The Past in the “Here and Now”
I received the incentive award from the Japanese Association for Humanistic Psychology in 2021. The following year, I gave a lecture commemorating the award in Japanese. I have now prepared the additional English title and abstract of the lecture.
Title
Hideo Tanaka (2022, September). The Past in the “Here and Now”. (The incentive award commemorative lecture is in Japanese.) Presented at the 41st Conference of the Japanese Association for Humanistic Psychology.
Abstract
The “here and now” is one of humanistic psychology’s traditional and central themes. However, there is currently no consensus among researchers and practitioners of humanistic psychology as to what is meant by the term “here and now.” In this presentation, based on the results of a research study by Eugene Gendlin and others (Gendlin et al., 1960) and his philosophical term “retroactive past” (Gendlin, 1991), I will examine the past as it is reinterpreted in terms of the “here and now.” Based on this examination, the relationship between the present and the past in the writings of Carl Rogers and Fritz Perls (Rogers, 1970; Perls, 1973) will be considered. I hope this consideration will provide an opportunity to discuss the importance of the “here and now” in humanistic psychology.
Some quotes & slides
Current Status and Issues
Early Research Study: How the Clients Talk
Later Philosophical Discussion: Two Pasts
Previous Study on “Retroactive Past”
Experience vs. Experiencing
Matrix
Reinterpretation of Rogers
Reinterpretation of Perls
Reorienting the “Here and Now”
References
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Tanaka, H. (2016). Process variables in Gendlin’s psychotherapy research [in Japanese]. Kandai Psychological Reports (Graduate School of Psychology, Kansai University), 16, 105-11.