Theoretical Psychology: The Meeting of East and West PDF
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THEORETICAL PSYCHOLOGY THE MEETING OF EAST AND WEST PATH IN PSYCHOLOGY Published in Cooperation with Publications for the Advancement of Theory and History in Psychology (PATH) Series Editors: David Bakan, York University John Broughton, Teachers College, Columbia University Miriam Lewin, Manhattanville College Robert Rieber, John Jay College, CUNY, and Columbia University Howard Gruber, Rutgers University WILHELM WUNDT AND THE MAKING OF A SCIENTIFIC PSYCHOLOGY Edited by R. W. Rieber HUMANISTIC PSYCHOLOGY: Concepts and Criticisms Edited by Joseph R. Royce and Leendert P. Mos PSYCHOSOCIAL THEORIES OF THE SELF Edited by Benjamin Lee DEVELOPMENT AL APPROACHES TO THE SELF Edited by Benjamin Lee and Gil G. Noam THEORETICAL PSYCHOLOGY: The Meeting of East and West A. C. Paranjpe A CRITICAL PSYCHOLOGY: Interpretation of the Personal World Edmund V. Sullivan THEORETICAL PSYCHOLOGY THE MEETING OF EAST AND WEST A. C. PARANJPE Simon Fraser University Burnaby, Brislish Columbia, Canada PLENUM PRESS • NEW YORK AND LONDON Library of Congress Cataloging in Publication Data Paranjpe, A. C. Theoretical psychology. (PATH in psychology) Bibliography: p. Includes index. 1. Psychology-Philosophy. 2. East and West. I. Title. II. Series. BF38.P33 1984 150.19 83-24546 ISBN-13: 978-1-4613-3768-3 e-ISBN-13: 978-1-4613-3766-9 001: 10.1007/978-1-4613-3766-9 © 1984 Plenum Press, New York Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1s t edition 1984 A Division of Plenum Publishing Corporation 233 Spring Street, New York, N.Y. 10013 All rights reserved No part of this book may be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, microfilming, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the Publisher To my revered guru, to the late Sri Guruji, and to all my teachers PREFACE This book is an outcome of my bicultural experience as a student and teacher of psychology in India and North America. As a student in India, the psychology I learned in the classroom was totally Western in its perspective. A book on Indian economics, called Bharatfya Arthasastra, written by the late Pal)Q.it Dindayal Upadhyaya, inspired me to look into the sources of the Indian intellectual tradition for an indigenous per spective within the discipline of my training and research. The late Balsastri Hardas suggested K. K. Kolhatkar's Bharatfya Manasasastra, a book that translates and comments on Patanjali's Yoga sutras in Marathi, as a sourcebook of psychological concepts of Indian origin. My response to this initial exposure to Yoga as a system of psychology was one of bewilderment. Having been trained in psychology with Woodworth and Schlosberg's Experimental Psychology as the textbook of psychology, I could not comprehend how ideas so diverse as those of Patanjali and Woodworth and Schlosberg could be designated by a common label psychology! Obviously, it was necessary to sort out psychology's meaning in different sociocultural contexts, beginning with the most fundamental notions on which psychological concepts are based. This book represents an attempt to understand psychological concepts, especially those re lating to consciousness and the self, as they developed in the different intellectual traditions and cultural contexts of India and the West. More than two decades have passed since I began the intellectual journey that brought me to the set of ideas presented here. Many teach ers, friends, and well-wishers have encouraged me at various stages of this enterprise. Foremost among them are Professors Gardner Murphy, Cora DuBois, Stanley Milgram, Willard Day, Erik Erikson, Durganand Sinha, Paul Bakan, McKim Marriott, David Bakan, Yujiro Ikemi, and Dr. George V. Coelho. In their own ways, all these people have given vii viii PREFACE valuable support; I am extremely grateful to all of them. The following persons read small or large sections of the manuscript and offered useful comments and constructive criticism: Drs. Ashok and Vidyut Aklujkar, Swami Asesananda, Drs. David Bakan and Barry Beyerstein, Swami Bhaskarananda, Mr. Stuart Bush, Swami Dayananda Sarasvati, Drs. John R. M. Goyeche, Ron Laye, James Marcia, Basil McDermott, Norman Sjoman, S. R. Talghatti, and Harold Weinberg, and Lolita Wilson. I have been able to avoid many errors and incorporate innumerable good points into the manuscript as a result of their astute suggestions. Doctor Goy eche and Professor Wilson went through the entire manuscript with a fine-toothed comb and helped me improve the book in form and content. Dr. Rosemary Carter helped edit an earlier draft of the first five chapters. While I must give all of them credit for various strengths of the book, I am responsible for its numerous shortcomings. I have no words to ex press my gratitude to Professor Wilson, who, in addition to reading the entire manuscript, taught