numinous experiences

(noun)

Numinous is is an English adjective describing the power or presence of a divinity. The numinous experience has both a quality of tremendum, which is the tendency to invoke fear and trembling, and a quality of fascinans, the tendency to attract, fascinate and compel. The numinous experience also has a personal quality to it, in that the person feels to be in communion with a wholly other. The numinous experience can lead in different cases to belief in deities, the supernatural, the sacred, the holy, and/or the transcendent.

Related Terms

Examples of numinous experiences in the following topics:

  • Religious Experience

    • In his book, The Idea of the Holy, he identified this and called it the "numinous" experience.
    • For an experience to be numinous, in Otto's opinion, it needed to involve two things.
    • According to Otto, a numinous experience also has a personal quality to it, because individuals typically feel that they are opening some unique communication chain with the divine.
    • Characteristic of the shaman, the goal of this type of experience is to leave one's body and experience transcendental realities.
    • Mystical experiences are in many ways the opposite of numinous experiences.

  • The Milgram Experiment: The Power of Authority

    • However, Milgram's experiments relate to any question of obedience and authority.
    • The Milgram experiment—based on obedience to authority figures—was a series of notable social psychology experiments conducted by Yale University psychologist Stanley Milgram in the 1960s.
    • Some test subjects paused at 135 volts and began to question the purpose of the experiment.
    • In Milgram's first set of experiments, 65 percent (26 of 40) of experiment participants administered the experiment's final massive 450-volt shock, though many were very uncomfortable doing so.
    • At some point, every participant paused and questioned the experiment, some saying they would refund the money they were paid for participating in the experiment.

  • Experiments

    • In order to prove or disprove the hypothesis, scientists must perform experiments.
    • The experiment is a controlled test designed specifically to prove or disprove the hypothesis .
    • Before undertaking the experiment, researchers must attempt to identify everything that might influence the results of an experiment and do their best to neutralize the effects of everything except the topic of study.
    • Of course, an experiment is not an absolute requirement.
    • An experiment is a controlled test designed specifically to prove or disprove a hypothesis.

  • Protecting Research Subjects

    • One of the most infamous was the Stanford prison experiment.
    • Two of the prisoners quit the experiment early and the entire experiment was abruptly stopped after only six days.
    • The experiment was criticized as being unethical and unscientific.
    • Two of the prisoners quit the experiment early and the entire experiment was abruptly stopped after only six days.
    • The experiment was criticized as being unethical and unscientific.

  • Workplace

    • Employees with certain personality traits and experiences adjust to an organization more quickly.
    • These traits are a proactive personality, the "Big Five" traits, curiosity and greater experience levels.
    • Specifically, new employees who are extraverted or particularly open to experience are more likely to seek out information, feedback, acceptance and relationships with co-workers.
    • Employee experience levels also affect the onboarding process.
    • This is because seasoned employees can draw from past experiences to help them adjust to their new work settings.

  • Prejudice, Bias, and Discrimination

    • Alternatively, prejudice can refer to the formation of a judgment without direct or actual experience.
    • Technically, prejudice should be differentiated from viewpoints accumulated through direct life experience.
    • If the assertion is made that no amount of experience ever entitles a person to a viewpoint then this precipitates a logical absurdity since anyone who opposes strongly-held views must, by their own definition, also be prejudiced, invalidating their own proposition on the grounds of... prejudice.
    • Post-judgments or beliefs and viewpoints derived from experience that maintain unfair or stereotypical perspectives on a group of people is more accurately referred to as bias.
    • Humans express more empathy when members of their own racial group experience pain compared to when individuals of other racial groups experience pain.

  • Aging and Race

    • Individuals with different racial backgrounds tend to have different experiences with old age.
    • Individuals of different racial backgrounds experience aging—and the health issues associated with it—differently .
    • Before turning to the medical concerns that accompany aging, one should note that elders of different racial backgrounds also experience different frequencies of elder abuse.

  • The Asch Experiment: The Power of Peer Pressure

    • The Asch conformity experiments were a series of studies conducted in the 1950s that demonstrated the power of conformity in groups.
    • One can see examples of the Asch experiment in everyday life.
    • The original experiment was conducted with 123 male participants.
    • One of the pairs of cards used in the experiment.
    • Explain how the Asch experiment sought to measure conformity in groups

  • Aging is Both Biological and Sociological

    • Aging (sometimes spelled as ageing) is both a biological and sociological process wherein human beings experience and accomplish stages of biological and social maturation.
    • Aging may be seen as a relatively objective biological process whereby one becomes older and experiences varied biological developments.
    • This person will likely experience a biological development characterized by the addition of years from birth and by biological understandings of the time (e.g., a being born in 1980 would have a life expectancy, medical and legal definition, and contextual series of economic, educational, and other possibilities based upon birth at this time).
    • However, this child born in the United States in 1980 will experience social development characterized by many factors.

  • Quantitative and Qualitative

    • Finally, quantitative sociologists generally attempt to utilize mathematical realities (e.g., existing assumptions and rules embedded within statistical practices) to make sense of natural (e.g., the experience of the actual worlds of people) realities.
    • Rather than attempting to measure or quantify reality via mathematical rules, qualitative sociologists explore variation in the natural world people may see, touch, and experience during their lives.
    • As such, these methods are primarily used to (a) develop a deeper understanding of a particular phenomenon, (b) explore the accuracy or inaccuracy of mathematical models in the world people experience, (c) critique and question the existing assumptions and beliefs of both scientists and other social beings, and (d) refine measurements and controls used by quantitative scientists via insights gleaned from the experiences of actual people.
    • While qualitative methods may be used to propose or explore relationships between variables, these studies typically focus on explicating the realities people experience that lie at the heart or foundation of such relationships rather than focusing on the relationships themselves.
    • In fact, it is useful to note that many of the major advancements in social science have emerged in response to the combination of quantitative and qualitative techniques that collectively created a more systematic picture of probable and actual social conditions and experiences.