Transpersonal anthropology is a subdiscipline of

cultural anthropology Cultural anthropology is a branch of anthropology focused on the study of cultural variation among humans. It is in contrast to social anthropology, which perceives cultural variation as a subset of a posited anthropological constant. The portma ...

and

transpersonal studies The transpersonal is a term used by different schools of philosophy and psychology in order to describe experiences and worldviews that extend beyond the personal level of the psyche Psyche (''Psyché'' in French) is the Greek term for "soul" (ψυ ...

. It studies the relationship between

altered states of consciousness An altered state of consciousness (ASC), also called altered state of mind or mind alteration, is any condition which is significantly different from a normal waking state. By 1892, the expression was in use in relation to hypnosis, though there ...

and

culture Culture () is an umbrella term which encompasses the social behavior, institutions, and norms found in human societies, as well as the knowledge, beliefs, arts, laws, customs, capabilities, and habits of the individuals in these groups.Tyl ...

Definition and context

According to Walsh and Vaughan,Walsh, R. and F. Vaughan. On transpersonal definitions. ''Journal of Transpersonal Psvchology'', 25:199-207, 1993 who proposed several definitions of the transpersonal field in the early 1990s, Transpersonal anthropology is ''the cross-cultural study of transpersonal phenomena and the relationship between consciousness and culture''. Charles Laughlin,Laughlin, C. D. (2013). The ethno-epistemology of transpersonal experience: The view from transpersonal anthropology. ''International Journal of Transpersonal Studies'', 32(1), 43–50. a founder of the field of Transpersonal anthropology, has defined the discipline as ''the cross-cultural study of transpersonal experiences, including the sociocultural evocation, interpretation, and utility of transpersonal experiences, and their involvement in defining social roles''. As with

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

, the field is much concerned with altered states of consciousness (ASC) and

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

. However, the field differs from mainstream transpersonal psychology in taking more cognizance of cross-cultural issues—for instance, the roles of

myth Myth is a folklore genre consisting of Narrative, narratives that play a fundamental role in a society, such as foundational tales or Origin myth, origin myths. Since "myth" is widely used to imply that a story is not Objectivity (philosophy), ...

ritual A ritual is a sequence of activities involving gestures, words, actions, or objects, performed according to a set sequence. Rituals may be prescribed by the traditions of a community, including a religious community. Rituals are characterized, b ...

diet Diet may refer to: Food * Diet (nutrition), the sum of the food consumed by an organism or group * Dieting, the deliberate selection of food to control body weight or nutrient intake ** Diet food, foods that aid in creating a diet for weight loss ...

, and texts in evoking and interpreting extraordinary experiences.Young, David E. and J.-G. Goulet (1994) ''Being Changed by Cross-cultural Encounters: The Anthropology of Extraordinary Experiences''. Peterborough: Broadview Press.

History

CommentatorsLaughlin, Charles D. (1994) "Transpersonal Anthropology, Then and Now." ''Transpersonal Review'' 1(1): 7-10.Sheppard, E. (2006) "Our worlds beyond." ''Transpersonal Psychology Review'' 10 (1):63-70. locate the start of Transpersonal anthropology to the US in the 1970s. The first collective effort within the field was a tentative organization called the ''Phoenix Associates'', and its supporting journal; ''Phoenix: New Directions in the Study of Man''. Among the contributors to the early work within the field was Philip S. Staniford, Ronald L. Campbell, Joseph K. Long and Shirley Lee. In 1978 Geri-Ann Galanti launched The ''Newsletter for the Anthropological Study of Paranormal and Anomalistic Phenomena'' (NASPAP), independently of the Phoenix-collaboration. However, in 1980 these two groups came together to form the ''Association for Transpersonal Anthropology''. The official journal of the new organization was called ''Phoenix: The Journal of Transpersonal Anthropology''.Valle, Ronald S. & Harari, Carmi. Current developments in...Transpersonal Psychology. ''The Humanistic Psychologist'' 11, Vol. 13, NO. 1, Winter 1985 By the mid-eighties the discipline was described as a «young and growing field» by commentators. However, in this period there was a schism within the organization related to future goals and orientations. One group wanted a humanistic direction, while another group wanted a more scientific orientation. In 1984 the latter group split from the organization and became the ''Association for the Anthropological Study of Consciousness'' (AASC). This unit later went on to become the ''Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness''. According to Hunter,Hunter, Jack. "Between Realness and Unrealness": Anthropology, Parapsychology and the Ontology of Non-Ordinary Realities. ''DISKUS'' 17.2 (2015), 4-20 (The Journal of the British Association for the Study of Religions) the parallel field of

Anthropology of Consciousness Anthropology is the scientific study of humanity, concerned with human behavior, human biology, cultures, societies, and linguistics, in both the present and past, including past human species. Social anthropology studies patterns of behavio ...

grew out of the transpersonal perspective, including Transpersonal anthropology. However, soon after these events the ''Association for Transpersonal Anthropology'' winded down, and The Phoenix journal ceased publication in 1985. Central to the development of the field has been the work of anthropologist

Charles D. Laughlin Charles D. Laughlin, Jr. (born 1938) is a neuroanthropologist known primarily for having co-founded a school of neuroanthropological theory called "biogenetic structuralism." Laughlin is an emeritus professor of anthropology and religion at Carl ...

