very inspiring.
Most psychology courses (including my own psychology university experience) includes the hierarchy of needs as the pinnacle of humanistic psychology and the culmination of Maslow's work. However, this could not be further than what Maslow envisioned his work to represent.
SBK alters the hierarchy in a way that is more of an honest reflection of experiencing peak human experience. He describes it as an on-going process that never really comes to a stop. If you think about it, nothing is more true than that. Even if you attain every goal that you have for yourself, what's next? Life in no way stops there. It is a constant process of change and evolution and adaptation.
I really enjoy humanistic and positive psychology. Clinical psychology has a strong focus on change in symptomology as being representative of absence of illness - however this can be quite reductionist.
The only critique that I have is that the book is neither a timeline of the life of Abraham Maslow, nor a summation of humanistic psychology. But instead, perhaps somewhere in between. This made it difficult at times to get a feel of the 'flow' of the book.
I really appreciated the deep dive Kaufman takes into linking a multitude of evidence to the idea of transcendence in a way that is digestible (particularly the focus of death anxiety!). I also REALLY enjoyed that this was't a 'pop psychology' 10 step guide to ultimate happiness with pages of exercises and life hacks. Instead, it was an insightful book focusing on the science and theory underpinning a field that is so close the heart of SBK.
Overall, a wonderful read that I would recommend to anyone interested in learning about the potential of human possibility.
Most psychology courses (including my own psychology university experience) includes the hierarchy of needs as the pinnacle of humanistic psychology and the culmination of Maslow's work. However, this could not be further than what Maslow envisioned his work to represent.
SBK alters the hierarchy in a way that is more of an honest reflection of experiencing peak human experience. He describes it as an on-going process that never really comes to a stop. If you think about it, nothing is more true than that. Even if you attain every goal that you have for yourself, what's next? Life in no way stops there. It is a constant process of change and evolution and adaptation.
I really enjoy humanistic and positive psychology. Clinical psychology has a strong focus on change in symptomology as being representative of absence of illness - however this can be quite reductionist.
The only critique that I have is that the book is neither a timeline of the life of Abraham Maslow, nor a summation of humanistic psychology. But instead, perhaps somewhere in between. This made it difficult at times to get a feel of the 'flow' of the book.
I really appreciated the deep dive Kaufman takes into linking a multitude of evidence to the idea of transcendence in a way that is digestible (particularly the focus of death anxiety!). I also REALLY enjoyed that this was't a 'pop psychology' 10 step guide to ultimate happiness with pages of exercises and life hacks. Instead, it was an insightful book focusing on the science and theory underpinning a field that is so close the heart of SBK.
Overall, a wonderful read that I would recommend to anyone interested in learning about the potential of human possibility.
August 22, 2020
In 2020––a year painfully riddled with death, loss, and uncertainty––cultivating our capacities for compassion, love, and flourishing seems both harder and more necessary than ever. In this crucial project, I can think of no better text to guide us than Scott Barry Kaufman's Transcend. This enlightening and joyous voyage into humanity’s psychological history, present, and possible futures arrived at exactly the right moment––not just for me personally, but for all of us.
First and foremost, Kaufman’s aim is to promote the field of humanistic psychology by revisiting and upgrading the work of Abraham Maslow. Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs,” which was later turned into a pyramid “by a management consultant in the sixties” (xxix), became famous as a way of understanding both the bare necessities of healthy living as well as “higher” modes of being such as self-actualization. Here’s Kaufman’s cheeky reproduction:
Kaufman’s research reveals that, toward the end of his life, Maslow realized that self-actualization wasn’t the upper limit of human potential, and “became convinced that healthy self-actualization is actually a bridge to transcendence” (xiv, emphasis his). Maslow set to work articulating this new outlook, which he called “Theory Z,” but his work was cut short due to poor health and a premature death in 1970. “So the thought is,” Maslow wrote less than three years before his passing, “save it all in little memos in these journals & the right person to come will know what I mean & why it must be done” (xvii, emphasis his). Discovering this type of mission from the past is every academic’s dream, and Kaufman goes above and beyond the call of duty. This razor-sharp, assiduously-cited, and reader-friendly compilation of contemporary psychological insights is an elegant tribute to Maslow and his fellow humanistic psychologists.
Kaufman’s starting point is to examine how best to get people to live more in what Maslow called the “Being-Realm,” or “B-realm” for short. This is accomplished primarily by approaching life with a mindset focused on growth rather than deficiency:
"The Being-Realm of existence…is like replacing a clouded lens with a clear one. Instead of being driven by fears, anxieties, suspicions, and the constant need to make demands on reality, one is more accepting and loving of oneself and others. Seeing reality more clearly, growth-wisdom is more about 'What choices will lead me to greater integration and wholeness?' rather than 'How can I defend myself so that I can feel safe and secure?'" (xxxi)
Kaufman suggests that thinking about one’s life journey as a sailboat cutting across a vast ocean can help us access the B-realm with more consistency and ease:
As you can see, the sailboat is comprised of two separate sections: the boat, which represents security (our universal needs for safety, connection, and self-esteem), and the sail, which represents growth (our unique capacities for exploration, love, and purpose). In Kaufman’s own words:
"Life isn’t a trek up a summit but a journey to travel through––a vast blue ocean, full of new opportunities for meaning and discovery but also danger and uncertainty…The boat itself protects us from seas that are rarely as calm as we’d like. Each plank of the boat offers security from the waves. Without it, we’d surely spend all our energy trying to stay above water…Having a secure boat is not enough for real movement, however. You also need a sail…Each level of the sail allows you to capture more wind, helping you explore and adapt to your environment. Note that you don’t 'climb' a sailboat like you’d climb a mountain or a pyramid. Instead, you open your sail, just like you’d drop your defenses once you felt secure enough. This is an ongoing dynamic: you can be open and spontaneous one minute but can feel threatened enough to prepare for the storm by closing yourself to the world the next minute. The more you continually open yourself to the world, however, the further your boat will go and the more you can benefit from the people and opportunities around you." (xxxii-xxxiii, emphasis his)
This metaphor, much richer and more accurate than Maslow’s original hierarchy or the pyramid that followed, is the best method I’ve ever encountered for visualizing humanity’s basic needs and potentialities. Above the sailboat hovers transcendence, a tantalizing possibility for the grandest states of well-being and consciousness. Kaufman explains:
"If you’re truly fortunate, you can even enter ecstatic moments of peak experience––where you are really catching the wind. In these moments, not only have you temporarily forgotten your insecurities, but you are growing so much that you are helping to raise the tide for all the other sailboats simply by making your way through the ocean. In this way, the sailboat isn’t a pinnacle but a whole vehicle, helping us to explore the world and people around us, growing and transcending as we do." (xxxiii, emphasis his)
From this point, Kaufman provides a thorough and fascinating tour of the sailboat and various pathways to oceanic transcendence. As I read, I often found myself imagining the self as a crew of hearty and intrepid sailors, each diligently tending to the sailboat’s intricate and equally-important facets. A truly magnificent sailboat, I think, would sport a crew working in perfect synchrony––a merry transcendance that allows them to explore new horizons, support shipwrecked or stranded companions, and weather even the toughest storms. Here’s Kaufman’s definition:
"Healthy transcendence is an emergent phenomenon resulting from the harmonious integration of one’s whole self in the service of cultivating a good society. This view of transcendence, which I believe is the healthiest form of transcendence, is not about leaving any parts of ourselves or anyone else behind or singularly rising above the rest of humanity. Healthy transcendence is not about being outside of the whole, or feeling superior to the whole, but being a harmonious part of the whole of human existence. It’s all of humanity. In a nutshell: healthy transcendence involves harnessing all that you are in the service of realizing the best version of yourself so you can help raise the bar for the whole of humanity." (218)
Pretty words, eh? I can hear you, cynical reader, scoffing at such sugar-coated fluffery. I did my fair share of scoffing, but each time found my criticism tempered by Kaufman’s uplifting blend of relentless positivity and unflinching realism. He doesn’t downplay or ignore the dark side of human nature, nor does he deny that destructive environmental conditions can nullify even the noblest attempts at self-betterment.
