Difference between revisions of "Abraham Maslow"

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== Abraham Harold Maslow == 


[[Image:Maslow.jpg|right|Abraham Maslow]]
[[Image:Maslow.jpg|right|Abraham Maslow]]


<blockquote class="definition">
Abraham Maslow (April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist. Maslow help found both the [[Humanistic Psychology|Humanistic]] and [Existential Psychology|Existential] branches of modern psychology.  mysticism and related subjects.
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==Notes==


Abraham Maslow (April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was born to Jewish parents who emigrated from Russia. He was the oldest of seven children. His parents were poor and uneducated but pushed their son to thrive in his academic studies, specifically his father desired for his son to pursue a career in law. Maslow described his childhood to be distraught and chaotic as he was the only “Jewish boy in a non-Jewish neighborhood” (Hoffman, 1992, p. 70). As a result, he spent much time in the library reading books and without friends where he became very passionate about learning. At 16 years of age, Maslow knew he was truly in love with his first cousin Bertha Goodman. They married shortly after moving to Wisconsin when he was 20 years-old and she was 19 years-old. Abraham and Bertha had two daughters, Ann and Ellen. He stated his life didn’t begin until he married and becoming a father changed his entire perspective on life.
Maslow had some interesting things to say about [[Connection Experience]].


In Wisconsin, Abraham started to attend graduate school at the University of Wisconsin because of his intrigue into Behaviorism. He worked as Harry Harlow’s first doctoral student and graduated with his PhD in 1934. His research in those years involved sex and dominance in Rhesus monkeys and attachment behavior.  
<blockquote>In my first investigations … I  thought some people had peak-experiences and others did not. But as I gathered information, and as I became more skillful in asking questions, I found that a higher and higher percentage of my subjects began to report peak-experiences.... I finally fell into the habit of expecting everyone to have peak-experiences and of being rather surprised if I ran across somebody who could report none at all. Because of this experience, I finally began to use the word “non-peaker” to describe, not the person who is unable to have peak-experiences, but rather the person who is afraid of them, who suppresses them, who denies them, who turns away from them, or who “forgets” them (Maslow 2012, 340-1).</blockquote>


In later years, Maslow worked at Brandeis serving as the chair of the psychology department. His interactions with Kurt Goldstein, who coined the idea of [[Self-Actualization|self-actualization]], led Maslow to flourish his own ideas and create an immense impact in [[Humanistic Psychology]].  
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At first it was our thought that some people simply didn’t have peaks. But, as I said above, we found out later that it’s much more probable that the non-peakers have them but repress or misinterpret them, or-for whatever reason-reject them and therefore don’t use them. Some of the reasons for such rejection so far found are: (1) a strict Marxian attitude, as with Simone de Beauvoir, who was persuaded that this was a weakness, a sickness (also Arthur Koestler). A Marxist should be “tough.” Why Freud rejected his is anybody’s guess: perhaps (2) his 19th-century mechanistic-scientific attitude, perhaps (3) his pessimistic character. Among my various subjects I have found both causes at work sometimes. In others I have found (4) a narrowly rationalistic attitude which I considered a defense against being flooded by emotion, by irrationality, by loss of control, by illogical tenderness, by dangerous femininity, or by the fear of insanity. One sees such attitudes more often in engineers, in mathematicians, in analytic philosophers, in bookkeepers and accountants, and generally in obsessional people (Maslow 1962: emphasis added).
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<blockquote>At first it was our thought that some people simply didn’t have peaks. But, as I said above, we found out later that it’s much more probable that the non-peakers have them but repress or misinterpret them, or-for whatever reason-reject them and therefore don’t use them. Some of the reasons for such rejection so far found are: (1) a strict Marxian attitude, as with Simone de Beauvoir, who was persuaded that this was a weakness, a sickness (also Arthur Koestler). A Marxist should be “tough.” Why Freud rejected his is anybody’s guess: perhaps (2) his 19th century mechanistic-scientific attitude, perhaps (3) his pessimistic character. Among my various subjects I have found both causes at work sometimes. In others I have found (4) a narrowly rationalistic attitude which I considered a defense against being flooded by emotion, by irrationality, by loss of control, by illogical tenderness, by dangerous femininity, or by the fear of insanity. One sees such attitudes more often in engineers, in mathematicians, in analytic philosophers, in bookkeepers and accountants, and generally in obsessional people (Maslow 1962: emphasis added).</blockquote>