, who is considered to be one of the primary founders of the discipline.Hartelius, Glenn. The Imperative for Diversity in a Transpersonal Psychology of the Whole Person. ''International Journal of Transpersonal Studies'', 33(2), 2014, pp. iii-iv Shepard also notes the contributions of Ihsan Al-Issa,Al-Issa, Ihsan . (1995). "The Illusion of Reality and Reality of Illusion." ''

British Journal of Psychiatry The ''British Journal of Psychiatry'' is a peer-reviewed medical journal covering all branches of psychiatry with a particular emphasis on the clinical aspects of each topic. The journal is owned by the Royal College of Psychiatrists and publis ...

'' 166 (3)368-373. and

Edith Turner Edith Turner (ca. 1754 – February or March 1838), sometimes known as Edy Turner or Edie Turner, or by her personal name Wané Roonseraw, was a leader – often styled "chief" or "queen" – among the Nottoway people of Virginia in the eighteenth ...

,Turner, Edith (1996) ''The Hands Feel It: Healing and Spirit Presence Among a Northern Alaskan People''. DeKalb, IL: Northern Illinois University Press. wife of the anthropologist

Victor Turner Victor Witter Turner (28 May 1920 – 18 December 1983) was a British cultural anthropologist best known for his work on symbols, rituals, and rites of passage. His work, along with that of Clifford Geertz and others, is often referred to as ...

Contributions to academic theory

One of the contributions of Laughlin to anthropological theory is a differentiation between so-called monophasic and polyphasic cultures. According to this theory polyphasic cultures are open to altered states of consciousness, and tries to integrate these experiences into their worldview, while monophasic cultures, typical of technocratical societies, are largely closed to these alternative states of mind. Laughlin has published extensively on the topic of Transpersonal anthropology, and has addresses several issues within the field, including methodology.Laughlin, Charles D., McManus, John and Shearer, Jon (1983) "Dreams, Trance and Visions: What a Transpersonal Anthropology Might Look Like". ''Phoenix: Journal of Transpersonal Anthropology'' 7 (1/2):141-159.Laughlin, Charles D. (1988) "Transpersonal Anthropology: Some Methodological Issues." ''Western Canadian Anthropology'' 5:29-60.Laughlin, Charles D. (1994) "Psychic Energy and Transpersonal Experience: A Biogenetic Structural Account of the Tibetan Dumo Practice," in ''Being Changed by Cross-cultural Encounters: The Anthropology of Extraordinary Experiences'' (ed. by D.E. Young and J.-G. Goulet). Peterborough: Broadview Press, pp. 99–134.Laughlin, Charles D. (1994) "Transpersonal Anthropology, Then and Now." ''Transpersonal Review'' 1(1): 7-10.Laughlin, Charles D. (1994) "Apodicticity: The Problem of Absolute Certainty in Transpersonal Anthropology." ''Anthropology & Humanism'' 19(2): 1-15. The work of Al-Issa has dealt with the topic of hallucinations, and the cultural aspects of them. Here, Al-Issa notes how not all cultures have negative views on hallucinations. Cross-cultural differences are noted by Al-Issa in sensory modalities most commonly encountered in hallucinations. The field also includes the theories of anthropologist Dennis Gaffin whose contribution is a re-conceptualization of fairyology and the

fairy A fairy (also fay, fae, fey, fair folk, or faerie) is a type of mythical being or legendary creature found in the folklore of multiple European cultures (including Celtic, Slavic, Germanic, English, and French folklore), a form of spirit, ...

-faith within the context of anthropology.Leykam, A. E. Book Review: Running with the fairies: towards a transpersonal anthropology of religion. ''Choice''; Middletown Vol. 50, Iss. 6, (Feb 2013): 1099.Butler, Jenny. Book Review: Gaffin, Dennis. 2013. Running with the Fairies: Towards a Transpersonal Anthropology of Religion. ''Fieldwork in Religion'', 10.2 (2015), 252–254 Sheppard explains how Edith Turner's interpretations of her husband's field studies among the

Ndembu Dembos is a municipality in Bengo Province in Angola , national_anthem = " Angola Avante"() , image_map = , map_caption = , capital = Luanda , religion = , religion_year ...

Zambia Zambia (), officially the Republic of Zambia, is a landlocked country at the crossroads of Central Africa, Central, Southern Africa, Southern and East Africa, although it is typically referred to as being in Southern Africa at its most cent ...

also can be interpreted as belonging to transpersonal anthropology, insofar as her interpretations of their

healing ritual With physical trauma or disease suffered by an organism, healing involves the repairing of damaged tissue(s), organs and the biological system as a whole and resumption of (normal) functioning. Medicine includes the process by which the cells i ...

s were transpersonal.

Criticism

SheppardSheppard, E. (2007). Anthropology and the development of the transpersonal movement: Finding the transpersonal in transpersonal anthropology. ''Transpersonal Psychology Review'' 11(1) 59-69 . has published an article criticising transpersonal anthropology, at least as it has typically been practiced in contemporary scholarship. Her criticisms include its lack of a systematic conceptual base; its over-emphasis on shamanism; the difficulty in studying non-Western cultures that have been truly immune to Western influences and the question of the extent to which transpersonal anthropology has really addressed

References and sources

{{reflist

External links

Society for the Anthropology of Consciousness

Anthropology of religion Transpersonal studies Symbolic anthropology