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Christine Wamsler

Christine Wamsler

Professor, Docent, appointed Excellent Teaching Practitioner (ETP)

Christine Wamsler

An interdisciplinary model to foster existential resilience and transformation

Author

  • Ingela Steij Stålbrand
  • Ive Brissman
  • Lovisa Nyman
  • Erik Sidenvall
  • Mattias Tranberg
  • Annika Wallin
  • Christine Wamsler
  • Juliet Jacobsen

Summary, in English

Existential threats, including threats to the self, society, and the planet, are present throughout the lifespan and form a core element of the human experience. To consolidate knowledge and constructs about how people can adequately respond to existential threats, we convened an interdisciplinary working group, which consisted of eight researchers from the fields of psychology, systemic theology, practical theology, religious studies, cognitive science, palliative care, and sustainability science. The group met one day per week for 9 months to engage in an interactive co-creative process of data collection and analyses, discussion, iterative presentations, and writing. The process resulted in the development of an interdisciplinary model that pulls together the key themes of how people, societies, and systems can foster existential resilience and transformation. The model consists of three axes across which we (individuals, groups, systems) have to strengthen or stretch our “inner muscles”: connectedness, agency, and time. All axes contribute to the development of our inner capacities and, ultimately, meaning and purpose, which are crucial to support resilience and transformation. Our interdisciplinary overarching model provides a common conceptualization for existential resilience and transformation that can bridge existing research to support individual, collective, and large-scale system-change work. Its relevance and potential implementation are illustrated and presented from different disciplinary angles.

Department/s

  • Department of Psychology
  • LU Profile Area: Proactive Ageing
  • History of Religions
  • History of Religions and Religious Behavioural Science
  • Systematic Theology
  • LU Profile Area: Human rights
  • Studies in Faith and World Views
  • Practical Theology
  • Church and Mission Studies
  • The Institute for Palliative Care
  • Centre for Retail Research at Lund University
  • LU Profile Area: Natural and Artificial Cognition
  • Cognitive Science
  • LU Profile Area: Nature-based future solutions
  • LUCSUS (Lund University Centre for Sustainability Studies)
  • Medical oncology

Publishing year

2025

Language

English

Publication/Series

Challenges

Volume

16

Issue

1

Document type

Article

Publisher

MDPI AG

Topic

  • Other Social Sciences

Keywords

  • Connectedness
  • Agency
  • Meaning
  • Hope
  • Long-term orientation
  • Personal development
  • Paradigms
  • Values
  • Transformative capacity
  • Sustainabiliity
  • Adaptation
  • Inner development goals
  • Inner development
  • Inner growth
  • Palliative care
  • time
  • SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
  • SDG 11 - Sustainable Cities and Communities

Status

Published

Project

  • Relentless Existential Threat - Theme, Pufendorf IAS
  • The Contemplative Sustainable Futures Program

Research group

  • The Institute for Palliative Care

ISBN/ISSN/Other

  • ISSN: 2078-1547