me innumerable nuances of the English lan guage and Canadian culture, prepared an index, and showered me with affection and appreciation. This book could not have seen the light of the day without the help of Drs. David Bakan and Robert Rieber of the PATH in Psychology series. I wish to express my indebtedness to both of them, and also to Professors Durganand Sinha, Yujiro Ikemi, and J. B. P. Sinha for their valuable help in seeing this work into publication. Various sections of this book have been read by and discussed with a number of students. In fact, several themes have evolved during the course of discussions during the past several years in my seminars in social psychology, personality, and the history of psychology at Simon Fraser University. It is impossible to list the large number of students who have contributed good points to the discussion of various issues, prompted me to elaborate when necessary, and assisted in bringing clarity to my thought and expression. I am thankful to all of them. Coleen Melsness, Ray Davison, Joan Foster, and Anant Vaze helped me deal with the computer, which continued to pose problems every now and then. Quite certainly, I am indebted to my wife Meena, and sons Prasad and Shreyas who suffered because of my absorption in work at times when I should have been attending to my duties at home. Finally, I wish to thank the members of the President's Grants Com mittee at Simon Fraser University, who sanctioned appropriate funds to pay for certain costs in preparing the manuscript. A. C. PA RANJPE PRONUNCIATION AND TRANSLITERATION OF SANSKRIT TERMS The transliteration of Sanskrit used in this book follows the most com monly used format. What follows is a general guide (rather than a strict phonetic account) of Sanskrit terms transliterated in the text. The vowels are described thus: a as u in cut e as ay in say a as a in far ai somewhat like ai in aisle as i in fit 0 as 0 in go as ee in tree au as ou in out u as u in put ril nasalizes the preceding -u as 00 in root vowels :r somewhat like r in bird I:t sounds like h with a sharp 1, 1 somewhat like I in bottle exhalation of air The consonants are generally similar to English with a few excep tions. There is a series of "alviolars" (t, th, d, dh, n) produced with the tip of the tongue touching the gum ridge, and a series of retroflex sounds D (t, th, g, gh, 1), produced by curling the tongue backward. The ~ is a s similar retroflex. The c sounds like ch in chair, j as j in jug, like sh in shirt, n like the Spanish senor, and n like n in king. The aspirates (kh, gh, ch, jh, th, th, dh, gh, ph and bh) are pronounced with a clearly ix x SANSKRIT TERMS audible release of breath following the consonant, for example, th as in ant-hill, and dh as in bald-head. A Note on Sources Sanskrit sources cited in this book are indicated by the name of the author, followed by the chapter number, section number where appli cable, the verse or aphorism number. Different works of the same author are distinguished by lower-case alphabets in the same way as references. Classics such as the Bhagavad-Glta or the epic Mahtibharata are referred to by their titles. The year of publication of the Sanskrit works is not given because the exact dates of publication for most of the old sources are either unknown, or known only approximately. CONTENTS Pronunciation and Transliteration of Sanskrit Terms. ........... ix 1 Introduction .............................................. 1 Some Converging Trends ............................. 1 Implications of the Development of Western Psychology as a "Science" . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 17 The Nature of Science and the Sociology of Knowledge 32 The Cultural Relativity of Psychological Theories: A Perspective from Anthropology and Culture-and-Personality Studies ................... 42 Certain Criticisms and Limitations of the Sociology of Knowledge .......................... 49 Notes............................................... 53 2 Search for Common Ground ................................. 55 Assumptions regarding the Lawfulness of the Universe .. 59 Assumptions about the Nature of Reality: Ontological Presuppositions ....................... 62 Man's Relation to Nature ............................. 64 Assumptions about Human Nature .................... 69 The Assumption of Egoism and the Value of Individualism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 71 Assumptions about the Human Condition .............. 85 The Ideal Human Condition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. 96 Notes ............................................... 113 3 Consciousness: Some Western Views .......................... 117 William James and his Concept of the "Stream of Consciousness" ........................ 119 Structuralism: The Introspectionist Approach ........... 122 xi
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