Life, Death, & Psychology

In conversation with a psychology major at public university, I found out that students study numbers not narratives. Here’s what I mean. When I asked the student what their major focus of study in psychology was, she said, “We study data, polling, and how people feel.” I was a bit perplexed. I asked if they ever discussed the great questions of life that everyone asks, such as, "Who am I?" "Why am I here?" "What is my purpose in life?" "What is the source of my knowledge?!" "What is the standard for 'right' and 'wrong'?" She said she had not heard those questions in her psychology major. My eyes went wide in disbelief. These questions, along with others, are some of the most primary concerns for every human person. I asked one last question. “You said that in your classes your focus is on numbers, on data, on the assessment of quantitative analysis.” She shook her head up and down. “So, in psychology – the science of how humans think and behave – you don’t investigate qualitative, conversational research, or read the stories of human behavior, or consider the narratives of people’s lives, or ponder answers to basic concerns that everyone faces?” The look on the young student’s face said it all. She realized that what it meant to be human was being left out of her studies. She was considering scientific numbers without social narratives.

A Christian view of psychology begins with essential questions of reality, God, humanity, purpose, knowledge, and ethics. And it is my considered belief that the ultimate question, "What happens when I die?" drives the answers to all the other questions. The writer of Hebrews said it best. “It is appointed for a person to die once and after that comes judgment.” A Christian view of psychology begins with, “Where did I come from?” and ends with, “How should I prepare for death?”

For Truth in Two, this is Dr. Mark Eckel, personally seeking truth in psychology or wherever it’s found. [First published at MarkEckel.com]