Distinctions

The works by Professor Capriles have been reviewed in books on Ibero-American philosophy published in France, Spain and Venezuela, and in the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology (California, USA). Two of his works in English have been taken as sources for encyclopedia entries. He is also mentioned in a book on Tibetan Buddhism produced in France.(A) Reviews of his work, references in Encyclopedia entries, etc.(a) He in one of the three living Venezuela authors reviewed in Alain Guy’s La philosophie en Amérique Latine (1997, collection Que sais-je, Presses Universitaires de France #3273, p. 80. Spanish translation: La filosofía en América latina. Madrid: Acento Editorial, p. 63).(b) The works by Capriles published before 1996 were reviewed in greater detail in the second edition of Alain Guy’s Panorama de la philosophie ibéro-américaine (reference for the original publication lacking; Spanish translation: [2002], Panorama de la filosofía iberoamericana, pp. 189-190. Maracaibo: Universidad Católica Cecilio Acosta).(c) Capriles is mentioned in Cornu, Philippe (1998), Guide du Bouddhisme Tibétain (Paris: Les Guides Selène, Le Livre de Poche, p. 256).(d) In 2002 the Journal of Transpersonal Psychology (San Francisco, California, EE. UU., vol. 34, # 2, pp. 129-133) devoted to him the “Research Brief” published under the title, “Meet the Researcher: Elías Capriles.”(e) In the presentation of his paper, Beyond Mind II: Further Steps to a Metatranspersonal Philosophy and Psychology (which is now part of vol. II of his new book Beyond Being, Beyond Mind, Beyond History), Douglas A. MacDonald y Harris Friedman, Co-editors of the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies, wrote:

This volume of the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies starts with an article we consider extremely important, Beyond Mind II: Further Steps to a Meta-Transpersonal Philosophy and Psychology by Elías Capriles. This article lucidly challenges Wilber’s well-known ontogenetic holoarchy model, claiming it is based on a delusion and its complicated gradations are only gradations of delusion; this article also challenges other well-known transpersonal models, such as Washburn’s and Grof’s. Compellingly, it presents a strong case for an alternative view that could have major impact on transpersonal thought. Much longer than most Journal articles, it is included in its entirety to give justice to the powerful perspective it presents.
International Journal of Transpersonal Studies,
vol. 25, 2006,p. 2(f) In the Webpage of the 17th Transpersonal Conference (International Transpersonal Association [ITA]), he is listed among the main theorists of the New Paradigm on Consciousness, together with Stan Grof, Fritjof Capra, Jorge Ferrer, Harry Hunt and others. Cfr. the Webpage http://www.ita2010.com/About-the-Conference(g) With regard to his recent four-volume book, The Beyond Mind Papers, authorities of the transpersonal field have declared: Professor Capriles brings to his contribution to transpersonal psychology a formidable level of insight born of his intensive involvement with Buddhism. These volumes exemplify precisely the direction in which I for one would like to see transpersonal psychology grow: Capriles articulates profoundly innovative ideas about the nature of mind and transformational processes through a solid grasp of the insights from a specific religious tradition. It is rare indeed to find a writer who is able to comment on the works of key thinkers in transpersonal psychology from a position of such mastery. —Les Lancaster, Professor Emeritus of Transpersonal Psychology, Liverpool John Moores University, UK. Current President of the International Transpersonal Association. Collectively, these works display a breadth of content and complexity of discourse that is rarely seen in modern scholarship.

In these volumes, Capriles presents us with an immense erudition, one which reflects his achievements on the Dzogchen spiritual path and his emergent understanding of the implications of these achievements for the present and future of transpersonal psychology. A challenging but exhilarating adventure for any readers interested in existential, humanistic, and/or transpersonal psychologies and their intersection with Dzogchen philosophy and practice. —Douglas A. MacDonald, Ph.D. Associate Professor. Director, Clinical Psychology MA Program. Department of Psychology. University of Detroit Mercy. Editor Emeritus of IJTS. Ex-Board Member of the International Transpersonal Association. The human brain evolved not to find truth but to attribute meaning. This, it itself, was a remarkable achievement. However, the contemplative traditions have endeavored to take humanity a step further than mental projections, leading to what is often called “the awakening” or “enlightenment.” In recent years, Dzogchen Buddhism has been adopted by many Western writers as the apotheosis of this endeavor. However, their background has not enabled them to appreciate the subtleties of the Dzogchen writings, and a number of errors have slipped into their articles and books. This remarkable manuscript corrects these mistakes and presents the Dzogchen insights in reader-friendly English that will instruct and inspire its readers. Its importance can not be underestimated. Indeed, it is destined to become a classic guide to spiritual development. —Stanley Krippner, Ph.D. Alan Watts Professor of Psychology, Saybrook Universiity co-author, A Psychiatrist in Paradise: Treating Mental Illness in Bali. One of the best-known and most honored transpersonalists. I can’t pretend to understand all of what Professor Elias Capriles has written in these magnificent 4-volumes.