To help readers build the best sailboats they can, Kaufman presents oodles of empirically-supported advice on the best ways to become a “whole” or “fully-integrated” person, which he defines as “an ongoing journey of discovery, openness and courage, in which you reach higher and higher levels of integration and harmony within yourself and with the outside world, allowing greater flexibility and freedom to become who you truly want to become” (257, emphasis his). Here are what I found to be his most memorable points:
––Be confident in your “right to shine,” and take responsibility for it (71)
––Understand and integrate your personal motivations (85)
––Incorporate new information and experiences via healthy exploration (93)
––Treat traumatic experiences as irreversible tragedies that nevertheless offer opportunities for learning and growth (103-4)
––Practice balanced coordination between three important brain networks: default mode, executive attention, and salience (116)
––Embrace “dichotomy-transcendence,” an intellectual state in which “ordinary dichotomies…are no longer seen as dichotomies but are all seen as simply parts of a larger integrated whole” (117, 225-6)
––Assert your agency (personal needs and goals) while also seeking outlets for communion (contributions to family/community/society) (126-7, 169-70)
––Cultivate the four facets of the "quiet ego": detached awareness, inclusive identity, perspective-taking, and growth-mindedness (134-5)
––Embody “whole love” through integrating your need for individuality with your need for connectedness, including sexual passions (139, 145)
––Strive for clearly-articulated and well-integrated goals that are aligned with your personal values and aspirations (160-2)
––“Quick hits” of transcendence via peak experiences aren’t useful when disconnected from “the hard work of inner integration,” and can even be damaging (215)
––Avoid “us vs. them” or “good vs. evil” thinking. Instead, be realistic about the significant limitations of human nature, and practice compassion and forgiveness with yourself and others (240-1)
––Create and sustain “plateau experiences” that intentionally infuse vivid perceptions of ordinary life with sacredness and a healthy acknowledgment of mortality (242)
––Learn to see self-actualization as consonant with improving the lives of others and the world in general (243-4)
In addition to these suggestions, Kaufman includes two appendices directly focused on helping readers understand themselves and grow intentionally in the directions they desire. Here are a few of my favorite passages from Appendix I, “Seven Principles for Becoming a Whole Person”:
"While the true self may be a convenient fiction, I truly believe that there are, within each of us, aspects of our self that are most conducive to health and growth as a whole person. I believe we each have best selves––aspects of who we are that are healthy, creative, and growth-motivated–– that make us feel most connected to ourselves and to others. The more we can drop our social facades and the defenses that we erect to protect ourselves, the more we open ourselves up to greater opportunities for growth, development, and creativity." (260)
"If sometimes it feels as though there are multiple personalities within you that are constantly warring with one another, well, that’s because there are multiple personalities within you that are constantly warring with one another! Each of us contains a bundle of dispositions, emotional tendencies, values, attitudes, beliefs, and motives that are often contradictory and incompatible…Given the brains we have, and our unique capacity for awareness of the often bewildering outputs arising from the complex computations of our brains, we actually do a pretty great job of managing our inner conflicts. To be sure, at times reality can feel unbearable, and despite the general satisfaction most people feel with their lives, mental illness is actually a lot more common than people realize. In fact, most people develop a diagnosable mental illness at some point in their lives. Nevertheless, most people report being fairly happy in life, show positive developmental change across their life-spans, and display extraordinary capacity for resilience, dignity, and grace. As resilience researcher Froma Walsh puts it, humans have the capacity to 'struggle well.'" (265-7, emphasis his)
"Recent research shows that while enduring personality change isn’t easy, people really can change their personality in very substantial ways throughout life with intentional effort and therapy, as well as by making changes to one’s environment that have long-lasting influences on one’s personality, such as changing one’s job, social roles, or relationship partners, or by adopting new identities…We shouldn’t think of personality as something cast in stone or always consistent. Throughout the course of the day, everyone fluctuates in their personality and even their intellectual functioning quite a lot…Acting out of character is actually quite common…There is nothing sacred or unalterable about being a certain way; with enough adjustments to these patterns over time, we literally change our being. Of course, this doesn’t mean personality change is easy. Trying to change yourself too quickly can be very draining, and you have to want to change." (272-3)
Very simply, and very bravely, Kaufman believes that humans are basically good, worthwhile, and able to improve. He believes this about absolutely everyone. This feature of his worldview shines through on every page of Transcend, making it not only an informative read but also an inspiring and potentially life-changing one.
This review was originally published on my blog, words&dirt.
First and foremost, Kaufman’s aim is to promote the field of humanistic psychology by revisiting and upgrading the work of Abraham Maslow. Maslow’s “hierarchy of needs,” which was later turned into a pyramid “by a management consultant in the sixties” (xxix), became famous as a way of understanding both the bare necessities of healthy living as well as “higher” modes of being such as self-actualization. Here’s Kaufman’s cheeky reproduction:
Kaufman’s research reveals that, toward the end of his life, Maslow realized that self-actualization wasn’t the upper limit of human potential, and “became convinced that healthy self-actualization is actually a bridge to transcendence” (xiv, emphasis his). Maslow set to work articulating this new outlook, which he called “Theory Z,” but his work was cut short due to poor health and a premature death in 1970. “So the thought is,” Maslow wrote less than three years before his passing, “save it all in little memos in these journals & the right person to come will know what I mean & why it must be done” (xvii, emphasis his). Discovering this type of mission from the past is every academic’s dream, and Kaufman goes above and beyond the call of duty. This razor-sharp, assiduously-cited, and reader-friendly compilation of contemporary psychological insights is an elegant tribute to Maslow and his fellow humanistic psychologists.
Kaufman’s starting point is to examine how best to get people to live more in what Maslow called the “Being-Realm,” or “B-realm” for short. This is accomplished primarily by approaching life with a mindset focused on growth rather than deficiency:
"The Being-Realm of existence…is like replacing a clouded lens with a clear one. Instead of being driven by fears, anxieties, suspicions, and the constant need to make demands on reality, one is more accepting and loving of oneself and others. Seeing reality more clearly, growth-wisdom is more about 'What choices will lead me to greater integration and wholeness?' rather than 'How can I defend myself so that I can feel safe and secure?'" (xxxi)
Kaufman suggests that thinking about one’s life journey as a sailboat cutting across a vast ocean can help us access the B-realm with more consistency and ease:
As you can see, the sailboat is comprised of two separate sections: the boat, which represents security (our universal needs for safety, connection, and self-esteem), and the sail, which represents growth (our unique capacities for exploration, love, and purpose). In Kaufman’s own words:
"Life isn’t a trek up a summit but a journey to travel through––a vast blue ocean, full of new opportunities for meaning and discovery but also danger and uncertainty…The boat itself protects us from seas that are rarely as calm as we’d like. Each plank of the boat offers security from the waves. Without it, we’d surely spend all our energy trying to stay above water…Having a secure boat is not enough for real movement, however. You also need a sail…Each level of the sail allows you to capture more wind, helping you explore and adapt to your environment. Note that you don’t 'climb' a sailboat like you’d climb a mountain or a pyramid. Instead, you open your sail, just like you’d drop your defenses once you felt secure enough. This is an ongoing dynamic: you can be open and spontaneous one minute but can feel threatened enough to prepare for the storm by closing yourself to the world the next minute. The more you continually open yourself to the world, however, the further your boat will go and the more you can benefit from the people and opportunities around you." (xxxii-xxxiii, emphasis his)
This metaphor, much richer and more accurate than Maslow’s original hierarchy or the pyramid that followed, is the best method I’ve ever encountered for visualizing humanity’s basic needs and potentialities. Above the sailboat hovers transcendence, a tantalizing possibility for the grandest states of well-being and consciousness. Kaufman explains:
"If you’re truly fortunate, you can even enter ecstatic moments of peak experience––where you are really catching the wind. In these moments, not only have you temporarily forgotten your insecurities, but you are growing so much that you are helping to raise the tide for all the other sailboats simply by making your way through the ocean. In this way, the sailboat isn’t a pinnacle but a whole vehicle, helping us to explore the world and people around us, growing and transcending as we do." (xxxiii, emphasis his)
From this point, Kaufman provides a thorough and fascinating tour of the sailboat and various pathways to oceanic transcendence. As I read, I often found myself imagining the self as a crew of hearty and intrepid sailors, each diligently tending to the sailboat’s intricate and equally-important facets. A truly magnificent sailboat, I think, would sport a crew working in perfect synchrony––a merry transcendance that allows them to explore new horizons, support shipwrecked or stranded companions, and weather even the toughest storms. Here’s Kaufman’s definition:
"Healthy transcendence is an emergent phenomenon resulting from the harmonious integration of one’s whole self in the service of cultivating a good society. This view of transcendence, which I believe is the healthiest form of transcendence, is not about leaving any parts of ourselves or anyone else behind or singularly rising above the rest of humanity. Healthy transcendence is not about being outside of the whole, or feeling superior to the whole, but being a harmonious part of the whole of human existence. It’s all of humanity. In a nutshell: healthy transcendence involves harnessing all that you are in the service of realizing the best version of yourself so you can help raise the bar for the whole of humanity." (218)
Pretty words, eh? I can hear you, cynical reader, scoffing at such sugar-coated fluffery. I did my fair share of scoffing, but each time found my criticism tempered by Kaufman’s uplifting blend of relentless positivity and unflinching realism. He doesn’t downplay or ignore the dark side of human nature, nor does he deny that destructive environmental conditions can nullify even the noblest attempts at self-betterment.
