Psychology and Christianity: A goal-Model of the Person
Psychology and Christianity: A goal-Model of the Person
seminar from group Science, Reason and Faith.
Paul C. Vitz. Pamplona, September 17, 2019.
Extract from the book A catholic christian goal-model of the person
Paul C. Vitz, Ph.D., is Senior Scholar and Professor at the Institute for the Psychological Sciences, Divine Mercy University. He is a co-founder of DMU and has been an active part of it since its founding in 1999. He received his Ph.D. from Stanford University where he majored in personality theory and experimental cognitive psychology. For many years he was Professor of Psychology at New York University, where he is now Professor Emeritus. He also was a professor at the John Paul II Institute for Marriage and Family, in Washington, D.C. from 1991 to 2001.
His primary areas of interest and research are: personality theory and its integration with Catholic theology and philosophy; the nature and historical origin of human consciousness; the importance of fathers for the family; how men and women are equal in dignity but different and complementary; the psychology of atheism; the psychology of the virtues; identity; hatred and forgiveness. He has recently returned to some of his early work in cognitive psychology, such as models of sequential pattern learning, and the study of perceptual images and their drawings.
He has published many articles, essays, chapters, videos, Op-Eds, etc. His books, with the first three translated into other languages, include: Faith of the Fatherless: The Psychology of Atheism 2nd Ed; Sigmund Freud's Christian Unconscious; Psychology as Religion: The Cult of Self-Worship, 2nd Ed; Censorship: Evidence of Bias in our Children's Textbooks; The Self: Beyond the Postmodern Crisis; Modern Art and Modern Science: The Parallel Analysis of Vision.
Abstract:
This seminar presents an integrated Catholic Christian goal-Model of the Person. The goal-Model is a framework that explicitly employs major theological and philosophical premises (foundational principles) and briefly identifies the basic corresponding psychological premises. The goal-Model proposes a view that is informed by Christian faith and by reason and the psychological sciences. During the talk, I will outline and organize the distinctive qualities of complex human nature and the dynamic human person. The intention is to produce a richer and truer understanding of the person for the mental health field that will enhance theory, research, and practice.