ISBN: 145358059X

History and psychology indicate that people have inherent needs for stimulation and challenge, meaning and goals, social support, moral authority, explanation of existence, and the possib… Mehr…

History and psychology indicate that people have inherent needs for stimulation and challenge, meaning and goals, social support, moral authority, explanation of existence, and the possibility of transcendence. Whether these needs result from physical evolution or intelligent design, they produce a concern about ultimate cause, meaning, and purpose for existence known as the "ontological imperative." Since understanding ultimate concerns is beyond physical science, elusive, and mysterious, people tend to attribute explanation to a metaphysical realm resulting in spirituality. Mountains symbolize obstacles in meeting the needs, and experiences in climbing mountains provide a vehicle both actually and figuratively for exploring associated mechanisms and impacts. Pursuit of the ontological imperative stimulates the attitude of spirituality that becomes conceptualized into personal religious systems forming beliefs that can be shared with others. Shared religions acquire dogma, structure, ritual, faith, and worship that then become institutional religions. As science develops, physical explanations supplant metaphysical explanations that many times conflict with religion. Faith in established belief competes with science producing a "great dilemma." A "great paradox" is that both are needed despite the conflict. The first chapter relates a personal experience climbing Mount Fuji that nearly ended in disaster, with the question of why people do such things. Chapter 2 is a brief su consciousness and thought,health fitness and dieting,motivational,occult,personality,philosophy,politics and social sciences,psychology and counseling,religion and spirituality,self-help Occult, Xlibris Corporation LLC<