To help readers build the best sailboats they can, Kaufman presents oodles of empirically-supported advice on the best ways to become a “whole” or “fully-integrated” person, which he defines as “an ongoing journey of discovery, openness and courage, in which you reach higher and higher levels of integration and harmony within yourself and with the outside world, allowing greater flexibility and freedom to become who you truly want to become” (257, emphasis his). Here are what I found to be his most memorable points:
––Be confident in your “right to shine,” and take responsibility for it (71)
––Understand and integrate your personal motivations (85)
––Incorporate new information and experiences via healthy exploration (93)
––Treat traumatic experiences as irreversible tragedies that nevertheless offer opportunities for learning and growth (103-4)
––Practice balanced coordination between three important brain networks: default mode, executive attention, and salience (116)
––Embrace “dichotomy-transcendence,” an intellectual state in which “ordinary dichotomies…are no longer seen as dichotomies but are all seen as simply parts of a larger integrated whole” (117, 225-6)
––Assert your agency (personal needs and goals) while also seeking outlets for communion (contributions to family/community/society) (126-7, 169-70)
––Cultivate the four facets of the "quiet ego": detached awareness, inclusive identity, perspective-taking, and growth-mindedness (134-5)
––Embody “whole love” through integrating your need for individuality with your need for connectedness, including sexual passions (139, 145)
––Strive for clearly-articulated and well-integrated goals that are aligned with your personal values and aspirations (160-2)
––“Quick hits” of transcendence via peak experiences aren’t useful when disconnected from “the hard work of inner integration,” and can even be damaging (215)
––Avoid “us vs. them” or “good vs. evil” thinking. Instead, be realistic about the significant limitations of human nature, and practice compassion and forgiveness with yourself and others (240-1)
––Create and sustain “plateau experiences” that intentionally infuse vivid perceptions of ordinary life with sacredness and a healthy acknowledgment of mortality (242)
––Learn to see self-actualization as consonant with improving the lives of others and the world in general (243-4)
In addition to these suggestions, Kaufman includes two appendices directly focused on helping readers understand themselves and grow intentionally in the directions they desire. Here are a few of my favorite passages from Appendix I, “Seven Principles for Becoming a Whole Person”:
"While the true self may be a convenient fiction, I truly believe that there are, within each of us, aspects of our self that are most conducive to health and growth as a whole person. I believe we each have best selves––aspects of who we are that are healthy, creative, and growth-motivated–– that make us feel most connected to ourselves and to others. The more we can drop our social facades and the defenses that we erect to protect ourselves, the more we open ourselves up to greater opportunities for growth, development, and creativity." (260)
"If sometimes it feels as though there are multiple personalities within you that are constantly warring with one another, well, that’s because there are multiple personalities within you that are constantly warring with one another! Each of us contains a bundle of dispositions, emotional tendencies, values, attitudes, beliefs, and motives that are often contradictory and incompatible…Given the brains we have, and our unique capacity for awareness of the often bewildering outputs arising from the complex computations of our brains, we actually do a pretty great job of managing our inner conflicts. To be sure, at times reality can feel unbearable, and despite the general satisfaction most people feel with their lives, mental illness is actually a lot more common than people realize. In fact, most people develop a diagnosable mental illness at some point in their lives. Nevertheless, most people report being fairly happy in life, show positive developmental change across their life-spans, and display extraordinary capacity for resilience, dignity, and grace. As resilience researcher Froma Walsh puts it, humans have the capacity to 'struggle well.'" (265-7, emphasis his)
"Recent research shows that while enduring personality change isn’t easy, people really can change their personality in very substantial ways throughout life with intentional effort and therapy, as well as by making changes to one’s environment that have long-lasting influences on one’s personality, such as changing one’s job, social roles, or relationship partners, or by adopting new identities…We shouldn’t think of personality as something cast in stone or always consistent. Throughout the course of the day, everyone fluctuates in their personality and even their intellectual functioning quite a lot…Acting out of character is actually quite common…There is nothing sacred or unalterable about being a certain way; with enough adjustments to these patterns over time, we literally change our being. Of course, this doesn’t mean personality change is easy. Trying to change yourself too quickly can be very draining, and you have to want to change." (272-3)
Very simply, and very bravely, Kaufman believes that humans are basically good, worthwhile, and able to improve. He believes this about absolutely everyone. This feature of his worldview shines through on every page of Transcend, making it not only an informative read but also an inspiring and potentially life-changing one.
This review was originally published on my blog, words&dirt.
October 12, 2020
The best parts of this book were the parts that were Maslow biography--the self-help parts seemed pretty shallow and derivative--humans need meaning, connections, etc. The Maslow bit was fascinating because it seems as though we've misinterpreted the pyramid of needs.
August 30, 2020
The subject matter here is ambitious and dense, serving as a kind of encyclopedia for human growth and development. It reads like a text book, and given the ambitious subject matter, the danger is to read too much too quickly, and be overwhelmed, never to return, or never finding ways to implement some small bit of wisdom. That being said having read it through once completely is also helpful to get an overall idea of what a transcendant life can be.
One cannot practically integrate all the knowledge in this book in any short time. By analogy it feels like a speed reading of some poetry, having read it once, and you can tell it means something, but what it is is not quite clear.
I now need to re-read it more slowly, over the next few years, finding and applying valuable chapters and sections that will assist me to become the best version of myself. I feel this book will age well and will be a valuable resource.
One cannot practically integrate all the knowledge in this book in any short time. By analogy it feels like a speed reading of some poetry, having read it once, and you can tell it means something, but what it is is not quite clear.
I now need to re-read it more slowly, over the next few years, finding and applying valuable chapters and sections that will assist me to become the best version of myself. I feel this book will age well and will be a valuable resource.
November 17, 2020
Maslow é para mim um dos mais importante teóricos da psicologia, nomeadamente do domínio da motivação humana, por isso este trabalho de Barry Kaufman, "Transcend: The New Science of Self-Actualization" (2020), enquanto tentativa de atualização do maior legado de Maslow, a Pirâmide de Necessidades Humanas de 1943, é uma obra fundamental. Não deixa de impressionar como uma teoria criada há quase 80 anos continua tão atual como quando proposta, no entanto existe sempre espaço para melhorar, e é isso que Kaufman aqui se propõe.
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...continuar no Blog VI em: https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.com...
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...continuar no Blog VI em: https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.com...
February 24, 2022
In Transcend Scott B. Kaufmann presents a history of humanistic psychology centered around the life and ideas of Abraham Maslow coupled with practical guidance for how to reach the higher levels of being.
📝 Are you self-actualizing?
You enter the stage of self actualization when you take up a unique calling or a purpose beyond yourself. At this stage usually the line between work and play disappears and you find fulfillment in both activities.
📝 Life gets simple:
“Having a purpose often causes a fundamental reordering of the most central motives associated with the self. Things that one's preoccupied you suddenly cause you little concern and might even sound trivial.”
Self-actualization characteristics: spontaneity, autonomy, accept what is, problem solving, acceptance, enjoying the process, embrace uncertainty, value solitude, having few but meaningful relationships.
📝 Selfish & selfless.
Self-actualizing people have both a heightened sense of individuality AND a heightened sense of connectedness (it’s not a dichotomy.)
“The fact is that self-actualizing people are simultaneously the most individualistic and the most altruistic, and social, and loving, of all human beings.”
📝 The obstacles of self-actualization
Self esteem and actively fighting irrational fears are important in order to reach the stage of self actualization.
Worry less about what others think, and actively take risks (even if failing makes you look bad), and really testing if people actually demand such a high level of perfection from you, can stabilize self esteem.
In fact, being more open and authentic with others increases social connections. Since no one is perfect and we feel more comfortable with people who are similar to us.
📝 Self-transcendence
Maslow put self actualization at the top of his pyramid but late in life he suspected that self actualization was only a bridge to an even higher mode of being—self-transcendence.
The main characteristic of people at this stage is a shift of concern from self to others. Egoism takes the back seat. Doing what’s right, because it’s the right thing to do. This is also the state where spiritual life and peak experiences
⭐️ TAKEAWAY: Pursue a purpose or calling and happiness is a byproduct.
⚖️ VERDICT:
A great gateway book into the subject of humanistic psychology and one of those books leave you with tons of further reading to do!
It had me pick up the 1902 classic The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature by William James in an attempt to explore the religious aspects of self-transcendence.
I also read Attached to familiarize with attachment theory (secure attachment being a factor on the journey to self-transcendence)
ps. want weekly reviews in the genres of philosophy, psychology and human nature? Check out my channel: https://youtube.com/c/BookLabbyBjorn
📝 Are you self-actualizing?
You enter the stage of self actualization when you take up a unique calling or a purpose beyond yourself. At this stage usually the line between work and play disappears and you find fulfillment in both activities.
📝 Life gets simple:
“Having a purpose often causes a fundamental reordering of the most central motives associated with the self. Things that one's preoccupied you suddenly cause you little concern and might even sound trivial.”
Self-actualization characteristics: spontaneity, autonomy, accept what is, problem solving, acceptance, enjoying the process, embrace uncertainty, value solitude, having few but meaningful relationships.
📝 Selfish & selfless.
Self-actualizing people have both a heightened sense of individuality AND a heightened sense of connectedness (it’s not a dichotomy.)
“The fact is that self-actualizing people are simultaneously the most individualistic and the most altruistic, and social, and loving, of all human beings.”
📝 The obstacles of self-actualization
Self esteem and actively fighting irrational fears are important in order to reach the stage of self actualization.
Worry less about what others think, and actively take risks (even if failing makes you look bad), and really testing if people actually demand such a high level of perfection from you, can stabilize self esteem.
In fact, being more open and authentic with others increases social connections. Since no one is perfect and we feel more comfortable with people who are similar to us.
📝 Self-transcendence
Maslow put self actualization at the top of his pyramid but late in life he suspected that self actualization was only a bridge to an even higher mode of being—self-transcendence.
The main characteristic of people at this stage is a shift of concern from self to others. Egoism takes the back seat. Doing what’s right, because it’s the right thing to do. This is also the state where spiritual life and peak experiences
⭐️ TAKEAWAY: Pursue a purpose or calling and happiness is a byproduct.
