ABSTRACT
In this chapter I argue that the secular nature of efforts to establish a philosophical basis for relational psychoanalysis jeopardizes the field’s commitment to pluralism. Starting with an examination of the perspectivism of Donna Orange, I move on to consider the hermeneutic approach offered by Donnel Stern. I argue that the theoretical trajectory of both figures’ work points towards an emerging “participatory” turn in psychoanalysis. Drawing from corresponding developments in transpersonal theory, I examine the idea that spiritual experiences can be conceptualized as participatory events such that the ontology of spiritual/religious truth can be considered inherently pluralistic. In abstaining from secularizing the experience of meaning, I suggest that this philosophical outlook offers a more receptive philosophical basis from which to approach clinical work.
