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The Nature of Epiphanic Experience

School of Psychology and Therapeutic Studies, Roehampton University, London

The purpose of this inquiry is to investigate positive change and transformation that is sudden and abrupt, as defined by the term epiphany. Due to the disparate nature of the epiphanic literature, a thorough and wide-ranging review was undertaken, producing a set of six core characteristics, which were tested and interpreted from a self-identity existential perspective. A narrative inquiry approach to methodology was employed to collect and analyze participants' epiphanies, from which three main interpretations were drawn. Firstly, the participants' life-stories illustrate that an epiphany is a valid experience as indicated by support for the set of six core characteristics developed from the literature. Secondly, an epiphany is a profound illumination of the inauthentic and authentic modes of self-identity, which provide the impetus for a more honest and courageous encounter with the conditions of existence. Lastly, an epiphany is an intentional experience made significant and enduring by the ascription of personal meaning.

Key Words: epiphany • self-identity • existential philosophy and psychology • narrative inquiry • authenticity

Journal of Humanistic Psychology, Vol. 48, No. 1, 89-115 (2008)
DOI: 10.1177/0022167807311878


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