⚖️ VERDICT:
A great gateway book into the subject of humanistic psychology and one of those books leave you with tons of further reading to do!
It had me pick up the 1902 classic The Varieties of Religious Experience: A Study in Human Nature by William James in an attempt to explore the religious aspects of self-transcendence.
I also read Attached to familiarize with attachment theory (secure attachment being a factor on the journey to self-transcendence)
ps. want weekly reviews in the genres of philosophy, psychology and human nature? Check out my channel: https://youtube.com/c/BookLabbyBjorn
August 13, 2020
Honestly, an underwhelming read. Given the four pages of fanfare and accolades in Praise for Transcend, I should've known better. I can feel Mark Twain chuckling at me.
Now, I did like the Maslow-biography approach. But that in itself was not a winning strategy because as the mini-highlight, it was limited. Chapter 6, Purpose, was fine. And Live More in the B-Realm had some practical, parting reflection tasks.
Other than that, inconsistency in style. Psycho-babble interspersed with normal prose. Paragraphs sometimes aren't cohesive. Three or four times they end abruptly with references, instead of a warranted explanation. Input from a heavy-handed editor, perhaps?
And Transcend is only half a book. Appendix I and II, by others, make up the rest of the book.
My advice for the author: start on a Maslow biography. That may be your calling. Everyone deserves a second chance.
Now, I did like the Maslow-biography approach. But that in itself was not a winning strategy because as the mini-highlight, it was limited. Chapter 6, Purpose, was fine. And Live More in the B-Realm had some practical, parting reflection tasks.
Other than that, inconsistency in style. Psycho-babble interspersed with normal prose. Paragraphs sometimes aren't cohesive. Three or four times they end abruptly with references, instead of a warranted explanation. Input from a heavy-handed editor, perhaps?
And Transcend is only half a book. Appendix I and II, by others, make up the rest of the book.
My advice for the author: start on a Maslow biography. That may be your calling. Everyone deserves a second chance.
October 22, 2020
This was a quite detailed journey to Maslow's motivation theory and early references to peak experiences (AKA FLOW) with snippets about Maslow's own life. I got slightly lost with the last sections about transcendence (same happened with Maslow himself when nobody wanted to publish his thoughts on this) and I would not say that he got me convinced about the importance of this topic (maybe it's also connected to the fact that I'm not a big fan of positive psychology as a whole as it feels a bit naive).
One thing that I did like about this book was proposing to use the metaphor of a sailboat instead of a pyramid.
The sailboat itself as the basis on which we build our life consists of safety, connection, and self-esteem. Deprived of any of these, our perspective will be distorted and we will be driven to address that deprivation. Yet that kind of existence is not the good life: it's surviving, not thriving (hygiene factors). To thrive, we need the sail part of the sailboat, which is the growth part of our existence, and consists of what Maslow termed self-actualization and what Kaufman breaks down into exploration, love, and purpose. Of course, we can still pursue these growth aspects of our existence if we are deprived of some of the planks for the sailboat, but we will not be able to thrive nearly as much if we suffer deprivation. And once we are not deprived and have grown, we can reach above the sail to the sky, transcending ourselves as individuals and becoming part of a much greater whole. Kaufman also highlights our responsibility in helping others at least in avoiding deprivation, if not pursuing growth (from individual to society as a whole).
“Heaven, so to speak, lies waiting for us through life, ready to step into for a time and to enjoy before we have to come back to our ordinary life of striving. And once we have been in it, we can remember it forever, and feed ourselves on this memory and be sustained in times of stress.”
One thing that I did like about this book was proposing to use the metaphor of a sailboat instead of a pyramid.
The sailboat itself as the basis on which we build our life consists of safety, connection, and self-esteem. Deprived of any of these, our perspective will be distorted and we will be driven to address that deprivation. Yet that kind of existence is not the good life: it's surviving, not thriving (hygiene factors). To thrive, we need the sail part of the sailboat, which is the growth part of our existence, and consists of what Maslow termed self-actualization and what Kaufman breaks down into exploration, love, and purpose. Of course, we can still pursue these growth aspects of our existence if we are deprived of some of the planks for the sailboat, but we will not be able to thrive nearly as much if we suffer deprivation. And once we are not deprived and have grown, we can reach above the sail to the sky, transcending ourselves as individuals and becoming part of a much greater whole. Kaufman also highlights our responsibility in helping others at least in avoiding deprivation, if not pursuing growth (from individual to society as a whole).
“Heaven, so to speak, lies waiting for us through life, ready to step into for a time and to enjoy before we have to come back to our ordinary life of striving. And once we have been in it, we can remember it forever, and feed ourselves on this memory and be sustained in times of stress.”
January 5, 2021
It took me a while to read this book as there were many points in it in which I had to stop, reread, and reflect on... my existence in this world, values, meaning, evolving, learning, purpose, love, and even death, among all the topics contained in its pages.
March 30, 2020
Scott Barry Kaufman Ph.d. reviews and extrapolates on the famous work of Abraham Maslow's "Hierarchy of Needs." Everyone who has taken a psychology course certainly encountered Maslow's work as it was a major work of what we might deem modern psychology. But many years have passed since this epic writing appeared and how has it held up and why or why not is it relevant in today's environment? These are the themes and topics spun off by Kaufman as he takes us through an in-depth look at the components that made Maslow as well as his writings.
When I first launched into the book I was gripped with a concern that this looks and sounds like one of those very deep academically oriented splintering of complex ideas and thoughts expressed by the esteemed professor. However Dr. Kaufman in presenting both the material in the hierarchy and the motivations and inclination of Maslow himself spins an interesting and readable insight into the strengths, weaknesses, and relevancy of this important writing.
After expounding on the levels of the hierarchy themselves he then takes us into the extension of what the final level is and can be for us, in his view. There are many aspects to this and it takes us to a formulation of our very being and purpose. That one topic alone made stayed with me on conclusion and prompted me to explore the wonder and awe of life which often gets buried in the daily grind. The appendix takes it one step further where we can study and apply the transcending concept into our present and learn and grow as we discover the meanings to our own life. A thought provoking and worthwhile endeavor and book
When I first launched into the book I was gripped with a concern that this looks and sounds like one of those very deep academically oriented splintering of complex ideas and thoughts expressed by the esteemed professor. However Dr. Kaufman in presenting both the material in the hierarchy and the motivations and inclination of Maslow himself spins an interesting and readable insight into the strengths, weaknesses, and relevancy of this important writing.
After expounding on the levels of the hierarchy themselves he then takes us into the extension of what the final level is and can be for us, in his view. There are many aspects to this and it takes us to a formulation of our very being and purpose. That one topic alone made stayed with me on conclusion and prompted me to explore the wonder and awe of life which often gets buried in the daily grind. The appendix takes it one step further where we can study and apply the transcending concept into our present and learn and grow as we discover the meanings to our own life. A thought provoking and worthwhile endeavor and book
April 9, 2020
Breathtaking and spellbinding read: detailed review at https://the-mouse-trap.com/2020/04/09...
February 1, 2021
في مكان ما بين عامي 1932 و 1933 ، تلقى أبراهام ماسلو توصية من زميله كيمبال يونغ في جامعة ويسكونسن لقراءة كتاب تفسير الأحلام لفرويد. أصبح ماسلو على الفور مفتونًا بالتحليل النفسي ووجد أن الكتاب يطابق تجاربه الشخصية كما لم يحدث من قبل .
وسرعان ما قاد الكتاب ماسلو إلى أعمال ألفريد أدلر ، مؤسس علم النفس الفردي ، الذي كان له وجهة نظر مختلفة تمامًا عن الطبيعة البشرية عند فرويد.
على الرغم من كونه أحد منشئي حركة التحليل النفسي ، إلا أن أدلر سار في نهاية المطاف في طريقه الخاص ، مدافعًا عن أهمية "الغريزة العدوانية" المتميزة عن غرائز الليبيدو والمحافظة على الذات التي أكدها فرويد.
طوّر أدلر أيضًا مفهومًا أطلق عليه " المصلحة الاجتماعية "، والتي اعتبرها دافعًا إنسانيًا أساسيًا ، جنبًا إلى جنب مع غريزة العدوانية. أشار أدلر إلى أننا حيوانات اجتماعية ، مع السعي الأساسي للتواصل والمجتمع والاهتمام بإحداث تأثير إيجابي على العالم.
أصبح ماسلو أكثر انجذابًا لكتابات أدلر ، وكان أحد الأسباب هو تركيز أدلر على المساواة والاحترام المتبادل والقيم المدنية. تحدثت هذه المخاوف حقًا عن طموح ماسلو الدائم للمساعدة في جعل العالم أكثر سلامًا ، لا سيما بالنظر إلى اللحظة في تاريخ العالم. ليس هناك شك في أن فلسفة أدلر الإنسانية كانت مصدر إلهام رئيسي لعلم النفس الإنساني لماسلو في نهاية المطاف.
