that it is the experience of positive emotions that deserves to be called spiritual. A spiritual person is someone who is capable of experiencing joy in play, forgiveness after having been wronged, compassion with others who have been derailed, awe when in communion with others or the splendor of nature.

If we must retain the concept of spirituality (because it is so darn popular) then Vaillant's conceptualization of positive emotions is a useful framework. It is a framework with crisp definitions and researchable notions at the behavioral, neuropsychological, and experiential level.

Compare Vaillant's concept of spirituality with what the United States Army is now using on her soldiers. In the January issue of the American Psychologist, Drs. Pargament and Sweeney set forth a view of spirituality that they say is "an innovative approach to a vital aspect of human development" (p. 58).

Before I go on, please note that the whole issue of the magazine is dedicated to "Comprehensive soldier fitness." It opens with "A vision for psychological resilience in the U. S. Army" as seen by General George Casey, Chief of Staff, and continues with a paper on "Building resilience," co-authored by Mr. Positive Psychology, Martin Seligman. The third paper gives an overview of "The GAT" (Global Assessment Tool), co-authored by Seligman's aide-de-camp Chris Peterson. The remaining papers deal with different aspects of fitness, and that's where Pargament and Sweeney come in.

In the following, I (JK) raise questions about their project and I quote them (P & S = Pargament & Sweeney) for the answers. If you're worried that the quotes are taken out of context, please read the article.

JK: What is your definition of spirituality?

P & S: "Spirituality is defined in the human sense as the journey people take to discover and realize their essential selves and higher order aspirations."

JK: In the human sense?

P & S: "We define spirit as the essential core of the individual, the deepest part of the self and one's evolving human essence."

JK: How do you know that there is a "deepest part?" What if the self does not support a spatial metaphor? The noted literary psychologist Luke "The Dice Man" Rhinehart, for example, didn't think so. What do you think the spirit is like?

P & S: "Scholars often ascribe a number of sacred qualities to "spirit"."

JK: That sounds theological and I noticed that you cited Rudolf Otto (1917) who held that "Das Heilige" (The Holy) is irrational.

P & S: "Here, we are speaking about spirit, spirituality, and spiritual fitness in the human rather than the theological sense."

JK: Again with the human sense, but what is sacred in a sense that is not religious or theological?

P & S: ". . ."

JK: Ok, let me try this: What is it that spiritual seekers do when they seek in a non-theological way?

P & S: "People can take any variety of pathways in the effort to develop the human spirit. Nature, music, exercise, loving relationships, scientific exploration, religion, work, art, philosophy."

JK: Thank you for including scientific exploration. Did you notice that you said "religion?" Is there any activity that can not count as a spiritual quest? Do you accept all behavior as spiritual?

P & S: "As long as people engage in these various means with the intent to enhance their search to discover and realize their essential selves."

JK: I see. You are saying that a behavior itself is insufficient for spirituality. What matters is that people intend to find something that they cannot yet define or describe. How will they know that they're making progress?

P & S: "In the tradition of William James, however, it is possible to evaluate human spiritual fitness on the basis of how well it works."

JK: How do you know if *it* works and that *it* is the cause of the good outcomes?

P & S: "On the basis of these pragmatic criteria, we define spiritual fitness in terms of the capacity to identify one's core self and what provides life a sense of purpose and direction."

JK: Wait. I thought you said that spiritual people are searching for their core self. Now they have identified it? What if I told a story about my personal essence. Would I be deemed spiritually fit even if I didn't listen to music or did any of the other things on your non-exhaustive list? If you don't grant me spiritual fitness because of the story I tell about myself, how else would you know that I'm fit?

P & S: "Military historians and leaders, throughout time, have appreciated the critical role that the human spirit plays in propelling combatants toward victory during battles."

JK: Sure, a good fighting spirit is an asset in combat, and I see how the Army is interested in this sort of spirit. But aren't we moving away from the questing person? To prevail in battle, do you need to be searching for the innermost core of your personal essence?

P & S: "The U.S. Army has embedded a Warrior Ethos into its culture to foster the development of the values, attitudes, and beliefs that lead to a strong, resilient, and winning spirit in its members."

JK: These values are the values of each individual soldier's core self, right?

P & S: "The Army encourages all personnel to live by and internalize its core values: loyalty, duty, respect, selfless service, honor, integrity, and personal courage (U.S. Department of the Army, 2006b, p. 2-2 [sic?])."

JK: I guess that's a "No." You have deftly moved from the individual's discovery of his or her core self to the internalization of the values provided by the Army. Remember Freud's (1921) Group psychology and the analysis of the ego? Freud argued that crowds become psychological groups only when they identify with the leader and the values the leader stands for. To Freud, the Army and the Catholic Church were the best examples of psychological groups, with the general and the Pope being the respective leaders. Gentlemen, Freud was 90 years ahead of you, and you don't even cite him.

P & S: ". . ."

JK: So what happened to personal growth, or is it all given up for the group?

P & S: "The Army has adopted a conceptualization of the human spirit created by Sweeney et al. (2007). This model focuses on several interrelated psychological structures and processes that facilitate the growth of the individual's spirit: spiritual core, self-awareness, sense of agency, self-regulation, self-motivation, and social awareness."