Faculty Profile: Eugene Taylor

Oct. 1, 2011 Taylor will present "Carl Jung and Popular American Psycho-spiritual Consciousness, at a conference on Jung and the American Psyche, sponsored by the Jungian Psychoanalytic Association in New York City.

PhD in the History and Philosophy of Psychology, University Professors Program, Boston University, 1992

Resident Graduate, Harvard Divinity School, Class of ’79

MA in General/Experimental Psychology with a minor in Asian Studies, Southern Methodist University, 1973

BA in Psychology with a minor in Asian Studies, Southern Methodist University, 1969

Taylor organized a symposium at the January 2011 RC on "The New Existential-Humanistic Psychology" at Saybrook, which drew a crowd of faculty and students. Presenters included, Tom Greening, Kirk Schneider, Louis Hoffman, Orah Krug, Ed Mendelowitz, and Eugene Taylor. In April 2011 these Saybrook Faculty involved in the New Existential-Humanistic Psychology at Saybrook presented at the annual meeting of the Society for Humanistic Psychology in Chicago and were given a room that seated 45 people. One hundred and ten people showed up and the venue had to be moved to a bigger room. The Society for Humanistic Psychology then sponsored these same Saybrook Faculty to do a panel at the annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, but the Program Committee cut out two of the speakers, leaving five left, shortened the symposium from  two hours to one, and scheduled the event for the last hour of the last day of the conference, when the book exhibits and the Hospitality Suites had all closed. A crowd of just five people was expected. Eighty showed up. Taylor presented on "The First Articulation of an Existential-Humanistic Psychology of Spiritual Self-realization."

     A few days earlier at the same Convention, Taylor also received from The Society for Humanistic Psychology the Abraham Maslow Award for "Contributions to the Farther Reaches of the Human Spirit."  His acceptance speech was on "Why Self-Knowledge is a Legitimate Method in Experimental Psychology."

He says:

"I continue to work as a Board member of the Philemon Foundation, which is bringing out the 35,000 unpublished letters in Jung's correspondence and his complete works in 50 volumes. I continue also to present my work internationally on the  American philosopher-psychologist William James."

In addition, Taylor is involved with Susan Gordon, Brent Robbins, Robert McInerny, and Olga Louchakova they have collectively written a book on Neurophenomenology for Psychologists. They continue in search of a publisher. Stay tuned.

Also, representing the Concentration in Humanistic and Transpersonal Psychology at Saybrook, Taylor traveled to Atlanta on Sept. 9 at the invitation of the US Army to participate in the installation of Saybrook Alumna Kafia "Belle" Star, who was elevated to the rank of Brigadier- General.

Taylor, E. I., Buddhism and Western psychology: A biographical memoir. In S. Segal (ed). Psychology Encounters Buddhism. Albany SUNY Press. 2003.

Taylor, E. I., Introduction: Section 1, to the One Hundredth Anniversary Commemorative Edition of William James’s Varieties of Religious Experience. London: Routledge. 2002.

Taylor, E. I. William James and depth psychology. Journal of Consciousness Studies, Special issue commemorating James’s Varieties of Religious Experience. 9:9-10, 11-36. 2002.

Taylor, E. I. Metaphysics and Consciousness in The Varieties of Religious Experience: Origins, meaning, and effects. Keynote address. In Charrette, J. and Sprigge, R. (eds). Centenary Conference on William James and The Varieties of Religious Experience. Proceedings. University of Edinburgh. July 4-8, 2002. London: Taylor and Francis.

Taylor, E.I. Have we engaged in a colossal misreading of James’s Varieties? Streams of William James. Newsletter/journal of the William James Society, 2003.

Taylor, E. I., The New Jung Scholarship. Special Jung issue of Psychoanalytic Review, ed. by Andrew Samuels, August, 1996, 83:4, 547-568.

Taylor, E. I. The Interior Landscape: William James and George Inness on Art from a Swedenborgian Point of View, Archives of American Art Journal (Smithsonian Institution), 1997. 1&2, 2-10.

Taylor, E. I. Jung before Freud, not Freud before Jung: Jung's Influence in American Psychotherapeutic Circles before 1909. Journal of Analytical Psychology, January, 1998, 43:1, 97-114.

Five Humanistic Revolutions in American Psychology," Invited address for the History Division of the American Psychological Association, 1995

"Was there a Boston "School" of Psychotherapy?" Fellows Address for the History Division of the American Psychological Association, 2000.

"Shamanism and the American Psychotherapeutic Counter Culture." Invited paper for a conference on "Shamanism, Expanded Definitions and Directions." Center for the Study of Wold Religions, Harvard University, 1999.

"A Historical Sketch of Mind/Body Medicine," Opening keynote address for Herbert Bensons’ conference on Science and Mind/Body Medicine, Harvard Medical School Dept.of Continuing Education, 2000, 2001.

"Metaphysics and Consciousness in The Varieties: Origins, meaning, and effects." Keynote lecture for the "International Interdisciplinary Centenary Conference on William James and The Varieties of Religious Experience," University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh , Scotland, July 5, 2002.

"Why Wundt's Laboratory was not Founded Until 1950: The hypothesis of the three streams." Wallace A. Russell Memorial Lecture for Division 26, History of Psychology, Annual meeting of the American Psychological Association, Toronto, Canada, Aug. 9, 2003.

Mainly historical investigation at the interface of psychology, psychiatry, religion, and American studies. I am also interested in Asian influences in the West, Westerners’ interpretations of Asian cultures, and how Asian cultures uniquely view themselves. My vision at the moment is to articulate an intuitive psychology of character formation significant enough to redefine the purview of western psychology.

Archival methods: My current field of expertise in psychology is the archival and historical method. My approach is based on historical methods from comparative religions, which I have applied to archival investigation in the history of American psychology and psychiatry. I am currently a member of the History of Science Society, the American Association for the History of Medicine, The American Academy of Religion, and a Fellow in the History Division of the American Psychological Association as well as the Society for General Psychology.

Counseling for self-realization

Advising on course requirements

Facilitating student’s completion at Saybrook via creative means

Helping students to get published

Research Expertise Rating Guide:

1. studied in a class or have read intensively on my own
2. special training in the form of a workshop or equivalent
3. taught a class in, or supervised research using this method (research practicum, on a dissertation or master's committee
4. used in research myself
5. published or presented at conferences my research using this method

Methods Traditionally Considered As Quantitative (But Need Not Be)

Methods That Could Use Quantitative Or Qualitative Methods

Methods Primarily Associated With Qualitative Research (But May Also Use Quantitative)

Types of Analysis