Nousology: Development of a Psychological Framework on the Basis of Orthodox Christian Anthropology

Abstract

This dissertation developed a psychological framework based on Orthodox Christian anthropology, addressing the disconnect between the worldview of modern psychology and Orthodox Christian faith. Employing a hermeneutic methodology rooted in Orthodox interpretive principles, this research translated essential anthropological concepts into a psychological approach. This approach centered on the Orthodox understanding that human health depends on union with God through the soul’s highest faculty, the purified and healed nous. The study examined three spiritual states of a person: in health, in illness, and in healing, each corresponding to a specific way the nous moves when performing its functions, spirally in natural health, direct in illness, and circular in ideal (supra-natural) health. The path of human existence in the Orthodox view is spiritual therapy that leads to theosis, the salvific state of union with God. The research demonstrated the interconnectedness of psychological and spiritual dimensions within the unified soul, explored the etiologies of psychopathologies, and formulated an Orthodox-informed approach to treatment. Through this exploration, this research proposed a framework for clinical psychology named nousology, which traces the movements of the nous in its psychological manifestations.