Submitted by Sue-Marie on Fri, 02/01/2008 - 10:13am.
I also noticed that much of positive psychology seems to borrow from the humanistic perspective and found it interesting that the term “transpersonal psychology” does not appear in Compton’s book.Do you think this indicates a lack of intellectual honesty on the part of Compton?Do you think he was trying to avoid these words because they have been, as you point out, largely scorned by the psychological community?
I also enjoyed the brief synopsis of Buddhism in Compton’s book.I thought he gave an interesting description of the four noble truths, without using the term “four noble truths.”I am beginning to think positive psychology is a blend of Buddhist and transpersonal psychology.I think the term “positive psychology” is more accessible to Westerners than either Buddhist psychology of transpersonal psychology.Yet I find myself wondering, how much of this is actually new?
I also noticed that much of positive psychology seems to borrow from the humanistic perspective and found it interesting that the term “transpersonal psychology” does not appear in Compton’s book. Do you think this indicates a lack of intellectual honesty on the part of Compton? Do you think he was trying to avoid these words because they have been, as you point out, largely scorned by the psychological community?
I also enjoyed the brief synopsis of Buddhism in Compton’s book. I thought he gave an interesting description of the four noble truths, without using the term “four noble truths.” I am beginning to think positive psychology is a blend of Buddhist and transpersonal psychology. I think the term “positive psychology” is more accessible to Westerners than either Buddhist psychology of transpersonal psychology. Yet I find myself wondering, how much of this is actually new?