According to the journal article by Morgan. (2012), everybody is religious, especially those who claim not to be. Everyone has spiritual beliefs, deep interpersonal relations, values, and a set of ethics as well as values. According to Maslow, any study of humans from a scientific dimension that excludes the perspectives of spiritual beliefs, morality, and ethics is incomplete and flaunt with hypocrisy. This begs the question on how religion came to avoid this important dimensions in the first place. The answer to the same is well provided my Maslow as well elucidated in the instant article. In a nutshell, scientific and religious organizations have always had a conflict. Unfortunately, the individuals who pursued these different disciplines extended their differences into the differences themselves. The scientists sought to separate science from religion, ethics and values, and interpersonal religion. Contemporaneously, the religious movements sought to ostracize science and place religion above the ambit of science. This created two incomplete disciplines growing separately yet desperately needing each other and it is this separation that is castigated by Maslow, as well articulated in the article.
Summary
Abraham Maslow
The writer of the instant article clearly indicates from its very beginning that it was about Maslow and his publications upon which the Abraham Maslow's Theory is premised. Further qualification of the nature of the article indicates that it is not an apology of the works of Maslow but rather a vindication thereof. The writer, therefore, not only believes that Maslow was right but also sets out to prove that indeed he was. The paper is written in essay form where all issues are handled in prose without seemingly subdividing them. Within each of the issues, the author herein argues on why Maslow was right in what was said about the particular issues and by extension why Maslow’s adverse critics were wrong. The general outline of the entire article is, therefore, commending Maslow on what he indicated about the subjects canvassed through revising the subjects themselves.
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Spirituality and Humanity
The article is very articulate on the subject of the relationship between spirituality and humanity. It vindicates the contention by Maslow that the spirituality of a human being cannot be separated from the humanity of the same human more so from the perspective of psychology. The church and the psychologist according to the paper have never eally been in good terms (Morgan, 2012). The church took the position that science was wrong, more so to the extent that it sought to understand the human being. This is because humans adopted their personality from God, as based on scripture. Trying to dissect the personality of man is, therefore, by extension an act of trying to dissect the personality of God. Yet, the personality of God is so complex and perhaps forbidden that it can only be understood by religious leaders. This led to a move by the religious leaders to fight the psychologist movements in the 18 th century. With no love lost between scientist and religious people, the scientist took the exact opposite dimension and sought to pursue science in the absence of spirituality.
Scientists also try to bring forth the argument that spirituality is not real and, therefore, of no concern to scientists. In this area, Maslow castigates both the religious movement for having been wrong and scientist who he indicates should have known better (Morgan, 2012). He indicates that spirituality is an integral aspect of humanity, whether humanity accepts it or not. Therefore, every scientist who seeks to understand the human being from a spiritual perspective must also seek to understand human spirituality. From a practical perspective, the article seeks to show the importance of humanity to aspects of psychology such as psychoanalysis. Without accepting the reality and power of spirituality to the human being, the psychoanalysis undertaken will be flawed and inadequate, thus ineffective in application. Finally, Maslow in this perspective also castigates his colleagues the humanist who, to their credit admit the impact of spirituality on the human personality from a scientific perspective (Morgan, 2012). Maslow, however, indicates that humanist confuse spiritual belief with traditions yet not all traditions were in essence right. An open-minded approach to the subject of religion from a scientific perspective is, therefore, indicated as ideal.
The Social Values Perspective
The spiritual issues as outlined by Maslow lead directly to the concept of social values and not the concept of deity and worship. This is part of the misconception that sought to separate spirituality and science, mainly based on religious belief. Human spirituality is not per se about religious belief and its roots such as worship, faith, and gods. According to the instant article, it is more about what an individual holds dear from a holistic perspective (Morgan, 2012). This forms the primary basis for the individual’s personal values. Indeed, it is impossible to hold a well-established and closely held set of personal values, without actually having spiritual inclinations. Ethics, for example, entails a set of beliefs on right and wrong, as elucidated in the article. What amounts to right or wrong to an individual also forms part of that individual's personal values (Striepe et al, 2014). A notion that one cannot do as they wish but have to follow a personal code that informs their ethics is attributable to belief, and with belief comes spirituality but not necessarily being religious. Interpersonal relationships deal with a close, very deep, and committed relationship between two or more individuals. Every ordinary human being relates to a very high number of people, yet very selectively develops interpersonal relationships only with a small segment of them (Striepe et al, 2014). This interpersonal relationship bonds are extremely advanced in many cases and can cause or be used to mitigate on psychological problems. Rational science, according to the article may not be able to understand or exploit interpersonal relationships unless it extends the concept of personal values to also include elements of spirituality (Morgan, 2012).
Conclusion
According to the totality of the instant article, however, there is no spiritual or psychological dimension to human issues. Just a scientific dimension that also involves the psychological and spiritual perspectives. The separation of the spiritual from the psychological and/or scientific is, therefore, a deficiency on science that must be cured by the scientist by embracing the spiritual. Human values, ethics, and interpersonal relationships cannot be understood without seeking to understand the spiritual elements thereof.
Personal Critique
The same person who will seek spiritual counsel from a Rabbi, priest, or pastor might also seek help from a counselor when the issue exacerbates. This can be interpreted to mean that problems have a spiritual and psychological dimension. The instant article argues that the two are intertwined and in my informed opinion, this contention is accurate. Religious leaders base their work on faith and belief. They can be allowed to be selective in this to contaminate the sanctity of their faith, albeit this amounts to a form of hypocrisy. However, science must be based on facts and truth thus hypocrisy cannot find any room within it. Therefore, the psychologist must seek to understand each and every element of the personality and this includes the spiritual elements thereof. Based on how the article is framed, the examples and details included therein, the accuracy thereof is not in dispute. Further, just as Maslow was, the article is balanced and does not seem to favor any side of the science versus religion. This adds to the credibility of the article.
References
Morgan, J. H. (2012). The personal meaning of social values in the work of Abraham Maslow. Interpersona , 6 (1), 75-93
Striepe, M., Clarke, S., & O'Donoghue, T. (2014). Spirituality, values and the school's ethos: Factors shaping leadership in a faith-based school. Issues in Educational Research , 24 (1), 85-97
