70 Nick Atlas
something akin to a common denominator—a rich description of what an
apple is, or its apple-ness.
This might sound utterly abstract and, in the case of an apple, fairly
ridiculous, but when it comes to understanding what an experience is like
for ourselves or for another person, it is as refined a method as there is.
Phenomenology may not yield generalizable results similar to the kind that
a brain scan might offer us, but it can produce highly valid, intersubjective
interpretations—that is, psychological interpretations that gain consensus
amongst other researchers and the experiencers themselves.
Phenomenology is capable of examining “what a subject matter is in all its
real world complexity” (Wertz et al., 2011, p. 2)—it is a microcosmic
perspective that honors nuance and exceptionality. Conversely, a brain
scan tells us nothing about the nuanced experience itself, thus the two
methods ought to be thought of as complimentary, rather than exclusive. In
fact, the emerging field of neurophenomenology (Thompson, 2015; Varela,
1996), which examines the physiological responses of the nervous system
during nuanced experiences, explicitly attempts to bridge the divide
between subjective and objective description.
Transpersonal Psychology
Another area of psychology deserving of inclusion in any chapter on
consciousness is transpersonal psychology. Born out of Maslow’s
humanistic psychology, which pushed back against behaviorism in an
effort to both study and honor the whole person, historically, transpersonal
psychology has examined the spiritual dimension of the human psyche
(Grof, 2008, p. 47). Transpersonal psychology focuses on experiences in
which “the sense of self expand[s] beyond (trans) the individual person or
personality to encompass wider aspects of life and the cosmos” (Walsh,
1995, p. 25). According to Grof, one of the movement’s figureheads,
transpersonal psychology arose in response to “The renaissance of interest
in Eastern spiritual philosophies, various mystical traditions, meditation,
ancient and aboriginal wisdom, as well as the widespread psychedelic