Courtesy of the folks at:
I
am wrestling with my use of the term “spirituality”, as I use it in my personal
writing, such as
In
Air Water Ground (see link to document in the side bar), and in particular; and
the post Human Socially Obligate Boundary
Conditions and Related Cultural Universals http://airwaterground.blogspot.com/2015/07/human-socially-obligate-boundary.html
And Regarding
the Development and Fitness Value of Spirituality, http://airwaterground.blogspot.com/2015/03/regarding-thedevelopment-and-fitness.html
The
definitions of spirituality are wide, varied and unsettled. They range from the
the plethora of “new age” views to the newer
secular variants, such as in the writings of Ursula Goodenough or
Sam
Harris .
The
term religion is I think, much simpler to define. My take on that is that it:
Is
a term denoting a group of individuals
That
group self identifies around a spiritual schema
Exhibits
expression of the Pseudospeciation Socially Obligate Boundary Condition (PSOBC)
Exhibits
expression of the Vertical Dominance Hierarchy Socially Obligate Boundary
Condition (VSOBC)
I
am wondering if I should substitute for spirituality a term such as superstition
or supernatural. This would thereby exclude / clarify that the secular
spirituality concepts such as those expressed by Ursula Goodenough /Sam Harris
are not included.
My
reason for using spirituality as I do is simply, its etymological roots. Which for my purposes, seems well,
appropriate.
“The
term spirit means "animating or vital principle in man and animals".
It is derived from the Old French espirit which comes from the Latin word
spiritus (soul, courage, vigor, breath) and is related to spirare (to breathe).
In the Vulgate the Latin word spiritus is used to translate the Greek pneuma
and Hebrew ruah. …The term
"spirituality" is derived from Middle French spiritualité, from Late
Latin "spiritualitatem" (nominative spiritualitas), which is also
derived from Latin spiritualis.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Spirituality
, citations omitted.
Supernatural,
given the very existence of the concept, may be a better term for my use? “The
supernatural (Medieval Latin: supernātūrālis: supra "above" +
naturalis "nature", first used: 1520–30 AD) is that which is not
subject to the laws of physics or, more figuratively, that which is said to
exist above and beyond nature.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Supernatural
citation omitted
Or
perhaps superstition? It is perhaps too narrow of a term for my application? “Superstition
is the belief in supernatural causality—that one event causes another without
any natural process linking the two events—such as astrology, religion, omens,
witchcraft, prophecies, etc., that contradicts natural science.” https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Superstition
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