2012/02/08 by Dudley A. Schreiber · 1 citation
Psychology · Social Sciences · #Cultural Differences and Values #Religion and Society Interactions #Religion, Spirituality, and Psychology #Postmodernism #Deconstruction (building) #Dialectic #Spirituality #Epistemology #Postmodern theatre #Essentialism #Sociology #Argument (complex analysis) #Philosophy
paper · doi:10.4102/ve.v33i1.398
openalex publication_date 2012/02/08 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/05/21
At first glance, the postmodern spiritual �scene� appears �sociologically messy, experiential, multifaceted, ecological, provisional and collective� (Petrolle 2007) and of uncertain epistemic provenance. Here, I ask: can Roland Benedikter�s (2005) conception of postmodern dialectic and spiritual turn, help us understand postmodern spirituality and can it assist in a construction of a postmodern epistemology of spirituality? The current argument constitutes a meta-theoretical exploration of:� Deconstruction and neo-essentialism as representing the significant dialectic in philosophical postmodernism. Deconstruction is presented as an apophatic moment in Western thought about �knowing� and �being� whilst postmodern neo-essentialism, though contextualised by antirealism and ambiguity, palpably suggests itself. � Postmodern trends which derive from the dialectic. � How these epistemic trends influence methodology in the study of spirituality. � How a trans-traditional (anthropological) spirituality might incorporate insights about transformation from a complex of epistemologies in which, theories of �self� abound.In the conclusion an attempt is made to describe how postmodern spirituality expresses itself in society.