Psychology as Religion: The Cult of Self-worship

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Table of contents

Two completely new chapters are also included -- one on education and "values clarification" and the other on New Age religion. Rollo May and Existential Philosophy. Selfism and Todays Society. A Nation of Victims. Psychology for a Consumer Society. Selfism and Christianity Historical Antecedents. Selfism as Bad Science. Psychiatry Biology and Experimental Psychology.

From a Philosophical Point of View. Ethical and Scientific Misrepresentations. Selfism and the Family. Parents as the Source of Our Troubles. Christianity and the Family. SelfTheory and the Schools. A Critique of Procedures and Strategies. Then again, Vitz didn't write his book for that purpose. Moreover, he provides a wealth of information and a refreshing argument against those who say, "You can't teach religion in public schools. Please Register or Login to post new comment.

Access the best success, personal development, health, fitness, business, and financial advice Lessons on Life from Darwin, Science and Time. Safety and Security Guidelines for Hajj and Umrah. Prayer and Hope - Where do they fit into your life? When Offering Prayers Improve your Concentration.

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Take the Self Improvement Tour. Vitz By Johnny Kicklighter. Post new comment Please Register or Login to post new comment. Free Self Improvement Newsletters. Magnetic Fields and Cancer Treatment. Alzheimer's Disease and Magnetic Fields. Get off your "buts". Lifestyle Avoiding the Scams: Lists with This Book. Jul 19, Meredith rated it did not like it Recommends it for: This book is absolutely dreadful. Frankly, it makes me wonder just how low NYU's standards for tenure are.

Psychology as Religion: The Cult of Self-Worship - Paul C. Vitz - Google Книги

Like most psychologists and sociologists, Vitz has no understanding of what constitutes a valid logical argument. I counted 16 fatal logical fallacies in the introduction alone, but the biggest one concerned his definition of religion.


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Why he chose a definition of religion that no one in psychology, sociology, theology, or religious studies shares, I have no idea. But his choice of definiti This book is absolutely dreadful. But his choice of definition is so questionable that it casts a miasma over every page. And it's really sad because, frankly, there is a lot in the history and current theory -- and practice -- of psychology that deserves to be criticized.

Further, there's a lot of psychological rituals, meanings, and social organizations that do parallel religion.

Psychology as Religion: The Cult of Self-Worship by Paul C. Vitz

But because his work is so flawed, he is unable to capture any of these problems. Jan 03, Eric rated it liked it Recommends it for: Persons interested in current family issues. Recommended to Eric by: The point of view is important, but Vitz lacks rigor in his analysis, which is strange since he is a long term academic. He makes his case that self-help psychology has replaced traditional belief systems, and with devastating consequences, but he rambles too much in making his point.

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Also, it is unclear if the sources he cites in his favor are academic peer-reviewed studies or articles, or are from sectarian think tanks or journals. His call to political action is misplaced, since vouchers only The point of view is important, but Vitz lacks rigor in his analysis, which is strange since he is a long term academic. His call to political action is misplaced, since vouchers only allow federal control of whoever gets them see Grove City, Liberty University, Bob Jones University Supreme Court cases.

His call for a Christian response is incomplete. The false views now held by and taught in the culture at large are so pervasive that political or polemical solutions are unlikely to succeed, at least in any short term time frame. The true gospel, with a call to true repentance, first the by the people of God, and then by country at large is the only hope. It is not without reason that Jesus is called the blessed hope and the hope of glory within us.

Jesus alone has the power to redeem and change us, and to ameliorate in this age the ravages of sin. There also appears to me to be an unwritten sub-text valorizing red state political views, in support of an unnamed political party, and against those "liberals," meaning the Democrats. Of course the Republicans have no better solution for the cult of the self than do the Democrats.

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The particulars may differ, but both promote the self at the expense of most all else. Oct 31, James Andersen rated it it was amazing Shelves: Where do I begin with a book as great as this? First let me say, I look forward to reading more books from this author. The author says many things that I either consciously agreed with or intuited as I went in my experiences of being trained as a Psychologist and this is only in my undergrad, I know now what I need to watch out for specifically as I get into my Graduate work.

This book covers so much in so little a space, everything from the historical and philosophical foundations of some pa Where do I begin with a book as great as this? This book covers so much in so little a space, everything from the historical and philosophical foundations of some parts of modern psychotherapy, to the causes and effects of Selfist thought both at the individual and exponentially larger generational and societal level, even making some references to institutionalized expressions of Selfist psychotherapy, the New Age movement, and spiritualities that have a lot of overlap in certain quarters of Selfist-Psychology.

Jun 13, Troy Neujahr rated it really liked it. Really quite profound and enlightening, shedding much light on the all-present self culture of modern life. Where Vitz shows the origins and development of self as an ism, this book proves to be invaluable. When he slips into cultural commentary and generic assertions it is less so, but still never becoming an undue burden.

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All in all, a stimulating and valuable read. Oct 24, Gretchen rated it liked it. Really interesting discussion of why our society is so self-centered. A little dry, but that is because it is basically research. In the end, I think it is just in our nature to be selfish. Jan 30, Honeybee rated it liked it Shelves: My freshman year of college, I started out with a double-major in Psychology and English.

However, after two semesters of studying Freud, Jung and others, I decided I could learn more about human nature by reading good literature and the Bible than studying what these guys had to say about it! When I spotted this book in a used bookstore, I was intrigued by the title. Why would the author suggest that psychology was a religion, much less a "cult of self-worship"? At the time this book was written My freshman year of college, I started out with a double-major in Psychology and English. At the time this book was written It's copyrighted in , Paul C.