The parts that I can understand are absolutely brilliant and right on target. The parts that I can’t understand have a strange effect on me. I start reading them, and tend to go off in a trance-like state, after which I have little remembrance of what I’ve read, but I feel it to be some of the most profound writings I’ve ever encountered, something that I am not yet ready to grasp, but which beckons me… My own hope is that my boundaries will expand to increasingly be able to receive the wisdom I intuitively feel contained in the parts of these that I am yet able to grasp, while the parts that I am able to grasp are extremely helpful to my scholarship and life. I have the utmost appreciation for the rare combination of impeccable scholarship and lived wisdom that Capriles has shared. —Harris L. Friedman, PhD. Professor (retired), Counseling Psychology Program, University of Florida, US. Professor Emeritus, Saybrook University, US Senior Editor, International Journal of Transpersonal Studies Co-editor, The Wiley-Blackwell Handbook of Transpersonal Psychology. Ex-President of the International Transpersonal Association.(h)

Comparison of the theses of Frederic Jameson, Michel Maffesoli and Heinrich Wölfllin with the ones Elías Capriles posits in the book Estética primordial y arte visionario. In the paper by Gustavo Fernández Colón “La nostalgia del éxtasis. Refracciones de lo sublime en la cultura postmoderna”, in Mañongo, Revista de Historia (Valencia, Venezuela), # 23, vol. XII, julio-diciembre 2004, pp. 193-208. Reproducen in the Web at the URL servicio.cid.uc.edu.ve/postgrado/manongo23/23-12.pdf(i) His work is one of the main fucuses of the paper by Professor Gustavo Fernández-Col-on Transfiguraciones del sujeto en tres filósofos latinoamericanos: Varela, Capriles y Fornet-Betancourt (Transfigurations of the Subject in Three Latin-American Philosophers: Varela, Capriles and Fornet-Betancourt). Valencia, Venezuela: Revista de Estudios Culturales vol. I, #1, pp. 11-32).(j) His book Individuo, sociedad, ecosistema was reviewed in Comesaña, Gloria (1995). Capriles, Elías: Individuo, sociedad, ecosistema: Ensayos sobre filosofía, política y mística. Consejo de Publicaciones, ULA. Mérida, 1994, 477 pp. Maracaibo, Edo. Zulia, Venezuela: Revista de Filosofía (Centro de Estudios Filosóficos; Facultad de Humanidades y Educación; Universidad del Zulia).(k) The same work was reviewed in Velasco, Fabiola (2003). Acercamiento a la obra Individuo, sociedad y ecosistema. Mérida, Venezuela: Dikaiosyne, Año VI, # 11, pp. 191-197. on the web(l) The same work was reviewed in the Journal Pensamiento (Madrid, Spain). Author, Volume and Issue, and Page numbers unknown.(m) In the online Encyclopedia, Wikipedia (English version), the entry Buddhist Philosophy is based exclusively on his book Clear Discrimination of Views Pointing at the Definitive Meaning: The Four Philosophical Schools of the Sutrayana Traditionally Taught in Tibet.(n)