لكن ماسلو كان بنفس القدر ، إن لم يكن أكثر من ذلك ، منجذبًا إلى مناقشات أدلر حول محرك الطاقة وإمكانية تدميره. بالاعتماد على فكرة نيتشه عن "إرادة القوة" ، جادل أدلر بأن البشر لديهم "سعي أساسي للسلطة" ، والذي أشار إليه أحيانًا أيضًا باسم "السعي لتحقيق الكمال" ، و "السعي إلى التفوق" ، و "السعي من أجل التقوى "و" السعي إلى تقوية الشخصية ". بالنسبة لأدلر ، فإن السعي وراء القوة والهيمنة على الآخرين وقلة الاهتمام الاجتماعي يمكن أن يؤدي إلى ما يشبه الشر ، وهو شيء شعر أنه بدأ في الظهور في العالم في ذلك الوقت ، خاصة بين النازيين في ألمانيا.
مستوحى من أفكار Adler وحرصًا على مزيد من الدراسة للدافع نحو السلطة وعلاقته بأفكار فرويد ، اقترب ماسلو من هارلو ، والذي أصبح مستشاره للدكتوراه ، حريصًا على اختبار الأفكار المتنافسة على ما يبدو لفرويد وأدلر. كان هارلو جيدًا في هذا الموضوع ، على الرغم من أنه طلب أن يتم تنفيذ أي أطروحة أشرف عليها مع حيوانات أخرى غير البشر. وهكذا بدأ بحث ماسلو المتطور حول الجنس والهيمنة بين القرود ، وهو موضوع لم يتم استكشافه بالكامل تقريبًا حتى ذلك الحين.
كانت إحدى النتائج التي توصل إليها ماسلو أن ما يبدو أنه سلوك بدوافع جنسية غالبًا ما يكون انعكاسًا للقوة التي يمكن تفسيرها من خلال حالة كل قرد ضمن التسلسل الهرمي المهيمن. وجد ماسلو اختلافات واضحة بين "التصاعد" بدوافع جنسية ودوافع الهيمنة ، مشيرًا إلى أن "السلوك الجنسي يستخدم غالبًا كسلاح عدواني ، بدلاً من التنمر أو القتال ، وهو قابل للتبادل إلى حد كبير مع أسلحة القوة الأخيرة هذه."
لاحظ ماسلو أيضًا أن القرد الأكثر هيمنة لم يكن دائمًا ذكرًا. هذه الملاحظات المبكرة مع القرود المهيمنة ، بالإضافة إلى مواجهته لمفهوم أدلر عن "الاحتجاج الذكوري" - الذي ترفض فيه النساء الأدوار الأنثوية التقليدية - أثرت بالتأكيد على أبحاث ماسلو الجنسية اللاحقة حول الهيمنة والجنس بين البشر ، وخاصة النساء. كما كتب ماسلو في ورقة بحثية عام 1942 :
عمليًا ، ترتكب جميع الكتب المتعلقة بتقنيات الحب والجنس ، الخطأ الغبي المتمثل في افتراض أن جميع النساء متشابهات في متطلبات الحب. وهكذا نجد أن التعليمات العامة معطاة لتطبيقها على كل من يمارس الحب وكأن امرأة واحدة تساوي أي امرأة أخرى. . . . حتى أنهم أكثر عبثية عندما يتحدثون كما لو أن الفعل الجنسي كان مجرد مشكلة في الميكانيكا ، عمل جسدي بحت وليس فعلًا نفسيًا وعاطفيًا.
.
Scott Barry Kaufman
Transcend
Translated By #Maher_Razouk
وسرعان ما قاد الكتاب ماسلو إلى أعمال ألفريد أدلر ، مؤسس علم النفس الفردي ، الذي كان له وجهة نظر مختلفة تمامًا عن الطبيعة البشرية عند فرويد.
على الرغم من كونه أحد منشئي حركة التحليل النفسي ، إلا أن أدلر سار في نهاية المطاف في طريقه الخاص ، مدافعًا عن أهمية "الغريزة العدوانية" المتميزة عن غرائز الليبيدو والمحافظة على الذات التي أكدها فرويد.
طوّر أدلر أيضًا مفهومًا أطلق عليه " المصلحة الاجتماعية "، والتي اعتبرها دافعًا إنسانيًا أساسيًا ، جنبًا إلى جنب مع غريزة العدوانية. أشار أدلر إلى أننا حيوانات اجتماعية ، مع السعي الأساسي للتواصل والمجتمع والاهتمام بإحداث تأثير إيجابي على العالم.
أصبح ماسلو أكثر انجذابًا لكتابات أدلر ، وكان أحد الأسباب هو تركيز أدلر على المساواة والاحترام المتبادل والقيم المدنية. تحدثت هذه المخاوف حقًا عن طموح ماسلو الدائم للمساعدة في جعل العالم أكثر سلامًا ، لا سيما بالنظر إلى اللحظة في تاريخ العالم. ليس هناك شك في أن فلسفة أدلر الإنسانية كانت مصدر إلهام رئيسي لعلم النفس الإنساني لماسلو في نهاية المطاف.
لكن ماسلو كان بنفس القدر ، إن لم يكن أكثر من ذلك ، منجذبًا إلى مناقشات أدلر حول محرك الطاقة وإمكانية تدميره. بالاعتماد على فكرة نيتشه عن "إرادة القوة" ، جادل أدلر بأن البشر لديهم "سعي أساسي للسلطة" ، والذي أشار إليه أحيانًا أيضًا باسم "السعي لتحقيق الكمال" ، و "السعي إلى التفوق" ، و "السعي من أجل التقوى "و" السعي إلى تقوية الشخصية ". بالنسبة لأدلر ، فإن السعي وراء القوة والهيمنة على الآخرين وقلة الاهتمام الاجتماعي يمكن أن يؤدي إلى ما يشبه الشر ، وهو شيء شعر أنه بدأ في الظهور في العالم في ذلك الوقت ، خاصة بين النازيين في ألمانيا.
مستوحى من أفكار Adler وحرصًا على مزيد من الدراسة للدافع نحو السلطة وعلاقته بأفكار فرويد ، اقترب ماسلو من هارلو ، والذي أصبح مستشاره للدكتوراه ، حريصًا على اختبار الأفكار المتنافسة على ما يبدو لفرويد وأدلر. كان هارلو جيدًا في هذا الموضوع ، على الرغم من أنه طلب أن يتم تنفيذ أي أطروحة أشرف عليها مع حيوانات أخرى غير البشر. وهكذا بدأ بحث ماسلو المتطور حول الجنس والهيمنة بين القرود ، وهو موضوع لم يتم استكشافه بالكامل تقريبًا حتى ذلك الحين.
كانت إحدى النتائج التي توصل إليها ماسلو أن ما يبدو أنه سلوك بدوافع جنسية غالبًا ما يكون انعكاسًا للقوة التي يمكن تفسيرها من خلال حالة كل قرد ضمن التسلسل الهرمي المهيمن. وجد ماسلو اختلافات واضحة بين "التصاعد" بدوافع جنسية ودوافع الهيمنة ، مشيرًا إلى أن "السلوك الجنسي يستخدم غالبًا كسلاح عدواني ، بدلاً من التنمر أو القتال ، وهو قابل للتبادل إلى حد كبير مع أسلحة القوة الأخيرة هذه."
لاحظ ماسلو أيضًا أن القرد الأكثر هيمنة لم يكن دائمًا ذكرًا. هذه الملاحظات المبكرة مع القرود المهيمنة ، بالإضافة إلى مواجهته لمفهوم أدلر عن "الاحتجاج الذكوري" - الذي ترفض فيه النساء الأدوار الأنثوية التقليدية - أثرت بالتأكيد على أبحاث ماسلو الجنسية اللاحقة حول الهيمنة والجنس بين البشر ، وخاصة النساء. كما كتب ماسلو في ورقة بحثية عام 1942 :
عمليًا ، ترتكب جميع الكتب المتعلقة بتقنيات الحب والجنس ، الخطأ الغبي المتمثل في افتراض أن جميع النساء متشابهات في متطلبات الحب. وهكذا نجد أن التعليمات العامة معطاة لتطبيقها على كل من يمارس الحب وكأن امرأة واحدة تساوي أي امرأة أخرى. . . . حتى أنهم أكثر عبثية عندما يتحدثون كما لو أن الفعل الجنسي كان مجرد مشكلة في الميكانيكا ، عمل جسدي بحت وليس فعلًا نفسيًا وعاطفيًا.
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Scott Barry Kaufman
Transcend
Translated By #Maher_Razouk
April 26, 2022
This book is about what it means to be human from a humanistic psychological perspective. More exactly, the author, Scott Barry Kaufman, elucidates the vision of one of the most important psychologists of the 20th century, namely Abraham Maslow, who happens to be one of the key figures of humanistic psychology. Maslow is well known for his hierarchy of needs, which predicates psychological well-being on the fulfilment of, basic deficiency needs at a lower level, and growth needs at a higher level. Most people are familiar with this hierarchy in the form of a pyramid, but Maslow himself never actually used this illustration. Kaufman proposes the image of a sailboat, with the boat itself representing the needs for safety, connection and self-esteem. The fulfilment of these needs constitutes the base for psychological well-being. Above is the sail of the growth needs, namely exploration, love and purpose. These needs are at the core of what Maslow called self-actualization.
Transcendence is the stage even higher than self-actualization and it is the stage that represents a harmonious integration of one's whole self in the service of transcendental values and in the search of transcendental experiences.