A few main works that have contributed to his legacy and distinguish him from other prominent psychologists include concepts such as [[Self-Actualization|self-actualization]] and [[Peak Experience|peak experiences]]. Maslow's [[Needs]] theory grew out of his belief that humans are capable of good and overcoming hatred, racism, prejudice, and war. He believed salvation comes out of the advancement of knowledge and mystical experiences can be studied scientifically, such as through [[Psychedelic Therapy|psychedelic therapy]] (Hoffman, 1988, p. 277). Interestingly, congruent to Maslow’s belief, we find more and more scholars delving into researching the power of mysticism and related subjects.


== See Also ==
{{template:endstuff}}


[[Needs]]
[[category:terms]]
 
[[Humanistic Psychology]]
 
[[Peak Experience]]
 
[[Physical Unit]]
 
[[Psychedelic Therapy]]
 
[[Psychology]]
 
[[Self-Actualization]]
 
 
== References ==
 
Hoffman, E. (1988). ''The right to be human: A biography of Abraham Maslow.'' Los Angeles, CA: Jeremy P. Tarcher Inc.
 
Hoffman, E. (1992). The last interview of Abraham Maslow. ''Psychology Today, 25,'' 68-89.
 
== External Links ==
 
[http://www.maslow.com/  Official Abraham Maslow Publications Site]

Revision as of 23:02, 17 September 2019

Abraham Maslow (April 1, 1908 – June 8, 1970) was an American psychologist. Maslow help found both the Humanistic and [Existential Psychology|Existential] branches of modern psychology. mysticism and related subjects.

Notes

Maslow had some interesting things to say about Connection Experience.

In my first investigations … I thought some people had peak-experiences and others did not. But as I gathered information, and as I became more skillful in asking questions, I found that a higher and higher percentage of my subjects began to report peak-experiences.... I finally fell into the habit of expecting everyone to have peak-experiences and of being rather surprised if I ran across somebody who could report none at all. Because of this experience, I finally began to use the word “non-peaker” to describe, not the person who is unable to have peak-experiences, but rather the person who is afraid of them, who suppresses them, who denies them, who turns away from them, or who “forgets” them (Maslow 2012, 340-1).

At first it was our thought that some people simply didn’t have peaks. But, as I said above, we found out later that it’s much more probable that the non-peakers have them but repress or misinterpret them, or-for whatever reason-reject them and therefore don’t use them. Some of the reasons for such rejection so far found are: (1) a strict Marxian attitude, as with Simone de Beauvoir, who was persuaded that this was a weakness, a sickness (also Arthur Koestler). A Marxist should be “tough.” Why Freud rejected his is anybody’s guess: perhaps (2) his 19th-century mechanistic-scientific attitude, perhaps (3) his pessimistic character. Among my various subjects I have found both causes at work sometimes. In others I have found (4) a narrowly rationalistic attitude which I considered a defense against being flooded by emotion, by irrationality, by loss of control, by illogical tenderness, by dangerous femininity, or by the fear of insanity. One sees such attitudes more often in engineers, in mathematicians, in analytic philosophers, in bookkeepers and accountants, and generally in obsessional people (Maslow 1962: emphasis added).

At first it was our thought that some people simply didn’t have peaks. But, as I said above, we found out later that it’s much more probable that the non-peakers have them but repress or misinterpret them, or-for whatever reason-reject them and therefore don’t use them. Some of the reasons for such rejection so far found are: (1) a strict Marxian attitude, as with Simone de Beauvoir, who was persuaded that this was a weakness, a sickness (also Arthur Koestler). A Marxist should be “tough.” Why Freud rejected his is anybody’s guess: perhaps (2) his 19th century mechanistic-scientific attitude, perhaps (3) his pessimistic character. Among my various subjects I have found both causes at work sometimes. In others I have found (4) a narrowly rationalistic attitude which I considered a defense against being flooded by emotion, by irrationality, by loss of control, by illogical tenderness, by dangerous femininity, or by the fear of insanity. One sees such attitudes more often in engineers, in mathematicians, in analytic philosophers, in bookkeepers and accountants, and generally in obsessional people (Maslow 1962: emphasis added).


Footnotes