{"id":{"repo_id":"wilfrid-laurier","oai_identifier":"oai:scholars.wlu.ca:etd-1112"},"canonical_url":"https://search.dev.ndltd.org/etd/wilfrid-laurier/oai:scholars.wlu.ca:etd-1112","repository":{"repo_id":"wilfrid-laurier","name":"Wilfrid Laurier University","base_url":"https://scholars.wlu.ca/do/oai/"},"display":{"title":"Otto Rank's theory of cultural transition","abstract":"The thesis has two purposes. The first is to provide a biographical and theoretical introduction to Otto Rank. The second is to discuss a specific theme in Rank’s writings, namely his understanding of culture and cultural transition, with specific reference to what he deemed the transition from religion to psychology. The study begins with a short biography. It then proceeds to detail aspects of Rank’s theories that are important for an understanding of his theory of cultural transition. A conclusion offers speculations concerning the relevance of Rank’s theories for modern scholarship. The investigation of culture is a particularly complex and difficult task. Cultural manifestations are multifarious and span a time of many millennia. Through his psychological theory of the will, Rank attempted a novel interpretation of cultural phenomena. His emphasis on the psychological function of cultural expression paved the way for an understanding of continuity between even the most disparate culture forms. As a derivative of this understanding, Rank posited that the decline of traditional religion is to be explained as a natural product of increasing consciousness, and that this decline is paralleled by the rise of psychology as a new cultural voice.","abstract_html":"The thesis has two purposes. The first is to provide a biographical and theoretical introduction to Otto Rank. The second is to discuss a specific theme in Rank’s writings, namely his understanding of culture and cultural transition, with specific reference to what he deemed the transition from religion to psychology. The study begins with a short biography. It then proceeds to detail aspects of Rank’s theories that are important for an understanding of his theory of cultural transition. A conclusion offers speculations concerning the relevance of Rank’s theories for modern scholarship. The investigation of culture is a particularly complex and difficult task. Cultural manifestations are multifarious and span a time of many millennia. Through his psychological theory of the will, Rank attempted a novel interpretation of cultural phenomena. His emphasis on the psychological function of cultural expression paved the way for an understanding of continuity between even the most disparate culture forms. As a derivative of this understanding, Rank posited that the decline of traditional religion is to be explained as a natural product of increasing consciousness, and that this decline is paralleled by the rise of psychology as a new cultural voice.","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Clearwater, Thomas James"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Arts (MA)","degree_level":null,"degree_discipline":"Religion & Culture / Religious Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["Christopher Ross"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1991,"date_issued":"1991-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"1991-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-08-21T16:51:03Z","subjects":["Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion"],"languages":[],"rights":[],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/113","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"source_record":{"url":"https://scholars.wlu.ca/do/oai/?verb=GetRecord&metadataPrefix=oai_etdms&identifier=oai%3Ascholars.wlu.ca%3Aetd-1112","prefix":"oai_etdms"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["Christopher Ross"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Clearwater, Thomas James"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"dc:date","label":"Dc Date","values":["1991-01-01T08:00:00Z"]},{"key":"dc:type","label":"Dc Type","values":["Thesis"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Religion & Culture / Religious Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Arts (MA)"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/113","https://scholars.wlu.ca/context/etd/article/1112/viewcontent/MM65134.PDF"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description","label":"Description","values":["The thesis has two purposes. The first is to provide a biographical and theoretical introduction to Otto Rank. The second is to discuss a specific theme in Rank’s writings, namely his understanding of culture and cultural transition, with specific reference to what he deemed the transition from religion to psychology. The study begins with a short biography. It then proceeds to detail aspects of Rank’s theories that are important for an understanding of his theory of cultural transition. A conclusion offers speculations concerning the relevance of Rank’s theories for modern scholarship. The investigation of culture is a particularly complex and difficult task. Cultural manifestations are multifarious and span a time of many millennia. Through his psychological theory of the will, Rank attempted a novel interpretation of cultural phenomena. His emphasis on the psychological function of cultural expression paved the way for an understanding of continuity between even the most disparate culture forms. As a derivative of this understanding, Rank posited that the decline of traditional religion is to be explained as a natural product of increasing consciousness, and that this decline is paralleled by the rise of psychology as a new cultural voice."]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Otto Rank's theory of cultural transition"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["Christopher Ross"],"dc:creator":["Clearwater, Thomas James"],"dc:date":["1991-01-01T08:00:00Z"],"dc:description":["The thesis has two purposes. The first is to provide a biographical and theoretical introduction to Otto Rank. The second is to discuss a specific theme in Rank’s writings, namely his understanding of culture and cultural transition, with specific reference to what he deemed the transition from religion to psychology. The study begins with a short biography. It then proceeds to detail aspects of Rank’s theories that are important for an understanding of his theory of cultural transition. A conclusion offers speculations concerning the relevance of Rank’s theories for modern scholarship. The investigation of culture is a particularly complex and difficult task. Cultural manifestations are multifarious and span a time of many millennia. Through his psychological theory of the will, Rank attempted a novel interpretation of cultural phenomena. His emphasis on the psychological function of cultural expression paved the way for an understanding of continuity between even the most disparate culture forms. As a derivative of this understanding, Rank posited that the decline of traditional religion is to be explained as a natural product of increasing consciousness, and that this decline is paralleled by the rise of psychology as a new cultural voice."],"dc:identifier":["https://scholars.wlu.ca/etd/113","https://scholars.wlu.ca/context/etd/article/1112/viewcontent/MM65134.PDF"],"dc:subject":["Religious Thought, Theology and Philosophy of Religion"],"dc:title":["Otto Rank's theory of cultural transition"],"dc:type":["Thesis"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Religion & Culture / Religious Studies"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Arts (MA)"]},"updated_at":"2026-08-21T16:51:03Z"}