Aesthetic, Spiritual, and Flow Experiences: Contrasts and Educational Implications

• In Event: Curriculum and Communication: Dewey’s Influence on Our Professional Lives

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to cross-examine Dewey’s ideas on spiritual and aesthetic experiences, and Csikszentmihalyi’s theory of a flow experience. To achieve this end, we offer an analytic framework drawn from the temporal nature of experience: a beginning (trigger), middle (characterization) and end (import). Two other aspects are also explored: "community" is viewed as encapsulating the entire experience, while "negative examples" present an alternative way of observing the experiences. In using this framework, we not only more deeply examine these ideas of experience, but we also add our original contribution of how what we learn from the intersection of these three important theories of experience might inform the contemporary classroom, modern curriculum, and 21st century policy.

Authors

• Bruce Uhrmacher, University of Denver

• Bradley M. Conrad, Capital University

• Christy M. Moroye, University of Northern Colorado