Advances in Language and Literary Studies - Philosophical-Psychological ‘s Recognition of Concept of Spirituality - Abstract

Oct 15, 2026

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The article examines how “spirituality” is recognized and defined within philosophical and psychological perspectives, focusing on meanings shaped across contemporary and intercultural writing. It surveys terminology and references from Western cultural-intellectual contexts, comparing dictionary and encyclopedia treatments with religious discourse and noting where the term is discussed or omitted. By clarifying conceptual ambiguity between English and Persian literature, it aims to support a shared understanding and reduce problems caused by unclear definitions while enabling further humanities research.

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Introduction

A Look at the Term “SPIRITUALITY” in the Western Cultural-Intellectual Paradigm

Advances in Language and Literary Studies ISSN: 2203-4714 [www.alls.aiac.org.au](www.alls.aiac.org.au) | Philosophical-Psychological ‘s Recognition of Concept of Spirituality
Maryam Solgi1, Maryam Safara2*
1&2 Women Research Center, Department of Psychology, Alzahra University, Tehran, Iran Corresponding Author: Maryam Safara, [E-mail: m.safara@alzahra.ac.ir](E-mail: m.safara@alzahra.ac.ir), [safara_maryam@yahoo.com](safara_maryam@yahoo.com) | | | --- | --- | | ARTICLE INFO | ABSTRACT
In many of the contemporary writings, the scholars have talked about spirituality as a constant | | Article history | | | Received: December 06, 2017 | pursuit of humanity throughout history. Throughout history, the search for spirituality has | | Accepted: March 04, 2018 | found numerous cultural interpretations, but its critical and comparative study in the global | | Published: April 30, 2018
Volume: 9 Issue: 2 | and intercultural context is an emerging phenomenon of the twentieth century.Although many contemporary dictionaries and encyclopedias refer to spiritualism, spiritual associations, and | | Advance access: March 2018 | spiritual experiences, or spiritual ways, they are not necessarily included an entry for spirituality in the true sense of the word.Some religions do not have a precise word for the term ‘spirituality’which derives from the Christian tradition, but nevertheless the notion of spirituality has become | | | | | Conflicts of interest: None | popular today and is now used both inside and outside the religions as well as in the inter-faith and | | Funding: None | secular fields. The tendencies that are common in contemporary times to spirituality emphasize | | | individuality and self-development and have been accompanied by a different understanding of human psychology. | | Key words:
Spirituality,
Spiritual, Human, | | | Transcendental Act.
Religion. | | INTRODUCTION Today, spirituality has become a keyword which indicates the search for meaning and direction, and in modern society, it is a lost phenomenon in the materialist world. It seems such that in the contemporary secular society, humanity seeks to reestablish spirituality as a lost paradise hidden from the material world. This process has been made easier by examining the many traditional works that widely exist in various religious traditions (Hinliss, 2003: 225) . In order to understand spirituality in a broad intercultural context, one must precisely understand what is the concept of spirituality? For this reason, in this essay, before the etymology and definition of spirituality, at first, the terminology of this term is discussed in the Christian tradition, in the cultural-intellectual paradigm ofthe West and in the Persian language and literature, and then the conceptual analysis of “spirituality”will be addressed, that is, what less has been discussed in the writings related to spirituality. The purpose of this article is the philosophical-psychological recognition of the concept of spirituality in English and Persian literature, in this way, by clarifying the concept of spirituality, the way to agree on the recognition of this concept is to prevent many of the problems caused by conceptual ambiguity in this issue and pave the way for further research in other disciplines of the humanities on this issue A LOOK AT THE TERM “SPIRITUALITY” IN THE WESTERN CULTURAL-INTELLECTUAL PARADIGM The term spirituality has been used very vaguely over the past few decades, and the origin of the use of this term in the European languages is entirely new, that is to say, in the last few centuries, the term was used for the first time in Catholic rhetoric. The Catholic Encyclopedia, published before the First World War, did not mention spirituality, while the new Catholic Encyclopedia, published in the 1970s, has eight entries on different aspects of this subject. In authoritative reference books, such as Oxford Dictionary and Webs

FAQs

What problem does the article address regarding “spirituality”?

It addresses conceptual ambiguity, arguing that unclear definitions cause many problems in how spirituality is understood across contexts.

How does the article approach understanding spirituality?

It proposes philosophical-psychological recognition of the concept by discussing terminology and conducting conceptual analysis in both English and Persian literary contexts.

Why does the article emphasize the Western cultural-intellectual paradigm?

It traces how the term “spirituality” has been used in European languages and how reference works treat (or fail to treat) the term independently.

Oct 15, 2026

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