Abstract

In this dissertation, three of the leading transpersonal psychological theories are examined and compared, both with each other and with a fourth, strictly ontological model. Using the lattermost, an attempt is made to reconcile the developmental understandings of the first three theories by assuming a common underlying ontology. In the course of the comparison, some important deficiencies in the theories of Washburn and Wilber are revealed. Washburn's involve insufficient delineation of metaphysical elements, and Wilber's involve some errors of interpretation regarding the teachings of Sant Mat, and an errant understanding of the definition of "consciousness" in his notion of "retro-Romanticism". The author concludes that, while a strictly ontological unanimity is unproblematic, a similar degree of developmental consistency is not forthcoming. The dissertation ends with a few recommendations for further research directions in transpersonal theory, primarily involving the nature of the proposed interaction between physical and superphysical levels of matter-energy and consciousness