Mythological conceptualization, cognitive and ego development: Is there a correlation ?
Journal Title: INDIAN JOURNAL OF MENTAL HEALTH - Year 2019, Vol 6, Issue 2
Abstract
Background: In today’s world there is a continuous struggle between science and spirituality, with a lot of doctors feeling that religion gets in the way of scientific treatment and sometimes also leads to very dire and dangerous consequences. While a lot of older concepts are invalid today, there is a reason why such concepts existed in the first place and they were also backed by some sort of logic and rationale. It is therefore essential to compare and correlate the older concepts with the newer ones since they shall also give an insight regarding the existing psychological concepts at that time. Methodology: We studied and compared the various stages of ego development currently accepted mainly including Loevinger’s and Piaget’s stages of ego and cognitive development and correlated it with the Indian mythological concepts of Manas, Buddhi, Chitta and Ahamkara. They can also be correlated with certain concepts by Freud, Jung and Erikson. The sources of this information were various religious scriptures like the Vedas and the Bhagwad Gita and at the same time we have correlated it with various interpretations mentioned in encyclopaedias like Britannica and DK. Result: While the study is our interpretation of the review of literature, we do realize that mythological concepts are very abstract due to the wide time span; and various writers and scripture producers and their interpretations are also very subjective. The clinical significance of this paper comprises of correlation of various symptoms with older concepts like disorders in Manas may mean perceptual disturbances or disturbances in Buddhi may translate to disturbances in executive functions. Conclusion: While a lot of mental healthcare professionals do have a lot of scepticism in being open to the mythological concepts of human psychology, this paper emphasises that there was a certain observable and objective basis to these concepts exist, which can also be co-related with the modern-day concepts of psychology.
Authors and Affiliations
Manan Thakrar, Prashant Mukadam, Falguni Patel, Bhaveshkumar M. Lakdawala, Rajendra A. Thakrar
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP606716
- DOI 10.30877/IJMH.6.2.2019.130-133
- Views 85
- Downloads 0
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