Kaufman dedicates a chapter to each of the needs that make up the sailboat and he makes clear what they are, where they stem from, how they are connected to other needs, the effect of their fulfilment or their frustration, and more. He relies heavily on the work of Abraham Maslow, but also takes into account the perspectives of other humanistic psychologists such as Viktor Frankl, Erich Fromm, Carl Rogers and Rollo May. In addition Kaufman draws from the latest findings of psychological studies.
I liked this book a lot and took countless notes on many of the useful explanations given in it. I think it serves as a very good introduction to a humanistic approach to psychology. I even think it may help the reader to understand himself better and to open his eyes to the potential that lies within each of us.
"The human being is simultaneously that which he is and that which he yearns to be." (Abraham Maslow)
Transcendence is the stage even higher than self-actualization and it is the stage that represents a harmonious integration of one's whole self in the service of transcendental values and in the search of transcendental experiences.
Kaufman dedicates a chapter to each of the needs that make up the sailboat and he makes clear what they are, where they stem from, how they are connected to other needs, the effect of their fulfilment or their frustration, and more. He relies heavily on the work of Abraham Maslow, but also takes into account the perspectives of other humanistic psychologists such as Viktor Frankl, Erich Fromm, Carl Rogers and Rollo May. In addition Kaufman draws from the latest findings of psychological studies.
I liked this book a lot and took countless notes on many of the useful explanations given in it. I think it serves as a very good introduction to a humanistic approach to psychology. I even think it may help the reader to understand himself better and to open his eyes to the potential that lies within each of us.
"The human being is simultaneously that which he is and that which he yearns to be." (Abraham Maslow)
January 9, 2021
Does not live up to the expectation. Billed as “the new science of self-actualization”, the book is perhaps more appropriately described as “notes tracing the thought of Maslow”.
The book starts promisingly, telling you that the Maslow pyramid of human need was never a product of Maslow, but that of a management consultant. The human needs are much more nuanced and complex. The simplification to the pyramid’s hierarchical, one-directional progression is precisely what you’d expect a management consultant to do (insert your favorite Dilbert cartoon here about management consultants.)
The book also contains good nuggets here and there, such as explaining certain “dominance behavior” is an overcompensation of insecurities.
But by and large, the understanding of what self-actualization means is still developing and full of ambiguities and uncertainties. Rather than facing up the reality, the field seems to be resorting to using inherent ambiguities in complex words to hide that. I, for one, would welcome a simple “We really don’t know how to pin down this complex concept. But here are some concrete examples”. Instead, the book is full of lengthy quotations of Maslow that don’t necessarily clarify the case.
The book starts promisingly, telling you that the Maslow pyramid of human need was never a product of Maslow, but that of a management consultant. The human needs are much more nuanced and complex. The simplification to the pyramid’s hierarchical, one-directional progression is precisely what you’d expect a management consultant to do (insert your favorite Dilbert cartoon here about management consultants.)
The book also contains good nuggets here and there, such as explaining certain “dominance behavior” is an overcompensation of insecurities.
But by and large, the understanding of what self-actualization means is still developing and full of ambiguities and uncertainties. Rather than facing up the reality, the field seems to be resorting to using inherent ambiguities in complex words to hide that. I, for one, would welcome a simple “We really don’t know how to pin down this complex concept. But here are some concrete examples”. Instead, the book is full of lengthy quotations of Maslow that don’t necessarily clarify the case.
April 7, 2020
What a great book to hunker down with!
Transcend is a masterful synthesis of the latest research in human psychology from a star researcher, professor and psychologist.
Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman carefully takes the baton from Titan Abraham Maslow, illuminating new revelations in Maslow's as-yet-unfinished works from his final days.
Transcend is chalk full of scientific research, insights that can be applied, and a cogent theory for why it's high time we begin using a new, more precise metaphor to replace the "pyramid" originally thrust upon Maslow's work by organizational consultants. ⛵
If you appreciate learning from the best in their field - look no further!
Transcend is a masterful synthesis of the latest research in human psychology from a star researcher, professor and psychologist.
Dr. Scott Barry Kaufman carefully takes the baton from Titan Abraham Maslow, illuminating new revelations in Maslow's as-yet-unfinished works from his final days.
Transcend is chalk full of scientific research, insights that can be applied, and a cogent theory for why it's high time we begin using a new, more precise metaphor to replace the "pyramid" originally thrust upon Maslow's work by organizational consultants. ⛵
If you appreciate learning from the best in their field - look no further!
June 14, 2021
This was really not my kind of self-help book, but it came with a glowing recommendation so I tried to persevere through.
My primary take away from this book: I’d love to read a really great biography of Maslow, because those sections were great.
I didn’t feel like this book was ever really flowing, and just seemed at times to be collections of anecdotes, quotes, and references that didn’t fit together all that well.
My primary take away from this book: I’d love to read a really great biography of Maslow, because those sections were great.
I didn’t feel like this book was ever really flowing, and just seemed at times to be collections of anecdotes, quotes, and references that didn’t fit together all that well.
May 9, 2020
Very self-helpy, unfortunately.
May 7, 2020
หนังสือที่อุทิศให้แก่ชีวิตและงานของ Abraham Maslow อย่างยอดเยี่ยมที่สุด
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"..เรือนั้นปลอดภัยที่สุดเวลาจอดอยู่ที่ท่า แต่เรือไม่ได้ถูกสร้างมาให้จอดอยู่ที่ท่า ชีวิตก็เช่นกัน.."
.
ชีวิตนั้นคือ เรือสำเภา เรือสำเภาที่ลอยอยู่ได้นั้นต้องการหลายองค์ประกอบที่จะทำให้ม��นลอยอยู่ได้ เช่นการแสวงหาความปลอดภัย ความสัมพันธ์ และความภูมิใจในตนเอง สิ่งเหล่านี้นั้นทำให้ชีวิตคงอยู่ (Exist) แต่การคงอยู่ อย่างเดียวนั้นไม่เพียงพอ เหมือนกับเรือที่จอดแน่นิ่งอยู่กับที่ เพราะชีวิตมันไม่ได้ถูกสร้างมาให้รอดเฉยๆ มนุษย์ฉลาดเกินไปที่จะอยู่ให้รอดไปวันๆแล้วจะพอใจ มนุษยนั้นต้องแล่นเรือออกไป มนุษยต้องออกไปสำรวจเพื่อเติมเต็มประสบการณ์ มนุษยต้อง���ารความรักที่ไม่ใช่เพียง sex และที่สำคัญที่สุดคือมนุษย์นั้นต้องการจุดหมาย และ ความหมายแห่งคงอยู่ที่เขาเป็นคนขีดเขียนขึ้นเอง (เพราะมันไม่มีใครเขียนให้คุณว่าเกิดมาทำไม)
.
ความสมบรูณ์ของชีวิตและสุขภาพจิตจึงไม่อาจหักลบกลบส่วนให้เหลือเพียงส่วนใดส่วนหนึ่งได้ ทฤษฎีแบบ Maslowian จึงไม่ใช่แค่พีระมิดโง่ๆแบบที่หลายๆคนเข้าใจ (และมาสโลก็ไม่เคยใช้พีระมิดในการอธิบายทฤษฎีตัวเองเลยสักครั้ง)
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แม้ผมจะไม่ค่อยเชื่อในเรื่องธรรมชาติของมนุษย์ แต่หากจะให้เชื่อว่ามนุษย์นั้นมีธรรมชาติผมก็จะเชื่อแบบหนังสือเล่มนี้ มนุษย์ในมุมมองแบบ Maslowian คือมนุษย์ที่มีทั้งธรรมชาติและไม่มีธรรมชาติในเวลาเดียวกัน เป็นสิ่งที่ถูกกำหนดและเป็นผู้กำหนดในเวลาเดียวกัน เป็นสิ่งที่หลีกหนีบางสิ่ง และ แสวงหาบางอย่างตลอดเวลา
.
ในแง่การเขียนเป็นหนังสือที่มีรูปการเขียนที่น่าสนใจมากก เพราะเป็นการสลับไปสลับมาระหว่างองค์ประกอบ 4 อย่างคือ 1.เรื่องราวชีวิตของ Abraham Maslow 2.ทฤษฎีของ Maslow 3.ข้อถกเถียงในวงวิชาการปัจจุบันเกี่ยวกับเรื่องนั้นๆ และ 4.ทฤษฎีของผู้เขียนเอง การเขียนแบบนี้ทำให้อ่านสนุก และเข้าใจทฤษฎีต่างๆได้ดีมากเพราะมันเห็นบริบทต่างๆชัดเจนทั้งบริบทที่ทำให้มันเกิด และบริบทของทฤษฎีในปัจจุบัน เรายังเห็นอีกว่าปัจจุบันทฤษฎีกลายพันธุ์ไปอย่างไรบ้าง และก็ได้ไอเดียๆใหม่เยอะเหมือนกันเช่นเรื่อง B-Realm VS D-Realm และ the light triad VS the dark triad
.
ทำแบบทดสอบฟรีๆได้ที่ https://scottbarrykaufman.com/selfact...
.
"..เรือนั้นปลอดภัยที่สุดเวลาจอดอยู่ที่ท่า แต่เรือไม่ได้ถูกสร้างมาให้จอดอยู่ที่ท่า ชีวิตก็เช่นกัน.."
.
