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Spiritual Care as a response to an exaptation: how evolutionary psychology informs the debate.

KEVERN, Peter (2016) Spiritual Care as a response to an exaptation: how evolutionary psychology informs the debate. Nursing Philosophy. ISSN 1466-769X (In Press)

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Abstract or description

This paper has its origins in a 2013 proposal by the author, that the concept of ‘spiritual care’ in clinical settings might fruitfully be grounded in the findings of the Cognitive Science of Religion (CSR). In a recent paper, John Paley rejects the central arguments and asserts his conviction that a model for ‘spiritual care’ cannot be derived from the insights of evolutionary psychology. In the present paper the author employs a modified form of Fichtean dialectic to examine the contrasting positions and, via a process of analysis and synthesis, identify the key areas for further exploration and research. He concludes, first, that CSR in itself does not provide a sufficient theoretical justification for the notion and practice of ‘spiritual care’; secondly, that any attempt to develop a general theory of spiritual care would need to pay closer attention to the role of historically-situated religious communities; and finally, that these objections nevertheless do not amount to an argument against the attempt to provide spiritual care as part of person-centred care. Instead, a revised model is proposed which has the potential to provide testable predictions in this field.

Item Type: Article
Uncontrolled Keywords: Spiritual Care; Spirituality; Religion; Evolutionary Psychology; Cognitive Science of Religion
Faculty: Previous Faculty of Health Sciences > Social Work, Allied and Public Health
Depositing User: Peter KEVERN
Date Deposited: 17 May 2016 08:33
Last Modified: 24 Feb 2023 13:43
URI: https://eprints.staffs.ac.uk/id/eprint/2330

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