Toward empirical research on “spirituality” that makes use of an inherent sense of vitality

From the perspectives of Toshihiko Izutsu's segmentation theory, animism, and creative regression

Abstract

The idea that spiritual experience is inherently personal and is a form of subjective experience has been considered a challenge in scientific research. However, it is the personal experience that constitutes the essence of one’s subjective experience and that can be connected to universality through contemplating its subjectivity. Exploring one’s subjectivity from such a stance can provide a way to transcend individuality and access a universal horizon. Furthermore, discussing spirituality from this perspective may enable the subjective experience of spirituality to be reconsidered as a universal phenomenon available to all. In this paper, w e will develop an interdisciplinary perspective on spirituality from this standpoint. “Spirituality” in this context refers to the dynamism of encountering a universal view through exploring one’s inner experiences. Such an idea also corresponds to the concept of “sur-personal anthropology” which assumes the transcendence of an individual as a result of its markedly personal nature. We will examine “spirituality” from the perspective of Toshihiko Izutsu's theory on segmentation. It is an idea that describes the structure of the process of attaining “emptiness,” a key concept in Eastern philosophy. Furthermore, by focusing on the concepts of “animism” in cultural anthropology and “creative regression” in psychology, an attempt will be made to uncover the nature of “spirituality” that is ubiquitous and transcends multiple academic fields. By accepting one’s personal experience of “spirituality” as a series of dynamic processes, we could promisingly develop scientific investigations of spirituality from various academic fields without compromising its inherent vitality.