In the online Encyclopedia, Wikipedia (English version), the entry Dzogchen is partly based on his book Buddhism and Dzogchen: Volume One: Buddhism: A Dzogchen Outlook.(o) His works are either quoted as sources for entries or discussed in entries of the online Encyclopedia, Wikipedia (English version); for example, the entry “Buddhist Philosophy” is based exclusively on his book Clear Discrimination of Views Pointing at the Definitive Meaning: The Four Philosophical Schools of the Sutrayana Traditionally Taught in Tibet (cf. the URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Buddhist_philosophy); the entry “Dzogchen” is partly based on his book Buddhism and Dzogchen: Volume One: Buddhism: A Dzogchen Outlook (cf. the URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dzogchen); the entry “Buddhism” mentions as one of its main sources his book Buddhism and Dzogchen, and takes a quotation from his book The Four Schools of Buddhist Philosophy: Clear Discrimination of Views Pointing at the Definitive Meaning. The Four Philosophical Schools of the Sutrayana Traditionally Taught in Tibet with Reference to the Dzogchen Teachings (cf. the URL http://www.Wikipediaondvd.com/nav/art/e/d.html); in the entry “Reality in Buddhism,” his book Buddhism and Dzogchen: the Doctrine of the Buddha and the Supreme Vehicle of Tibetan Buddhism. Part 1 – Buddhism: a Dzogchen Outlook is quoted (cf. the URL http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Reality_in_Buddhism); the entry “Dakini” is based on four works, including the just quoted Buddhism and Dzogchen and Beyond Being, Beyond Mind, Beyond History, vol. I, Beyond Being (cf. the URL http://en.Wikipedia.org/wiki/Dakini); the entry “Transpersonal Psychology” summarizes his criticisms (cf. the URL http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transpersonal_psychology); etc.(p) His works are either quoted as sources for entries or discussed in entries of the online Encyclopedia, Wikipedia, in Hindi, Hebrew, Arabic, and Russian and other European languages.(q)

He is reviewed or mentioned in many WebPages in Spanish, English, Russian, French, Chinese, Japanese, Hungarian and several other languages; a list of some of these WebPages is provided in an Appendix at the end of this mini-CV.(B) Member of International Boards of Academic/Professional Associations(a) Member of the International Board of the International Transpersonal Association (ITA) in Representation of South America.(C) Associate Editor of Academic Journals (Nationally in Venezuela):(a) Since its foundation until 2007 professor Capriles has been Associate Editor of the academic journal Utopía y Praxis Latinoamericana, having its seat in the School of Philosophy of The University of Zulia in the town of Maracaibo, Venezuela.(b) Since its foundation in 2006 professor Capriles has been Associate Editor and member of the Board of Editors of the academic journal Humania del Sur, having its seat in the School of History of the University of The Andes in the town of Merida, Venezuela.(D) Member of the Board of Editors of Academic Journals (Internationally):(a) Since 2000 Professor Capriles has been in the Board of Editors of the International Journal of Transpersonal Studies (born in Australia and then moved to the USA: firstly to Manoa, Hawai‘i; then in Florida; and presently in San Francisco, California). Cf. the URL http://www.transpersonalstudies.org/(b) Since its foundation professor Capriles has been a member of the Board of Editors of the academic journal, Journal of Transpersonal Research. Europe in general: EUROTAS, Transpersonal European Association www.eurotas.org / Spain: OXIGEME, Centro de Integración de Psicoterapias www.oxigeme.com URL of this Journal listing members of the Board of Editors: http://www.transpersonaljournal.com/Colaboradores.html(c)

Professor Capriles is a member of the Board of Editors of the academic journal Revista de Derechos Humanos y Estudios Sociales (REDHES). (México: Facultad de Derecho de la Universidad Autónoma de San Luis Potosí, Comisión Estatal de Derechos Humanos de San Luis Potosí, Cuerpo Académico “Administración de Justicia” de la Universidad Autónoma de Aguascalientes, y Comisión Estatal de Derechos Humanos de Aguascalientes. http://ignorantisimo.free.fr/CELA/docs/REDHES.pdf.(D) Prizes at a National Level (Venezuela)(a) 2009: FONACIT, Ministry of Science and Technology, Project for the Promotion of Researchers (PPI), Level II(b) 2009 University of the Andes. Academic Vice-Chancellery. Council of Scientific, Humanistic and Technological Development (CDCHT). Program of Stimulus to the Researcher (PEI)(c) 2005 University of the Andes. Academic Vice-Chancellery. Council of Scientific, Humanistic and Technological Development (CDCHT). Program of Stimulus to the Researcher (PEI)(d) 2003 University of the Andes. Academic Vice-Chancellery. Council of Scientific, Humanistic and Technological Development (CDCHT). Program of Stimulus to the Researcher (PEI)(e) 2001 University of the Andes. Academic Vice-Chancellery. Council of Scientific, Humanistic and Technological Development (CDCHT). Program of Stimulus to the Researcher (PEI)(f) 1997 University of the Andes. Academic Vice-Chancellery. Council of Scientific, Humanistic and Technological Development (CDCHT). Program of Stimulus to the Researcher (PEI)