ชีวิตนั้นคือ เรือสำเภา เรือสำเภาที่ลอยอยู่ได้นั้นต้องการหลายองค์ประกอบที่จะทำให้ม��นลอยอยู่ได้ เช่นการแสวงหาความปลอดภัย ความสัมพันธ์ และความภูมิใจในตนเอง สิ่งเหล่านี้นั้นทำให้ชีวิตคงอยู่ (Exist) แต่การคงอยู่ อย่างเดียวนั้นไม่เพียงพอ เหมือนกับเรือที่จอดแน่นิ่งอยู่กับที่ เพราะชีวิตมันไม่ได้ถูกสร้างมาให้รอดเฉยๆ มนุษย์ฉลาดเกินไปที่จะอยู่ให้รอดไปวันๆแล้วจะพอใจ มนุษยนั้นต้องแล่นเรือออกไป มนุษยต้องออกไปสำรวจเพื่อเติมเต็มประสบการณ์ มนุษยต้อง���ารความรักที่ไม่ใช่เพียง sex และที่สำคัญที่สุดคือมนุษย์นั้นต้องการจุดหมาย และ ความหมายแห่งคงอยู่ที่เขาเป็นคนขีดเขียนขึ้นเอง (เพราะมันไม่มีใครเขียนให้คุณว่าเกิดมาทำไม)
.
ความสมบรูณ์ของชีวิตและสุขภาพจิตจึงไม่อาจหักลบกลบส่วนให้เหลือเพียงส่วนใดส่วนหนึ่งได้ ทฤษฎีแบบ Maslowian จึงไม่ใช่แค่พีระมิดโง่ๆแบบที่หลายๆคนเข้าใจ (และมาสโลก็ไม่เคยใช้พีระมิดในการอธิบายทฤษฎีตัวเองเลยสักครั้ง)
.
แม้ผมจะไม่ค่อยเชื่อในเรื่องธรรมชาติของมนุษย์ แต่หากจะให้เชื่อว่ามนุษย์นั้นมีธรรมชาติผมก็จะเชื่อแบบหนังสือเล่มนี้ มนุษย์ในมุมมองแบบ Maslowian คือมนุษย์ที่มีทั้งธรรมชาติและไม่มีธรรมชาติในเวลาเดียวกัน เป็นสิ่งที่ถูกกำหนดและเป็นผู้กำหนดในเวลาเดียวกัน เป็นสิ่งที่หลีกหนีบางสิ่ง และ แสวงหาบางอย่างตลอดเวลา
.
ในแง่การเขียนเป็นหนังสือที่มีรูปการเขียนที่น่าสนใจมากก เพราะเป็นการสลับไปสลับมาระหว่างองค์ประกอบ 4 อย่างคือ 1.เรื่องราวชีวิตของ Abraham Maslow 2.ทฤษฎีของ Maslow 3.ข้อถกเถียงในวงวิชาการปัจจุบันเกี่ยวกับเรื่องนั้นๆ และ 4.ทฤษฎีของผู้เขียนเอง การเขียนแบบนี้ทำให้อ่านสนุก และเข้าใจทฤษฎีต่างๆได้ดีมากเพราะมันเห็นบริบทต่างๆชัดเจนทั้งบริบทที่ทำให้มันเกิด และบริบทของทฤษฎีในปัจจุบัน เรายังเห็นอีกว่าปัจจุบันทฤษฎีกลายพันธุ์ไปอย่างไรบ้าง และก็ได้ไอเดียๆใหม่เยอะเหมือนกันเช่นเรื่อง B-Realm VS D-Realm และ the light triad VS the dark triad
.
ทำแบบทดสอบฟรีๆได้ที่ https://scottbarrykaufman.com/selfact...
September 14, 2020
A book about growth.
تیکههای مختلف پیشرفت را از دیدگاه مازلو میگه و با شواهد و مقالات جدید نشون میده که چجوری این تیکههای با هم پازل بزرگ شدن و پیشرفت رو میسازن.
در آخر هم که به مرحلهی transcend میرسیم.
تیکههای مختلف پیشرفت هم به ترتیب اینان(ترتیب مهمه، ولی به این معنینیست که از یه مرحله رد کردی دیگه کاری به کارش نخواهی داشت):
Safety, connection, self-esteem
Exploration, love, purpose
ور در نهایت، transcend.
فصل safety و transcendش خیلی راضیم نکرد، ولی بقیه فصلهاش خوب بودن.
میاد با مقالات مختلف نشون میده که هرکدوم به چه معنی هستند و چجوری میشه خودمون رو توشون بهتر کنیم.
دو تا appendixهم داشت آخرش که خیلی خوب بودن، چالشهایی داشت برای این که در راه پیشرفت بیفتیم.
نکتهی مهم اینه که باید در زندگی، هر بار پیشرفت انتخاب بشه و با این انتخاب، کم کم فرکانس احساس شادی و لذت و معنایی که میکنیم بیشتر میشه.
تیکههای مختلف پیشرفت را از دیدگاه مازلو میگه و با شواهد و مقالات جدید نشون میده که چجوری این تیکههای با هم پازل بزرگ شدن و پیشرفت رو میسازن.
در آخر هم که به مرحلهی transcend میرسیم.
تیکههای مختلف پیشرفت هم به ترتیب اینان(ترتیب مهمه، ولی به این معنینیست که از یه مرحله رد کردی دیگه کاری به کارش نخواهی داشت):
Safety, connection, self-esteem
Exploration, love, purpose
ور در نهایت، transcend.
فصل safety و transcendش خیلی راضیم نکرد، ولی بقیه فصلهاش خوب بودن.
میاد با مقالات مختلف نشون میده که هرکدوم به چه معنی هستند و چجوری میشه خودمون رو توشون بهتر کنیم.
دو تا appendixهم داشت آخرش که خیلی خوب بودن، چالشهایی داشت برای این که در راه پیشرفت بیفتیم.
نکتهی مهم اینه که باید در زندگی، هر بار پیشرفت انتخاب بشه و با این انتخاب، کم کم فرکانس احساس شادی و لذت و معنایی که میکنیم بیشتر میشه.
May 5, 2020
3.5/5
A couple of significant issues which make this book solidly *good*, rather than *great*, or *excellent*.
i. The author maintains “[Y]ou may not be entitled to shine, but you have the right to shine, because you are a worthy human being” (p.111)
The distinction between rights and entitlements is spurious.
To have the right to shine just is what it is to be entitled to shine. Exercising the right to shine, minimally, requires others to attribute shiny qualities to the bearer of the right. Put differently, others have a duty to attribute shiny character traits to the bearer of the right to shine. Parallelly, the bearer of the right to shine has a duty to deliver performances which elicit genuine attributions of shininess about their character traits from others. If the bearer’s entitlement is not reciprocally recognized by committed others, shininess is merely in the mind rather than an objective feature of persons’ characters.
ii. A person with a healthy sense of purpose, per Kaufman (p.212) will satisfy the following “selection criteria.”
“Principled/virtuous: They show “a sustained commitment to moral ideals or principles that include a generalized respect for humanity; or a sustained evidence of moral virtue.”
Consistent: They have “a disposition to act in accord with one’s moral ideals or principles, implying also a consistency between one’s actions and intentions and between the means and the ends of one’s actions.”
Brave: They show “a willingness to risk one’s self-interest for the sake of one’s moral values.”
Inspiring: They have “a tendency to be inspiring to others and thereby to move them to moral action.”
Humble: They demonstrate “a sense of realistic humility about one’s own importance relative to the world at large, implying a relative lack of concern for one’s own ego.""
It’s easy to agree with Kaufman (2020) that Hitler with his sense of purpose didn’t meet the preceding criteria. But it’s just as easy to a countenance a counterexemplary person who could meet all the criteria while still doing things most would balk from identifying as an instantiating a healthy sense of purpose.
Consider the following counterexample.
A functional obsessive compulsive person with an acute sense of responsibility for the well-being and dignity of others, who has the rare paraphilia of polyembolokoilamania might:
Never hurt others in a bid to satisfy their paraphilic desire (virtuous);
Believe their diligent practice of inserting foreign bodies into their orifices in a private environment, without impinging on others’ sense of propriety and physical and mental safety, harms no one while enriching their own life immensely (consistent);
Take ever greater risks in self-inserting increasingly dangerous objects into their bodily orifices while being mindful of privacy and safety needs of others, because they believe insertion of foreign objects into bodily orifices is consistent with valuing human autonomy (brave);
Inspire others with their high functioning at a conventional 9-to-5 job which they take great pride in, and volunteer any time not spent at work or pursuing paraphilic release (inspiring); and,
Have their head on their shoulders, not thinking themselves better than any one else (humble).
It is hard to see how such a high functioning, virtuous, consistent, brave, inspiring, and humble polyembolokoilamaniac could be said to be pursuing or instantiating a healthy sense of purpose; even though their behaviour satisfies all the selection criteria recommended by Kaufman (2020).
iii. Kaufman contradicts himself by asking people on one hand to identify and “Contemplate people who are admirable, beautiful, lovable, or respectworthy” (p.291) while on the other saying that they need primarily to believe “I am worthy” (p.102).
Clearly, when push comes to shove in the later segments of the book, when the organizing ideas of the book have been fully developed, he concedes that individual worth consists in objective satisfaction of criteria like admirability, beauty, loveability, and respectworthiness; qualities one acquires through deliberate and consistent activity rather than rehearsing self-affirming nostrums like “I am worthy”.
