In the history of Western psychology in the 20th century, there are usually three main directions; behaviorism, psychoanalysis and humanistic psychology.
Despite the clear differences and seemingly opposite approaches, behaviorism and psychoanalysis are similar in that they both constructed psychological perceptions without resorting to social and cultural realities.
It is this essential flaw in the mentioned directions that was pointed out by representatives of humanistic psychology. They came to the conclusion that both major schools - behaviorism and psychoanalysis - did not see a person as specifically human, ignored the real problems of human life - the problems of goodness, love, justice, as well as the role of morality and religion, and were nothing more than a "slander against the person".
Humanistic psychology in the person of American psychologists A. Maslow (1908-1970), K. Rogers (1902-1987) and others set the task to introduce the real problems of modern man into the sphere of psychological research. It is called humanist because it was based on a belief in the attainability of each person's flourishing if he or she was given the opportunity to choose his or her own destiny. The core of humanistic psychology is an optimistic view of human nature. Humanist orientation was expressed in the fact that the basic needs of man were considered to be love, creative growth, human communication.
Thus, Carl Rogers proceeded from the premise that every person from birth has an aspiration to fully realize himself, and he is endowed with the strength to develop all his capabilities. However, the society with the help of established social norms tries to impose its norms contradicting its needs. In this confrontation lies the source of dissatisfaction and abnormal behavior, which many people suffer from.
Another well-known humanist psychologist, Abraham Maslow, is known as the creator of a detailed theory of human needs, dividing them into basic (needs for food, safety, etc.) and derivatives (needs for well-being, justice, respect, etc.). Maslow emphasized that people's ability to meet their basic needs is often limited, and therefore their needs at a higher level, especially the need for self-esteem and self-realization, are not met. Maslow has conducted hundreds of specific studies to test the validity of his theory. However, these studies have not been able to confirm the correctness of his concept.
On the basis of humanistic psychology, in the second half of the last century, a new direction of psychological knowledge, called transpersonal psychology, emerged. Transpersonal psychology has identified not the psyche of the individual, as is customary in traditional psychology, but the super personal states of consciousness as its main subject. The new direction was based on the recognition that the main content of the psyche is outside of me, outside of you and outside of rational knowledge.
As an independent branch of psychological science, transpersonal psychology was formed in the late 1960s as one of the areas of humanistic psychology. The founders of this direction were Abraham Maslow, Stanislav Grof, Anthony Ciutich and others.
Immediately after its appearance, transpersonal psychology was severely criticized for its irrationality, lack of education, and even for its incompatibility with common sense. For example, the American philosopher and psychologist William James wrote about transpersonal psychology as early as 1902. The Swiss philosopher Carl Jung, who used the term as a synonym for the "collective unconscious," also spoke of the "personal unconscious.
It also turned out that the new direction has deep roots in the general cultural and religious tradition. Thus, it is known from history that the spiritual practice of antiquity was largely based on unusual states of consciousness. The practice of shamanism appeared about 40 thousand years ago. The system of yoga meditation was formed about 10 thousand years ago. The usual states of consciousness, such as religious enlightenment, are central for modern world religions, especially in the monastic tradition, including the Old Russian one. Changed states of consciousness were also caused by special plants: mushrooms, cannabis preparations, and other herbs. The next way to enter this state, which has been known since very old times, is starvation. It is also known that almost all founders of world religions used ascetic methods.
For thousands of years, dances have existed in different cultures to celebrate victories, cure the sick and mourn the dead. In life, there are often circumstances in which altered states of consciousness arise spontaneously: a threat to life, serious physical illness, intense sexual experience, stress. Life itself sometimes forces our consciousness to function in unusual modes.
Such mental states have become the main object of research for transpersonal psychology.