Also, in rehearsing the self-affirmation “I am worthy” one commits a solecism; albeit one committed by many in contemporary popular and academic writing. But, realizing one’s higher self in no way commits one to making the same mistakes as everyone else. I can only be worthy of something, not worthy simpliciter. I am worthy of having the attribution of worth to me being followed by a specification of what it is that I am worthy of; or, at least an infinitive.
My favourite parts in this mixed bag of a book by this brilliant author are the ones elaborating: his updated Maslowian hierarchy, the light triad, and the self-actualisation tests one can take for free on his website. The biographical parts touching on Maslow’s personal life and experiences in his late career, his interactions with Adler and Horney, and the influence of psychoanalysis on his ideas are novel, affecting and interesting.
A couple of significant issues which make this book solidly *good*, rather than *great*, or *excellent*.
i. The author maintains “[Y]ou may not be entitled to shine, but you have the right to shine, because you are a worthy human being” (p.111)
The distinction between rights and entitlements is spurious.
To have the right to shine just is what it is to be entitled to shine. Exercising the right to shine, minimally, requires others to attribute shiny qualities to the bearer of the right. Put differently, others have a duty to attribute shiny character traits to the bearer of the right to shine. Parallelly, the bearer of the right to shine has a duty to deliver performances which elicit genuine attributions of shininess about their character traits from others. If the bearer’s entitlement is not reciprocally recognized by committed others, shininess is merely in the mind rather than an objective feature of persons’ characters.
ii. A person with a healthy sense of purpose, per Kaufman (p.212) will satisfy the following “selection criteria.”
“Principled/virtuous: They show “a sustained commitment to moral ideals or principles that include a generalized respect for humanity; or a sustained evidence of moral virtue.”
Consistent: They have “a disposition to act in accord with one’s moral ideals or principles, implying also a consistency between one’s actions and intentions and between the means and the ends of one’s actions.”
Brave: They show “a willingness to risk one’s self-interest for the sake of one’s moral values.”
Inspiring: They have “a tendency to be inspiring to others and thereby to move them to moral action.”
Humble: They demonstrate “a sense of realistic humility about one’s own importance relative to the world at large, implying a relative lack of concern for one’s own ego.""
It’s easy to agree with Kaufman (2020) that Hitler with his sense of purpose didn’t meet the preceding criteria. But it’s just as easy to a countenance a counterexemplary person who could meet all the criteria while still doing things most would balk from identifying as an instantiating a healthy sense of purpose.
Consider the following counterexample.
A functional obsessive compulsive person with an acute sense of responsibility for the well-being and dignity of others, who has the rare paraphilia of polyembolokoilamania might:
Never hurt others in a bid to satisfy their paraphilic desire (virtuous);
Believe their diligent practice of inserting foreign bodies into their orifices in a private environment, without impinging on others’ sense of propriety and physical and mental safety, harms no one while enriching their own life immensely (consistent);
Take ever greater risks in self-inserting increasingly dangerous objects into their bodily orifices while being mindful of privacy and safety needs of others, because they believe insertion of foreign objects into bodily orifices is consistent with valuing human autonomy (brave);
Inspire others with their high functioning at a conventional 9-to-5 job which they take great pride in, and volunteer any time not spent at work or pursuing paraphilic release (inspiring); and,
Have their head on their shoulders, not thinking themselves better than any one else (humble).
It is hard to see how such a high functioning, virtuous, consistent, brave, inspiring, and humble polyembolokoilamaniac could be said to be pursuing or instantiating a healthy sense of purpose; even though their behaviour satisfies all the selection criteria recommended by Kaufman (2020).
iii. Kaufman contradicts himself by asking people on one hand to identify and “Contemplate people who are admirable, beautiful, lovable, or respectworthy” (p.291) while on the other saying that they need primarily to believe “I am worthy” (p.102).
Clearly, when push comes to shove in the later segments of the book, when the organizing ideas of the book have been fully developed, he concedes that individual worth consists in objective satisfaction of criteria like admirability, beauty, loveability, and respectworthiness; qualities one acquires through deliberate and consistent activity rather than rehearsing self-affirming nostrums like “I am worthy”.
Also, in rehearsing the self-affirmation “I am worthy” one commits a solecism; albeit one committed by many in contemporary popular and academic writing. But, realizing one’s higher self in no way commits one to making the same mistakes as everyone else. I can only be worthy of something, not worthy simpliciter. I am worthy of having the attribution of worth to me being followed by a specification of what it is that I am worthy of; or, at least an infinitive.
My favourite parts in this mixed bag of a book by this brilliant author are the ones elaborating: his updated Maslowian hierarchy, the light triad, and the self-actualisation tests one can take for free on his website. The biographical parts touching on Maslow’s personal life and experiences in his late career, his interactions with Adler and Horney, and the influence of psychoanalysis on his ideas are novel, affecting and interesting.
Shelved as 'did-not-finish'
October 20, 2022DNF - intro and first chapter didn't hook, life's too short, etc.
Probably would be good to check out in podcast form.
Probably would be good to check out in podcast form.
July 8, 2020
Scott Barry Kaufman aims to make the growth perspective of humanistic psychologists in the 50s relevant today. He has developed a scientific basis to Maslow’s theory of self-actualisation – developing a 10-dimensional scale. He has also reformulated Maslow’s pyramid (which Maslow never mentioned!) into a security and growth model. Great potential for helping clients who want to build growth capabilities.
The key themes (and a link to the scale) can be picked up in this Scientific American article
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/...
The key themes (and a link to the scale) can be picked up in this Scientific American article
https://blogs.scientificamerican.com/...
September 9, 2021
Watch a detailed review along with my favorite ideas and takeaways at:
https://youtu.be/DEOH7wfMmBQ
https://youtu.be/DEOH7wfMmBQ
April 21, 2020
Required reading for humans. The world would be a better place if everyone read this book. I did the audible which I recommend
July 15, 2020
I started to read it because of an recommendation and because I am interested in the theories of Abraham Maslow. So I was keen to get to know the newest scientific findings in psychology about what he came up to many decades ago. But I stopped reading at about page 150 (of 260 if you do not count the Appendix and all the rest). Why? While content of the first half of the book was not really new for me, it nevertheless was good as a reminder and it provided for a few new insights. What I missed however was a profound explanation. Although there are a lot of references to scientific studies I found the content itself rather superficial and I often could not discern how the reference corroborated the content. In the second half everything became worse because it got (in my perception) an esoteric touch. This is when I stopped reading.
If you like Frederik Lalouxs "Reinventing Organizations" or you are a fan of Ken Wilber, this might be a perfect book for you. I personally think that we have to be careful with requests like "Let's become Teal" because they subliminal convey the message that there is a superior caste of people (and of course, we belong to them).
If you like Frederik Lalouxs "Reinventing Organizations" or you are a fan of Ken Wilber, this might be a perfect book for you. I personally think that we have to be careful with requests like "Let's become Teal" because they subliminal convey the message that there is a superior caste of people (and of course, we belong to them).
August 19, 2021
How does this have such high ratings? Very boring. Got nothing out of it. Nothing "new" and very little "science" other than brief mentions of study findings which are pretty intuitive anyway.
Author has an annoying tendency to fill sentences with lists of abstract nouns, such as (flipping to random pages): "... a healthy respect for oneself and one's boundaries, and affirmation of the importance of one's own health, growth, happiness, joy, and freedom.", "Dominance-feeling, Maslow contended, includes feelings of self-confidence, high self-respect, and evaluation of self.", "... narcissism was associated with lower levels of life satisfaction, autonomy, authenticity, mastery, personal growth, positive social relationships, purpose, and self-acceptance in life." Aaaaahhhh, so many lists! Studies have shown this causes depression, anxiety, fear, incoherent mumbling, low satisfaction, poor health, stress, and negativity.
Also Maslow sounds like a moron who thought way too highly of himself.
Author has an annoying tendency to fill sentences with lists of abstract nouns, such as (flipping to random pages): "... a healthy respect for oneself and one's boundaries, and affirmation of the importance of one's own health, growth, happiness, joy, and freedom.", "Dominance-feeling, Maslow contended, includes feelings of self-confidence, high self-respect, and evaluation of self.", "... narcissism was associated with lower levels of life satisfaction, autonomy, authenticity, mastery, personal growth, positive social relationships, purpose, and self-acceptance in life." Aaaaahhhh, so many lists! Studies have shown this causes depression, anxiety, fear, incoherent mumbling, low satisfaction, poor health, stress, and negativity.
Also Maslow sounds like a moron who thought way too highly of himself.
May 23, 2021
I saw an interview with SBK and bought this book right after. Since I teach a course on soft skills, I thought this book would be great to deepen my knowledge and build further upon the researched ideas I share with my students. Then I heard about a course that went with the book and was taught by SBK. The classes corresponded with my spring break, so I signed up. The book definitely gave me what I wanted: more researched support for the concepts in my own course. The best part of the course was the Growth-challenge workbook, which takes the reader through various self-reflection exercises, some of which I had done previously. It was a perfect way for me to go deeper into the self-introspection I've been engaged in because of my increase in solitary time during the pandemic.
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